Lentil and Vegetable Soup (Printable Version)

Hearty soup with tender lentils and roasted vegetables in flavorful broth

# What You'll Need:

→ Lentils

01 - 1 cup dried green or brown lentils, rinsed

→ Vegetables

02 - 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
03 - 2 celery stalks, diced
04 - 1 medium zucchini, diced
05 - 1 red bell pepper, diced
06 - 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
07 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
08 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
09 - 2 tablespoons olive oil

→ Broth & Seasoning

10 - 6 cups vegetable broth
11 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
12 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
13 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
14 - 1 bay leaf
15 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

→ Finishing

16 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, optional
17 - Juice of ½ lemon, optional

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 425°F. Toss carrots, celery, zucchini, bell pepper, and cherry tomatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes until lightly caramelized.
02 - Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté for 4 minutes until softened. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
03 - Stir in rinsed lentils, roasted vegetables, vegetable broth, thyme, oregano, smoked paprika, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes until lentils are tender.
04 - Remove bay leaf. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and lemon juice as desired. Serve hot, garnished with fresh parsley.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The contrast between the roasted vegetables and tender lentils creates layers of flavor you simply cant get from a standard soup recipe.
  • Its incredibly forgiving if you need to substitute ingredients based on what you have available, making it perfect for those busy weeknights when a grocery trip isnt possible.
02 -
  • Adding salt to lentils at the beginning of cooking can make them tough, so I learned to season primarily at the end after a disappointing batch that never softened properly.
  • The vegetables neednt be perfectly chopped since theyll break down somewhat during cooking, which was a revelation that saved me countless minutes of precision knife work.
03 -
  • Dont discard those vegetable scraps but instead freeze them to make your own vegetable broth for the next batch, creating a zero-waste cooking cycle that makes each pot more flavorful than the last.
  • A stick blender can partially blend about a third of the soup right in the pot, creating a thicker texture while still maintaining chunks of vegetables and whole lentils for the perfect balance.
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