Smoky Chickpea, Red Lentil & Vegetable Soup
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
This warming, satisfying lentil and vegetable soup comes together in just 30 minutes.
Photo by Johnny Miller (Clarkson Potter, 2021)
For a vegetarian recipe made almost entirely from pantry staples (and I mean true staples, not staples from some well-stocked dream kitchen), this vegetable soup is surprisingly delicious. It’s thickened by puréeing a portion of the soup and then stirring it back into the pot (a technique I also use in other veggie and bean soups like pasta e fagioli and mulligatawny). This method gives the soup a wonderfully rich and hearty texture without relying on heavy cream or flour. The soup takes just 30 minutes to come together, start to finish, yet tastes like you spent all day in the kitchen, and it’s good for you, too. For the cooked vegetables, feel free to use any quick-cooking, frozen, or leftover vegetables you have on hand. The recipe is extremely flexible and very hearty!
Table of Contents
“Super simple and delicicious. It’s a keeper.”
What You’ll Need To Make Chickpea, Lentil and Vegetable Soup
- Olive Oil: Used to sauté the onions, garlic, carrots, and spices, adding richness and helping to develop a deep flavor base for the soup.
- Onion and Garlic: Provide a savory foundation and depth, essential for building the soup’s overall flavor.
- Carrot: Adds a subtle sweetness and contributes to the hearty texture of the soup.
- Paprika and Cumin: Infuse the soup with smoky and earthy flavors, enhancing the overall warmth and complexity.
- Vegetable or Chicken Broth: Acts as the soup’s liquid base, balancing flavors and providing a rich, savory undertone. Opt for low-sodium broth here.
- Diced Tomatoes: Contribute acidity and a subtle sweetness, adding depth to the broth.
- Red Lentils: Thicken the soup and add protein, creating a hearty texture. It’s important to stick with red lentils here due to their quick cooking time. Use 1/3 cup as specified in the recipe, as using more can make the soup too thick.
- Dried Thyme: Adds an aromatic, earthy note that complements the soup’s savory elements.
- Bay Leaves: Infuse the soup with a mild herbal flavor, enhancing its overall complexity.
- Chickpeas: Add texture, protein, and a nutty flavor, making the soup more substantial.
- Cooked Vegetables: Provide additional texture and nutrients, rounding out the soup with a variety of flavors and colors. I like to use frozen peas and green beans but you can use any quick cooking, frozen, or leftover vegetables you have on hand. The recipe is very flexible!
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by cooking the onions in olive oil until soft. Add the carrots, garlic, smoked paprika and cumin and cook until fragrant, a few minutes.
Add the broth, tomatoes, lentils, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the chickpeas and continue cooking 10 minutes more.
Remove a few cups of the soup and place in a blender or food processor.
Purée until smooth.
Pour the puréed soup back into the pot. Stir and taste; if you want the soup to be thicker, purée a bit more. Add the vegetables.
Bring the soup back to a simmer and serve.
You May Also Like
Smoky Chickpea, Red Lentil & Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 14.5-ounce (411-g) can diced tomatoes
- ⅓ cup red lentils
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 15.5-ounce (439-g) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cooked vegetables, such as frozen peas or chopped green beans
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, smoked paprika and cumin; cook, stirring frequently so the garlic doesn't brown, about 2 minutes more.
- Add the broth, diced tomatoes, red lentils, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer; cook for ten minutes. Add the chickpeas, cover the pot and cook 10 minutes more. Fish out the bay leaves, then transfer 2 cups of the soup to a blender and purée until smooth (be sure to remove the center knob on the blender and cover with a dishtowel to avoid splatters). Add the puréed soup back to the pot and stir. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary; if you want the soup to be thicker, purée a bit more soup. Add the cooked vegetables and simmer until the soup is hot and the vegetables are warmed through. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.
Notes
Pair with
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
do you think that I could sub butternut squash for carrot. I’m out of carrots.
Sure!
Delicious and warming! I made some slight changes with 2 additional cups of chicken broth and used both green and yellow beans and spinach. Rather than just cumin I used a Baharat spice bend and rather than thyme I used Za’atar. This will be a mainstay soup!
The broth is so delicious!!! I omitted tomato, doubled the recipe and after sautéing the veggies threw it all in the crockpot for 3 hours on high and it was amazing! I used spinach for the veggies since I had it on hand. Loved it and will make it again.
A delicious soup and so easy to make! We loved it. Thanks, Jenn, for another winner!
Hi Jen, can you suggest some nice side dish that would go well with this soup for dinner?
Hi SK, The soup would pair nicely with this homemade naan and a simple green salad like this one. Hope that helps and that you enjoy whatever you make!
Jenn, this recipe is one of my absolute favorites; it is flawless! The flavor you’ve put together is spot on. I love that I can eat this and walk away feeling satisfied. Any chance you are creating any new vegan recipes?? I’ve got your recipe book all marked up with the food I can eat (love them all!). I would love to see more recipes for people like me who have a variety of dietary restrictions and eat primarily plant based.
So glad you like the soup, Megan! I will keep your request for more vegan recipes in mind when I am developing new things in my kitchen. 🙂
Quick question…
Why don’t you cook the peas/green beans with the soup? A lot of the vitamins from these vegetables come out in the liquid/water and this way those vitamins will be released into the soup itself. Is there a specific reason why you choose to add them at the end AFTER they’ve been cooked?
Hi Hdar, I add them at the end so they don’t get overcooked as the soup simmers for a while. Feel free to add them in earlier if you’d prefer. If you do, I’d suggest eating the soup right after you make it so the veggies don’t get too soggy. Hope that clarifies!
Two thumbs up. Easy and so tasty!
Just made this for lunch.
The flavors are amazing, thank you
Super yummy!
The smoked paprika adds a gorgeous exotic flavour. I added a whole teaspoon to give it a bigger kick. Also added celery with the onion and potatoes for some carbs.