Lentil Soup is an simple, savory, and healthy soup. And it is also pretty inexpensive. The only ingredient that is not a normal staple in our pantry are the lentil beans themselves, and I can usually pick up a bag at my local grocery for around a dollar. This has a few more ingredients than my basic recipes, but as I said, most are staples I almost always have on hand. If I happen to not have chicken stock on hand, Lentil Soup is one of the recipes that goes on my weekly plan when I make Homemade Chicken Stock.
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If you want to take the flavor up a notch and add more “meatiness” you can add diced smoked turkey sausage. The turkey sausage adds more depth of flavor, makes it a little saltier, and if you have a man in the house, it will fill him up more quickly. Smoked turkey sausage is something I typically find on sale for around $1-2 and I pop them in the freezer to make things like Lentil Soup or Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya.
I serve the soup with a drizzle of olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and topped with homemade crostini. Crostini is just a really fancy word for sliced french bread with olive oil, salt and pepper. Kind of like a big ole crouton! They are what make this dish and take it over the top. See the step-by-step instructions with pictures below. The compete recipe for both the soup and the crostini follows.
Homemade Lentil Soup
In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are translucent and tender.
Add the smoked turkey sausage now if you want it. Deglaze the pan with red wine and simmer until the sausage is hot. (See that brown stuff stuck to the bottom? That is what you want to “deglaze“. That makes the soup taste REALLY good!)
Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and drained lentils, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes to one hour, or until the lentils are cooked through and tender. Check the seasonings.
Serve drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with grated Parmesan and topped with a homemade toasted crostini.
Making Homemade Crostini
Crostini are fun to make with your kiddos . My daughter had a lot of fun helping out!
Homemade Crostini
Sliced baguette
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Lay baguette slices on pan, and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and toast for 7-8 minutes.
- 1 pound green lentils, rinsed
- ¼ cup olive oil, plus extra for serving
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 2-3 carrots, diced
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme (1 tablespoon fresh)
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 quarts chicken broth
- 1- 6 ounce can tomato paste
- ½ pound smoked turkey sausage/kielbasa, sliced and diced
- ¼ cup red wine (optional)
- Freshly grated parmesan, for serving
- Sliced baguette
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are translucent and tender.
- Add the smoked turkey sausage now if you want it. Deglaze the pan with red wine and simmer until the sausage is hot. (See that brown stuff stuck to the bottom? That is what you want to "deglaze". That makes the soup taste REALLY good!)
- Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and drained lentils, cover, and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes to one hour, or until the lentils are cooked through and tender. Check the seasonings.
- Serve drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with grated Parmesan and topped with a homemade toasted crostini.
- Lay baguette slices on pan, and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and toast for 7-8 minutes.
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Recipe developed by Kelly Hancock ©2010 Faithful Provisions. For personal use only. May not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed for capital gain without prior permission from Kelly Hancock.
Can the leftovers be frozen? I've never used lentils before so wasn't sure…..
This looks amazing and totally makes me want to run to the store and get ingredients to make today. I am working from home because one of my boys is home sick so its a very quiet day. Do you know if this freezes well (same question as Tanya)? My kids don't like lentils but this would be great to make and freeze so I can take it to work for lunches.
And Kelly – your little girl looks JUST LIKE YOU! What a sweetheart.
Tonya – Yes, it freezes great! I usually add a little more chicken broth to thin it out a little. The croutons freeze well too!
That looks divine, thanks!
I love lentil soup and make it frequently. I’ve never tried it with smoked sausage though.. I will have to try that 🙂
I found a similar recipe this fall and I’ve been making it often. I was looking for gluten-free recipes. The differences are these — add 1/2 c. brown rice and add 10 oz. chopped spinach (fresh or frozen). Also, I’ve heard that you should add the salt last b/c adding it earlier can make your lentils tough. Anyway, I love it! My version is hearty — more like a stew than a broth, but we love it that way!
I made this last night and took it to our church dinner. I had 5 people ask for the recipe. It is a really great soup. I posted it on my FB page this morning. Thanks for sharing.
Wow! The lentil soup is so yummy and has such great flavor! Everyone in our family liked it including my almost one year old. Thanks for the recipe!
Does the type of lentil matter? I have red ones in my pantry
Nope, any will do!
One Tablespoon!!!!! of salt? Is that a mistake?