Italian Lentil Soup

Italian Lentil Vegetable Soup

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Lentils.  Beauty queens, they are not.  But what they lack in pulchritude they sure make up for in taste, versatility, and nutrition.

One of my favorite ways to eat lentils is in soup.  Actually, my favorite way to eat just about anything is in soup.  Who doesn’t love soup?  Homemade soup is like a favorite soft sweater.  It’s warm and cozy and fits just right for almost any occasion.

This lentil soup is one the most diet-friendly soups around.  High in fiber and low in fat, lentils are a natural weight-loss food.

This recipe makes a big pot of soup.  If it’s just you, or if you’re going away on vacation tomorrow, or if your best friend borrowed your only big pan, you may want to make only half of a batch.  Otherwise, catch a vision of the beauty of leftovers. Cook once, eat all week without effort.

I sometimes like to use shredded carrots in this soup instead of diced carrots.  If you use shredded carrots, wait and add them when you add the garlic.

Italian Lentil Soup Recipe

Italian Lentil Soup Recipe

Italian Lentil Vegetable Soup

The seasoning measurements in this nourishing soup may seem like a lot, but they’re not a typo. The flavor is delish.
Cook Time 48 minutes
Course Main Course, Soup
YIELD 4 servings
All recipes on jenniferskitchen.com are property of jennifer’s kitchen and cannot be republished without written permission.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 ribs celery, sliced or diced
  • 2 medium carrots, sliced, diced, or julienned - (see note)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup uncooked lentils
  • 1/2 cup uncooked long-grain brown rice
  • 8 cups water - or vegetable broth
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
  • 4 teaspoons granulated onion - (1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon)
  • 3 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil
  • 1 1/2 cups (one 14-ounce can) canned diced tomatoes - I like petite diced tomatoes.
  • 1 1/2 cups (one 14-ounce can) canned tomato puree
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon honey - or other sweetener
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt - or to taste

Instructions

  • In a soup pan, sauté celery, carrots, and onion in oil over medium heat until onions begin to look translucent (about 6 to 8 minutes).
  • Add garlic and sauté for 1 additional minute.
  • Meanwhile, rinse lentils in colander under running water. Set aside to drain.
  • Add 8 cups water (or vegetable broth), rice, and rinsed lentils to pan. Turn heat to high.
  • Add seasonings. Cover and bring to boil.
  • Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
  • Add tomatoes and tomato puree, return to boil, then reduce heat and continue to simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until lentils and rice are tender.
    Note: All stoves cook differently, so be sure to test the lentils to see if they are done.
  • Add lemon juice and sweetener and season with salt to taste.Serve hot.

Notes

I use my julienne peeler to cut the carrots. It makes the prettiest carrots in just a few seconds!
This soup tastes even better the next day.
Even though I’ve categorized this recipe under “Freezes Well“, the rice does break down slightly after being frozen. But it still tastes good.

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11 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    My compliments to Jennifer!

    I made this for today’s lunch. It was so good, that I ate too much. . . Burp!! (Excuse me!).

    I love the lentils and rice together. And the tomato base is perfect. One change I made was that I used 6 cups of water instead of 8, because I like it a little thicker. I highly recommend this delicious main dish/soup. It’s definitely worth the small amount of time it takes to prepare. And try not to eat too much.

    Burp! (Sorry.)

  2. 5 stars
    Update: I added meat to this and served it to my husband, Mr. Picky, who is not a vegetarian. He liked it! Thanks for the versatile recipe.

  3. I saw this photo on FoodGawker (we are FG neighbors today) and between the photo and the promise of a slimming soup – I had to hop on over. Looks DELICIOUS, I too love soup – thanks for another one to add to my collection 🙂

  4. 5 stars
    This is a great healthy soup recipe. My fiance is from an Italian family on the east coast, and has high expectations when it comes to Italian recipes. I doubled the ingredients because I was feeding four and I wanted enough for leftovers. I used grape seed oil instead of olive oil because it is a high temperature oil. I added black pepper and red pepper flakes, probably a tablespoon of both, and it gave the soup just the right amount of kick. I didn’t use any salt because the diced tomatoes, tomato puree and veggie broth already have a lot. Finally, I only added one tablespoon of honey — I didn’t double it because I was making this for someone with diabetes. This recipe is vegan and vegetarian friendly, which is also a plus for my house. Anyway, everyone loved it and I’ll definitely be making this regularly! Thanks. 😉

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