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!
Anyone know where I could pick up these ingredients cheaply in Canada?
I’ve made this twice already and it’s my favorite soup in the world…. So simple! I just used a lot less of the spices cause it was a bit too much the first time! Thanks so much!!!
Made this yesterday and it was delish! I used red kidney beans instead of black beans and added some red cabbage I had lying around the fridge and have food for several days. I plan on stretching it even further by serving it over rice as money are tight this month
LOVED this soup and ate it for lunch this past week after making it last Sunday! I was really surprised by how flavorful the broth was! Definitely going to make it again. may beef it up with more vegetables (pun intended) by adding some kale or zucchini like someone mentioned above. Thank you!
Hey, I much prefer a soup without too many lumps in, would it be okay to blend the soup after boiling or will that effect anything? Sorry, I’m new to making any sort of food especially soup.
Thank you!
Hmmm… I’m sure you could. It would be kind of like a smooth black bean soup, except with lentils. :)
This doesn’t look like anything special when you just read the recipe, but every time I eat it I do a little happy dance! This is the perfect thing to throw together on Sunday and bring to work all week. Thank you!
Hahah, that’s exactly how I feel about it! Sounds rather bland and boring, but it’s seriously one of my favorite recipes ever.
Hi Beth,
I’ve been following your blog for years now and I have to say I’ve really come to love it and look forward to your posts every week. I really trust you as a cook! :D I made this last night for my mom and I and while it was simmering I was a little apprehensive, I admit, but I was like ‘trust it!’ and forged on and it was the most amazing surprise. So flavorful and affordable, I can’t wait to eat the leftovers today with some grilled cheese sandwiches on the side. Thank you, as always, for another amazing recipe!
Just wondering if anyone opted to not drain the black beans ? Usually I don’t drain my black beans when making soups. Appreciate any advice! Can’t wait to try this one out!
Hey Jes,
Thank you for your comment! It took me down a long, dark hole of scientific papers addressing this most important inquiry.
Ultimately, I have found that beans cause flatulence because they contain oligosaccharides that ferment when you digest them. Soaking beans in water and then changing that water will eliminate some of the oligosaccharides, but cooking is what really reduces them the most (and the more water you use when you cook them, the more the oligosaccharides will leach out). Furthermore, the nutrition content of the beans is not changed by soaking.
The only thing I don’t know is how it will affect the recipe–but I’m guessing not much. Hope it turned out well!
Also, I’m stuffing this soup (with drained beans) into my mouth as we speak. Seriously delicious, and just the kind of easy and nutritious meal that a budding young scientist needs while writing her dissertation!
I made this the other night and it was fantastic. I squeezed a bunch of lemon in mine, and I thought it really added a nice freshness to it.
Just made this for the first time, Sooooo Good!!! Followed the recipe as is for the most part, just used no salt added tomatoes and a veggie broth that had a lower sodium content and left out the salt completely. This soup has more than enough flavor, imo, with just the seasoning it calls for. This is definitely going to be a go to recipe for me, Thanks Beth!
If I prepare this soup in the crock pot, would you recommend putting the lentils in from the start or later on to avoid them turning to mush? Thank you!
Yes, I think I’d add them about half an hour from the end.
I just found out I’m anemic, and since I’m currently in the first throes of passionate love with your site, one of the things I googled was “budget bytes lentil soup recipe.”
I just made the soup and ate two bowls of it, with a couple of modifications. It is so delicious. My children and I love it and my oldest got seconds.
Here are the mods:
1) No cayenne and no paprika (since they aren’t in my spice cabinet atm); added some crushed red pepper to make up for the cayenne and paprika.
2) No black beans; added 1 lb. of chopped denver steak (purchased on markdown at my grocery store a couple days ago with this recipe in mind.)
3) No vegetable broth (none on hand); substituted plain water.
4) No celery. Substituted package of mushrooms, finely sliced.
5) Doubled: tomatoes, lentils, and “broth” (aka, water).
6) Added: I packed cup of finely chopped (in blender) kale. Wish I had added more now, so I’ll be tossing in another cup before the remaining soup cools.
Delicious recipe that I would recommend for its taste and cost alone. I’ll keep making it for the health benefits.
I made this and saved even more money$! I buy big bags of beans dried and cook up the whole thing…then I measure out can sized portions and freeze them. comes out to about 12 cents per “can”. and sometimes you can buy celery for 99 cents for the entire bunch. I buy garlic already mulched in a jar for the dollar store for a dollar, 1 teaspoon is enough for two cloves..less than 5 cents, you can even get the bouillon cubes at the dollar store!
thanks for this recipe it is fantastic!
Thanks for the great tip! I think I’m going to start doing this too.
Our second recipe from your site, and it was SO GOOD! We left the tomatoes out (kiddo can’t tolerate them), and it was still delicious. We’ll definitely make this one again. Love the lentil, black bean combo. Perfect. Thank you!
I made this today but dumped everything in the crock pot because I had time this morning to get everything ready and didn’t want to cook later. The only difference was I used chicken broth instead of vegetable broth because I forgot to get vege broth. This was delicious. Thanks for a great recipe – I’ll definitely make this again.
How long did you cook it in the crock pot? I’m thinking of doing the same thing.