Saturday, September 28, 2013

Hearty Red Lentil Vegetable Soup


Red lentil vegetable soup is a perfect fall or winter soup. Red lentils are hearty and have a different taste than the more familiar brown lentil. 

Red lentils have the consistency of split peas but with a milder and sweeter taste. You will love the way the lentils just melt into the soup!

I've shared my delicious recipe for  Egyptian red lentil soup in the past; today I'm sharing my friend Seraphine's red lentil soup. Her recipe is a little chunkier than mine with different seasonings and vegetables.

Have you cooked with red lentils before?
Satisfying, soothing, and filling are synonyms that describe this  nutritious soup. The lentils are full of fiber, healthy proteins (17 grams per cup), low on the glycemic index, and have lots of antioxidants.

No Need to Pre- Soak Red Lentils
Red lentils cook quickly, so there is no need to pre-soak.
Red lentils look orange but transform to a golden color while cooking.

red lentils
uncooked red lentils: a rich orange color
These colorful orange lentils fit perfectly into the fall color theme, providing a nutritious soup for a chilly fall evening. Eat it with salad and a sandwich for a nutritious quick meal.

Where can you buy red lentils?
They are everywhere but especially in any ethnic (Indian, Middle Eastern) store, health food store, Trader Joe's, and in the "Goya foods" section of most supermarkets.

These little lentils are naturally vegan, gluten free, hearty and tasty!! This satisfying soup is a winner! 

To my friend Seraphine - I enjoyed eating this soup at your home and appreciate that you shared your recipe with me. 



Seraphine's Red Lentil Soup Recipe

Ingredients: 
16 oz. bag of red lentils, washed well 
2 large carrots, diced
1 onion, diced small
2 stalks celery, diced small
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped fine
Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
6 cups water (or 3 cups water and 3 cups vegetable broth) 

Directions:   Place washed and drained lentils into an 4 quart soup pot. Add the carrots, onion, celery, parsley and liquid.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook for about 30-40 minutes until lentils are tender, stirring frequently to avoid lentils sticking. 
If you serve this soup the next day, you may need to add more vegetable broth as the lentils absorb liquid.

My Instant Pot version is now in my new soup cookbook soup  

Shared on    Souper Sunday

My Notes: 
1. I have made this soup in the Instant Pot too 
2. This is a wonderful soup for Thanksgiving. If you don't want to add soup to your Thanksgiving dinner, consider it for the next day with leftovers.
3. In my adapted version, I add 2 bayleaves to my soup when cooking, and then remove them before eating.


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20 comments:

  1. Yes, I eat this soup. The first time I tasted it I was in love. I have converted so many people to this soup. I buy my lentils in bulk at Sprouts. I learned to make it with cumin, a small amount of rice and celery and then your recipe. Delish.

    Madonna/aka/Ms. Lemon
    MakeMineLemon

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  2. I love soup and need to give this a try. Yummy!

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  3. We were on the same page with red lentil soup this week. ;-) This looks delicious and satisfying with all the veggies. Thanks for sharing it with Souper Sundays.

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  4. I've never cooked red lentils--only the green ones, but the color is so nice! Great soup, Judee.

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  5. Lentil soup is one of my "go to" recipes, and the more variety the better! thanks for sharing this. I just popped over from the Marvelous Monday Linkey. I would love it if you dropped by for a visit at http://www.kneadedcreations.com . Happy Day to you! Deb @ Kneaded Creations

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  6. Making it right now. Looks yummy. Teresa

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  7. I am about to start my cold weather soups as soon as there really is cool weather and this is going on the list. Thanks for sharing.

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  8. Thanks for sharing this great recipe.
    Nancy K

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  9. I think I saw and pinned your lentil soup from another linkey party earlier this week, but just want to say as co-host of the Real Food Linkey, that Lentil soup is one of those comfort foods that i grew up with that really stays with me! thanks for sharing at our Real Food Linkey. Deb @ Kneaded Creations

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  10. I recently discovered (fell in love with!) red lentils. You could make this soup even quicker using a pressure cooker. Simply combine in pressure cooker, bring to high pressure and cook four minutes. I let the pressure come down naturally (because I'm busy setting the table, finishing dessert prep, etc) and dinner's ready. Super simple!

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  11. Wow! 4 minutes.. that's amazing.. What a great idea

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  12. Your soup looks delicious Judee, we will love it. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and hope your weekend was great!
    Miz Helen

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  13. This sounds really good! Thanks for linking up for Friday Favorites. I'm featuring you this week!

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  14. G'day and YUM, TRUE!
    Love red lentils in cooking and could go for a bowl of your soup right now too
    Cheers! Joanne
    Viewed as part of Food Friends Friday Chili Party

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  15. I love the combination of red lentils and carrots! These are my two favorite recipes with that combo: apricot lentil soup and masoor dal with carrots.

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  16. I would add the bay leaves as well, they add such delicious flavor to soup, especially lentil. I have red lentils in the pantry now, thanks!

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