Lentil and Vegetable Soup (Printable)

A comforting bowl featuring tender lentils and roasted vegetables for wholesome nourishment.

# What You'll Need:

→ Lentils

01 - 1 cup dried green or brown lentils, rinsed

→ Vegetables

02 - 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
03 - 2 celery stalks, diced
04 - 1 medium zucchini, diced
05 - 1 red bell pepper, diced
06 - 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
07 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
08 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
09 - 2 tablespoons olive oil

→ Broth & Seasoning

10 - 6 cups vegetable broth
11 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
12 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
13 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
14 - 1 bay leaf
15 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

→ Finishing

16 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
17 - Juice of ½ lemon

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 425°F. Toss carrots, celery, zucchini, bell pepper, and cherry tomatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes until lightly caramelized.
02 - Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
03 - Stir in the rinsed lentils, roasted vegetables, vegetable broth, thyme, oregano, smoked paprika, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes until lentils are tender.
04 - Remove bay leaf. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and lemon juice as desired. Serve hot, garnished with fresh parsley.

# Expert Hints:

01 -
  • The contrast between the oven-roasted vegetables and the earthy lentils creates layers of flavor that even my meat-loving friends request seconds of.
  • You can make a big batch on Sunday and the flavors actually improve over the next few days, making your weekday lunch decisions blissfully simple.
02 -
  • I once rushed the recipe and skipped the vegetable roasting step, resulting in a much flatter flavor profile that taught me never to take shortcuts with developing flavor.
  • Adding the bay leaf might seem like a small detail, but the one time I forgot it, the soup lacked that certain something that ties all the ingredients together.
03 -
  • When chopping vegetables for this soup, aim for pieces of similar size so they cook at the same rate, a lesson I learned after too many batches with some vegetables perfect and others either undercooked or mushy.
  • The soup freezes beautifully in portion-sized containers, but always let it cool completely before transferring to avoid condensation that can dilute the flavor when thawed.
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