One-Pot Green Lentil Soup with Carrots, Onions, and Celery

One-Pot Green Lentil Soup with Carrots, Onions, and Celery is more like a rich and hearty stew and is ridiculously easy to make.  Packed with flavor, this comfort food in a bowl is perfect for lunch or a light dinner. 

This delicious dish is the total package. Lentils don’t need to be soaked, they cook quickly and are incredibly tasty. Depending on your family size, there should be enough for lunch and dinner, as well as leftovers to freeze for another meal. It’s a comfort food bonanza!

Did I mention that it’s also economical to make? This recipe serves eight and costs less than $10 to make. You also probably already have most of the other ingredients on hand in your fridge and pantry.

A squeeze of fresh lemon juice or balsamic vinegar brightens and compliments the earthy taste of the lentils and is the perfect finishing touch.

Benefits:

According to Medical News Today, lentils are a highly nutritious food with high levels of fiber, folic acid, protein, and potassium. Also, these tasty legumes add essential vitamins and minerals to any diet.

Calories:

As well as being a nutritional powerhouse, this super-tasty dish is low in calories, coming in at only 348 calories per serving. 

Crockpot:

You will be happy to know that this cozy wonder-food can also be cooked in your crockpot. Just add all the ingredients and cook on high for five to six hours or low for seven to eight hours. Voila! Dinner is ready!

Serve with:

This recipe, as written, is a complete meal, and you don’t need anything else. However, you can take it up a notch by adding some nice warm crispy hoecakes or even a piece of hot cornbread or French bread for dunking. 

Different types of lentils:

Did you know there are several varieties? I use dried green lentils in this recipe, and they are the most common and cook the quickest.

Most likely, when you pick up a bag of lentils at the grocery store, they are brown or green. These brownish-green legumes work perfectly in soups because they cook quickly and keep their shape.  There are also red, yellow, Black Beluga, and French (Puy) lentils available.  

January is National Soup Month:

With cold weather in most parts of the country, what’s better in January than to sit down with a nice cozy hot bowl of deliciousness? And, believe it or not, it has been designated as “National Soup Month.”  How better to celebrate it than with my delicious Green Lentil Soup? 

Need more recipes to celebrate? Check out these popular options on my blog: 

• One-Pot Lasagna Soup
• Creamy Homemade White Bean Soup with Broccoli
• Easy Southern Chicken and Dumplings
• Easy Creamy Southern Sweet Potato Soup 
• Butternut Squash and Pear Soup with Fennel
• Tomato Tortilla Soup
• Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup
• Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup 

If you need more recipes or menu ideas, check out my roundup post, Ten Simple and Delicious Soup Recipes for Dinner, or all of my soup recipes here.

What you’ll need:

All you need is olive oil, onions, garlic, carrots, celery, salt and pepper, dry lentils, diced canned tomatoes, chicken or vegetable broth, coriander, and cumin.

Optionally, the addition of a splash of lemon juice or balsamic vinegar added to the soup right before you serve it brightens the taste and makes it even yummier!

How to make One-Pot Green Lentil Soup with Carrots, Onions, and Celery:

To begin, chop all of the vegetables.

Add olive oil to a large Dutch oven and heat over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the onion, 1/2 cup of the carrots, and 1/2 cup of the celery and salt. Cook approximately six or seven minutes, or until the onions are translucent, and the veggies are soft. Stir occasionally.

Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. 

While the vegetables cook, rinse the lentils in a colander under running water.

Add the lentils, canned tomatoes, chicken or vegetable broth, and spices. Mix well.

Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 35-45 minutes or until the lentils are tender.

Top each bowl with a handful of the remaining chopped celery and carrots. Optionally, add a splash of fresh lemon juice or balsamic vinegar. Serve immediately. 

Sharon’s tips:

• If you like creamy soups and you have an immersion blender, you might want to blend some or all of your soup depending on the consistency you prefer. I like mine chunky and don’t blend it up. 
• It’s optional, but we also enjoy the added crunch of fresh chopped carrots and celery and always add some to each bowl before serving. 
• To make this in a crockpot, add all ingredients except the lemon juice or balsamic vinegar to your crockpot and cook on high for five to six hours, or on low for seven to eight hours. 
• Most of the time, when I buy lentils at the grocery store, the package is just identified as lentils, and it does not say what variety they are. These are most likely either brown or green lentils and either work in this recipe. 
• When the soup is cooking, you might notice a scum bubbling up on top. You can remove this by taking a large spoon and skimming it across the top and then discard it. 
• This dish will keep well covered in the refrigerator for up to five days. It also freezes well and can be stored in your freezer for up to three months.  
• You can reduce the amount of sodium in this recipe by using low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock and low sodium diced tomatoes. If you use low-sodium ingredients, taste before serving and add additional salt if needed.

★ If you make this dish, please leave a comment and give this recipe a star rating. I would love to know how you liked it!

Thank you so much for visiting Grits and Pinecones!

 

*This post was originally published on January 14, 2016. It was republished on January 16, 2020, with expanded directions, the addition of tips and notes, new photos, and a “how-to” video.