Red lentils are beautiful, almost-paper-thin, orange jewels, that turn into a delicious soup in a relatively short amount of time – about 20 minutes. Add about 10 minutes of prep time for a total of about 30 minutes to have a delicious lunch or dinner soup.
There are so many reasons to eat lentils. They’re inexpensive, easy to cook, and a great source of iron.
I’ve been wanting to recreate my grandmother’s lentil soup for years, but with little effort and success, I gave up a while ago. And then I read this recipe and got inspired. Lucky for me, it is a great recipe that I played with to fit what I had on hand, and my own taste.
And, feel free to add your own additions, and top with some crème frâiche or yogurt.
Red Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups of red lentils (organic if possible)
- 4 cups of water
- 4 cups of chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
- one medium size red onion, diced or processed into small pieces (or other type of onion)
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 4 uncooked sausages, sliced (optional)
- 3 to 4 tablespoons of tomato paste (or ketchup)
- 4 garlic cloves, finely diced (frankly, I put the onion and garlic in a food processor and whirl away)
- 1 tablespoon of thyme (fresh or dried)
- sea salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon of salt to start and then additional salt to taste later)
- olive oil
Preparation
- Place about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a soup pot (with a capacity for at least 10 cups of liquid) and warm on low to medium heat.
- Add the sausages, onions, garlic, and tomato paste, and warm for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the remaining ingredients, stir, and bring to a steady simmer.
- Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Enjoy! Store in the refrigerator to be reheated, or freeze for later.
Just made this tonight (minus the sausage) and my entire family loved it and asked that it become a regular menu item. Thanks for the great recipe!
Really delicious… I used all chicken stock and added a big splash of red wine vinegar, plus a minced serrano pepper. No sausage. Thanks very much 🙂
Lentils I have learned are SCD legal, but I have found mixed views on how to make them SCD legal, that is soaking them. Is this true that you have to soak them? And if so, how long?
Some lentils require soaking and others don’t. Most of the lentils I purchase don’t have to be soaked – so I guess ready the label.
I have found out that for SCD even red lentils need to be soaked, no matter what the package says. So maybe that’s why your family did not tolerate the lentil soup.
Letha, thanks! I am beginning to realize that red lentils are great for thickening soups, rather than making them the primary ingredient. Some of my family couldn’t tolerate the soup, so less focus on the lentils and more on other vegetables would be a great next step.
When I make lentil soup I use half red lentils and half french lentils. I LOVE the results, seems like the best of both worlds to me. The red lentils sort of melt into the soup and the french lentils retain their bite. Yum. I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I’ve been using one from the Joy of Cooking for years, and while normally yummy, when I started going 50/50 on the lentils it reached new hights.
I made this the other day (minus the sausage). My husband and I ate the whole batch in less than two days! It was delicious.
Good to hear, Nancy 🙂
I just wanted to say that I made this last week and it was delicious! I had 4 scrumptious lunches in the week. Didn’t add sausage or anything else – just the soup – and finally I had a comfy belly!
Danielle, for SCD sausage I recommend getting ground meat and seasoning it yourself – I know, a lot of work. Some brands work for me, but read the label (I’m not 100% SCD anymore) to make sure it’s ok.
These sausages might work for you: http://www.applegatefarms.com/Products/ProductDetail.aspx?id=1658
Thanks Karen!
Another inspiring picture and recipe…just beautiful!
The soup looks great. Have you found an SCD legal sausage by chance?
Hey Ann! Which lentils do you usually use? From my searches, it looks like French lentils are the green lentils. Take a look at the link to the wiki on lentils above in the text. It seems like some lentils have the husk on and others don’t. The red and white don’t have the husk on. There’s quite a variety. I want to try white lentils as well – mostly because they cook faster than others. I also had no idea that Washington state is one of the biggest producers of lentils.
This link has a nice list of the many varieties: http://www.purcellmountainfarms.com/Lentils.htm
Erica, This looks fabulous. I can’t wait to try it. I have been making my mom’s lentil soup for years. It is also terrific, but this looks like a nice change. A question for you: What are the differences among red lentils, “French lentils”, and the regular lentils. Not even sure what those are called, but I am thinking of the olive green/brown ones found so easily at the grocery store.