Spicy Lentil Soup with Spinach
Spicy Lentil Soup is a flavorful, healthy soup with enough substance to serve as a main course. The spice levels of this vegan recipe can be adjusted based on your preferences.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: main
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 celery stock, chopped (optional)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups red lentils
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- generous pinch cinnamon
- 1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper — adjust based on your preferences
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 2 cups baby spinach
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start the soup: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot on medium medium heat. Add the onion, cook for a few minutes until it begins to soften.
- Add the carrots and celery, if using, followed by the garlic. Cook for another minute or two.
- Stir in the lentils with the other tablespoon of olive oil. Add the dried spices at this time–cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and cayenne. Stir to combine.
- Add liquids: Add the broth and water to the pot, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer uncovered. Add the soy sauce. Simmer uncovered for at least 20 minutes, until the vegetables and lentils are soft.
- Purée the soup: When the lentils and carrots are soft, purée the soup using a handheld blender. Alternatively, transfer the soup into a food processor to purée in batches. I like to leave a bit of the lentils and carrot pieces for consistency.
- Add spinach: Stir the baby spinach into the puréed soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat the spicy lentil soup with Swiss chard for about 5 minutes to let the flavors meld.
- Serve: Serve the spicy lentil soup in bowls while hot. Enjoy, perhaps with a glass of Vouvray!
Notes
- Adjust the amount of cayenne pepper based on how much spice you like. If you like it really hot you could try more than the 1/4 teaspoon we give as the higher end of range.
- Soy sauce add umami to this dish.
- You could add other greens instead of the spinach, but they make take longer to cook. We have used previously cooked Swiss chard with good results.
