Lentil Soup Recipe | Africanbites.com

Lentil Soup - super easy, cozy and healthy lentil soup that is huge in flavor. Loaded with earthy and aromatic spices with a little bit of heat. Best enjoyed with slices of bread or on its own for lunch and dinner. You'll want seconds or thirds of this!

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Lentils' Soaking Time 2 hours

Total Time 3 hours

Servings - 8 cups

Calories 312kcal

Author Imma

Ingredients

3-4 tablespoons (42 - 56 ml) cooking oil
2 medium onion ,diced (about 1 3/4 cup diced)
2 celery ribs , diced (about 1 cup)
4 garlic cloves ,minced
1/2 tablespoon (4 g) minced ginger
1 ½ teaspoon (3 g) cumin
2-3 teaspoons (4-6 g) smoked paprika
1 pound (450 grams) dry lentils ,soaked for 2 hours
1 14.5 ounce, 425grams can diced tomatoes
2 green onions , chopped
1 teaspoon (2 g) white pepper
2-3 large carrots , chopped (about 1 1/2 cup)
½ teaspoon (1 g) cayenne pepper (optional)
6 cups (1.5 L) or more Vegetable /Chicken broth or water
2 tablespoons (8 g) or more chopped parsley/Cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat up large sauce pan with oil then add onions, celery, garlic, ginger, and cumin spice. Stir occasionally for about 2-3 minutes until onions are translucent.
Then add smoked paprika and soaked lentils . Stir and sauté for about about a minute. Finally add tomatoes, green onions, white pepper , carrots and cayenne (optional) . Add about 6 cups chicken stock . Then salt.
Bring to a boil and let it simmer until sauce thickens. It might take about 30-45 minutes or more depending on how you like your lentils. Throw in some parsley, adjust for salt and pepper and soup consistency with more Liquid. Serve warm with bread.

Notes

You may sub green lentils in this recipe with brown, red, yellow lentils and even chickpeas.
When you buy lentils, use them within a few months. Older lentils take longer to cook and shred their skins during cooking. And never mix newly-purchased lentils with the old ones.
Soaking your lentils for longer may result to loss of nutrients. I prefer it soaked just for 2 hours.
You may think that your lentil pack is safe from unwanted intruder but to be on the safe side, sift through the lentils before soaking them to get rid of debris or pebbles.
If you want to add a little bit of meat into this soup, you may do so by adding pork shoulder, ham hock or even bacon.
Keep tasting the lentils as they cook to see if they're your preferred consistency.
Never sub the chicken broth with plain water. This chicken broth makes a difference.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Nutrition