Easy Italian Lentil Soup Recipe – Step by Step Guide: It only takes thirty minutes to make this delicious Italian Lentil Soup recipe. Making a big pot of this healthy soup is a must! It’s naturally vegan and gluten-free. This soup freezes really well, so you’ll want to make extra!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil extra virgin
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 2 carrots peeled finely diced
- 2 stalks celery leaves removed and finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups lentils brown or green picked over and rinsed
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 14 ounces canned whole tomatoes hand crushed
- 7- 8 cups stock vegetable or chicken, low sodium (I used my homemade chicken broth)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 head Tuscan kale destemmed and chopped (regular kale is fine too)
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- extra olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
- In a big pot, heat the oil over medium-low heat.
- Dice the onions, carrots, and celery and add them to the pan. Sauté for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onion is soft and clear.
- It will take a few minutes of cooking after you add the minced garlic. It will only take a minute or two for the garlic to cook, so keep an eye on it and stir it often.
- After adding the lentils, stir them into the soffritto mixture for about two to three minutes.
- Break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon and mix them in with the lentils. If you are using canned plum tomatoes, you should do this before adding them and take out the tough white core. For a few minutes, let this all boil together. Then, add salt and pepper, if you want. If your broth doesn’t have a low sodium level, don’t add salt until after you add the stock.
- After that, add the bay leaf and broth.
- For a few minutes, bring to a boil. Then, turn down the heat to a simmer.
- If you think it needs more salt and pepper, add it now. Then let it cook for about 30 minutes.
- In the last 10 minutes of cooking, add the kale and stir it in. You only need to wilt the kale. If you’d rather it be softer, you can cook it longer.
- If the soup is getting too thick, add a little water (start with 1/4 cup and see how it works). As they cook, the beans will get thicker.
- Take out the bay leaf when you’re ready to serve.
- Pour into bowls for serving and top with olive oil.
- If you want to, add the red pepper flakes.
Slow Cooker instructions:
- To a large 6-quart slow cooker, add the first 12 ingredients and mix them together. Then add the salt and pepper.
- The lentils should be soft and cooked all the way through after 4 to 5 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low.
- During the last hour of cooking, add the kale and stir it in.
- If you think it needs more salt and pepper, give it a taste. Take the bay leaves off.
- If you want, you can serve it warm with extra toppings on top.
Nutrition
- Calories: 357kcal
- Carbohydrates: 51g
- Protein: 17g
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 7g
- Sodium: 2467mg
- Potassium: 812mg
- Fiber: 21g
- Sugar: 9g
- Vitamin A: 4808IU
- Vitamin C: 11mg
- Calcium: 66mg
- Iron: 6mg
FAQ
Q1. Can canned lentils be used in this recipe?
Yes, you can use canned lentils if you have them on hand. It will take a lot less time to make the soup. Keep the heat low so the lentils don’t get too soft, but still get the taste of the soffrito and the fresh herbs.
Q2. Do you soak the lentils before cooking?
You don’t have to soak them at all. It only takes 30 minutes to cook lentils!
Q3. Is this soup vegan and gluten-free?
Yes, this soup doesn’t have any gluten in it at all. Not animal-based if you use vegetable soup instead of chicken stock. The chicken soup changes the taste for people who aren’t veggie or vegetarian.
This soup is also something you might want to try if you are on a gluten-free diet!
Q4. Can I add other other vegetables to this soup?
Yes! You can add any green vegetable to this soup and it will taste great. I put fresh kale on mine. You could use fresh or frozen spinach, rainbow chard, escarole, or Swiss chard that has been cut up into small pieces.
Q5. How long does this Italian lentil soup stay fresh?
If you put this soup in the fridge, it will stay fresh for up to five days.
Q6. Can I freeze vegetarian lentil soup?
Yes, you could freeze it for up to three months in a device that won’t let air in. When you’re ready to heat it up, let it thaw in the fridge overnight.
Q7. What do Italians traditionally eat on new year’s day?
Most of the time, they eat pork or beans. People believe that lentils will bring them luck in the new year.