OMG… This Chunky Lentil and Vegetable Soup is my new all-time favorite soup! I’ve already eaten two bowls since I made it today at lunch and I don’t think I’ll even need to freeze any because it will be gone fast. This super flavorful and hearty soup is a vegetarian take on the old classic, Lentil & Sausage Stew, from way back in 2010. I replaced the sausage with black beans, added some tomatoes for brightness, and nixed the spinach. The black beans help make everything thick and creamy and the blend of herbs and spices just can’t be beat. It’s soooo good. So many colors, flavors, and textures in one bowl, and super cheap, too!
The best part? I already had most of the ingredients on hand, so when I went to pick up the remaining items my total bill was about $3. It pays to shop in your pantry before you shop in the store!
What Kind of Lentils to Use
I used a quick cooking brown lentil for this recipe. These lentils are also sometimes called green lentils, depending on the brand, but they are not the same as French green lentils, which take much longer to cook. The lentils used in this recipe only need to be simmered for about 20 minutes to become tender and do not require pre-soaking.
I do not suggest using red or yellow lentils for this recipe because they do not hold their shape and will become mushy once boiled, resulting in a soup more similar in texture to split pea soup.
What Else Can I Add?
I love the flexibility of soup. If you want to add a little extra green to your soup, feel free to add some chopped fresh spinach or frozen spinach, and just stir it in until wilted and heated through. I love to top my lentil and vegetable soup with a dollop of sour cream or a pinch of cheese! If you like things spicy, feel free to add a diced jalapeño or a couple dashes of hot sauce.
How to Store the Leftovers
This recipe makes a HUGE batch, but thankfully the leftovers taste great! I like to divide my soup into single serving portions right after cooking to facilitate faster cooling, and to make the leftovers really easy to grab-n-go (and reheat). This soup also freezes great, so once it’s completely chilled in the refrigerator you can transfer it to the freezer for long-term storage (about three months).
Chunky Lentil and Vegetable Soup
Servings 8 1.25 cups eachIngredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.50)
- ½ lb. carrots (3-4 carrots) ($0.55)
- 3 ribs celery ($0.80)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($0.89)
- 1 cup brown lentils ($0.31)
- 1 tsp ground cumin ($0.10)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- Freshly ground black pepper ($0.05)
- 1 15oz. can petite diced tomatoes ($0.85)
- 4 cups vegetable broth* ($0.52)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
Instructions
- Mince the garlic and dice the onion. Sauté both in a large pot with olive oil over medium heat until the onions are tender. Meanwhile, slice the celery and peel and slice the carrots. Add the celery and carrots to the pot and continue to sauté for about 5 minutes more.
- Drain the can of black beans and add it to the pot along with the diced tomatoes (with juices), dry lentils, cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and some freshly cracked pepper (10-15 cranks of a pepper mill). Finally, add the vegetable broth, and stir to combine.
- Increase the heat to medium high and allow the pot to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low, place a lid on top, and let it simmer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, test the lentils to make sure they are tender. If not, continue to simmer until they are tender.**
- Taste the soup and add salt as needed (I added 1/2 tsp). Serve hot.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
A little dollop of sour cream is SO GOOD on this Chunky Lentil and Vegetable Soup.
How to Make Vegetable and Lentil Soup – Step by Step Photos
Mince two cloves of garlic and dice one onion. Sauté both in a large pot with 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat until the onions have softened.
While the garlic and onion are cooking, clean and slice 1/2 lb. (3-4 medium) carrots and 3 ribs celery. Add them to the pot and continue to cook for about 5 more minutes.
Most of my soups start with 1/2 lb. of carrots and 3-4 ribs of celery, so instead of just letting the other half of each go limp in the fridge, I go ahead and slice them up then freeze them for the next soup.
Once the carrots and celery have cooked a few minutes, add 1 cup dry brown lentils, one 15 oz. can black beans (drained), one 15oz. can diced tomatoes (with juices), 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, and some freshly ground black pepper (about 10-15 cranks of a pepper mill). Stir to combine.
And 4 cups of vegetable broth. Stir well. Increase the heat to medium-high and let it come up to a boil. When it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low, place a lid on top, and let it simmer for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, test the lentils to make sure they are tender. If you have green or French lentils, they may need to simmer for 45 minutes or so to fully soften. Also taste the soup and add salt if desired (I added 1/2 tsp of salt). Now it’s ready to serve!
This soup looks delicious in photos, but mine came out like a thick, taco-flavored chili. I would recommend adding way more vegetable broth than 4 cups and omit the taco-like spices (cumin, paprika, cayenne, etc.). Next time I’ll adjust, but this first attempt left a bad taste in my mouth—literally.
Beth! I just made this and I am eating this as I type. Holy moly its amazing. I have followed recipes from online in the past and the just never turned out that great. This was amazing. THANK YOU!
Love your recipes. Can’t wait to try some of them. I am a soup lover.
What a blast! Recently went vegan after being vegetarian for a couple years. Searching through the archives and I found this gem again! I’ve been making this since before we went vegetarian, and it’s always been a hit. Thanks Beth for this wonderful recipe! I love to throw diced cauliflower or cooked brown rice in too sometimes. :)
Lovely! Even my 2 year old ate it!
Great! I made this for my family and even those who don’t like veggies much enjoyed this soup.
Hello, I love this recipe.
For those of you that track you calories I just wanted to mention that I calculated out the total calories of this recipe at 2318 calories. or 463 calories per meal if you split it into 5 servings.
This soup is incredible! I have made it twice and love it. It’s cheap, filling and super healthy. It’s also very flavorful. The first time I made it I followed the directions. The second time I made it I doubled the ingredients and cooked it in the crockpot for 4 hours on high. I just dumped everything in and it turned out wonderful each time. Good stuff! This will definitely be going in my weekly rotation.
Hi Beth. This soup is delicious. The warmth of the spices is perfectly balanced. I am new to your website but so far all of the recipes have been great and my grocery bill has gone way down while the flavours have gone way up. Thank you very much.
I’m so glad to hear that, Ivy!! :)
Absolutely delicious. I usually pair it with the Homemade Freezer Garlic Bread from this site. Freezes well.
I can’t recommend this enough. Prep is easy, ingredients are simple and cheap, and it’s absolutely delicious. There’s also some room for ‘experimenting’ with fresh herbs like basil/oregano/marjoram. This is basically the perfect budgetbytes recipe
Love this recipe! It’s a usual at our house. I like to add some cheddar cheese, fresh cilantro and avocado.
I made this soup tonight as instructed, and it is simple delicious. I love the flavors and texture of it. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Ridiculously good. I added 1/2 of the spices to the inital veggie sauté to deepen flavors and used smoked paprika (what I had). Otherwise, made exactly as directed. I love this blog!
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve made this recipe and soups inspired by it. Absolutely delicious in any variant.
Has anyone suggested adding the spices in with the onion and sauteeing them a little to get an even richer flavor out of them?