I love lentil soup! Here's the one I came up with from trying various recipes. I call it Greek Lentil Soup because some of the ingredients are those that my Papa would have used :-)
Place lentils in a large saucepan, cover with 1 inch of water. Place over medium-high heat, bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Drain lentils into a colander. Pour olive oil in to the large saucepan and place over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook while stirring until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes.
Pour in lentils, 1 quart water, oregano, rosemary, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium low.
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer until the lentils have softened, about 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add an additional amount of water during cooking if desired.
By Deeli from Richland, WA
We are trying to increase our fiber intake and would love easy recipes using lentils in soup.
Thank you all in advance.
By Barbara from Boerne, TX
I was at a conference last summer. They made spaghetti using lentils instead of meat. It was really good and much healthier.
Vegetarian Lentil Soup seasoned with marjoram
Serves 4 (change servings and units)
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon butter or margarine
Directions
Saute carrot, celery, garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil and butter for about five minutes to soften. Add tomatoes, lentils, broth, 1 teaspoon marjoram and bring to a simmer. Partially cover and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. When lentils are done to your liking, add remaining ingredients and simmer for just a few minutes more. Good luck.
Sounds great, cannot wait to try this recipe. Thank you. :)
As I was walking down the aisle of the grocery store, perusing the canned lentil soup's sodium percentages, I began grumbling mentally. Why is it that the high sodium soup in the can tastes better than mine?
I use ham flavored soup base in my soup which you can find by the bouillon. Also a bay leaf or two and canned crushed tomatoes (added towards the end of cooking). Most delicious !
Try adding 1/4 to 1/2 tsp sugar or artificial sweetener but not so much as to make it taste sweet. This should work with any green veggie that smells or tastes raw.
When the soup is ready, take 3 - 4 cups of the soup and vegetables and puree in the blender, then return puree to the soup. This gives it a thicker, richer flavor.
Thank you Joankay and Ettamae. These are excellent suggestions!
Holly
Does anyone know the best kind of sausage to put in lentil soup? if so what brand etc.
Thanks.
Bridget from AZ
allrecipes.com/
This is a great place to start. My girlfriend puts in waterchestnuts, too, for a bit of crunch!!
N-JOY
Any kind of link sausage would be fine. I like Polish or Kielbasa myself.
I would suggest you pre-cook the sausage and pat off the grease with a paper towel, then add it to the soup - otherwise you are going to end with with a very greasy lentil soup.
Suggestion - go to your local grocery store and purchase a variety of the smallest pieces of sausage possible. Pan fry, then serve with mustard and mashed potatoes and a green veggie. That way, you will be able to figure out which one tastes better and use that one in your soup.
I used a great pre-cooked spicy chicken sausage made by Usinger. Just sliced thin and added it.
Yesterday I had sausage and lentil soup at Carrabba's Italian restaurant. It was filling, not too greasy and absolutely wonderful. Anyone have the recipe or a similar recipe?
Thanks.
By Holly from Dallas, TX
This is something I invented while writing an article in my Zine about cooking 5 meals, 4 people for $10! This is one of the recipes that I made from this and my hubby LOVES it even though he doesn't like lentils normally.
A lentil and chard soup is a vegetarian soup that is so delicious you will want to make it again and again. This is a page about Italian lentil and Swiss chard soup recipe.
In a large saucepan, saute carrots and onion in oil until tender. Add the water, salsa, lentils, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 50-60 minutes or until lentils are tender.
A hearty, lentil vegetable soup flavored with bacon to enjoy in about an hour.
In 6 qt. cooker, add above ingredients. Cover with 8-10 cups of water. Cook on low heat for 5-6 hours. Remove meat from bones and stir back into soup.
A healthy soup that freezes well and is just perfect for the cold weather we have been having. I made mine in my Instant Pot. It can also be simmered on the stovetop for at least an hour or made in a crockpot for 4-6 hours on high.