Smoky Chickpea, Red Lentil & Vegetable Soup
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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.
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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
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This was delicious and so simple! Thank you!
Another tasty recipe – easy to follow instructions and healthy. Perfect for a cold winter’s day in London.
Made this last night and LOVED IT! Stuck to the recipe with one minor adjustment – used the 1 TB of garam masala and added 1 tsp of curry. It was so tasty!!! We have some leftovers and know it will be a bit thicker – so plan to serve them on basmati rice (as opposed to adding broth to lighten) / can’t wait!
When you have a Superbowl spread laid out for the day including the Ham and Swiss sliders (found on this site too!) and a bunch of other dips and treats, I wanted a soup I could leave simmering on the stove all day, that was a healthy option- a plan B for anyone that was done with all the rich, heavy food!! The snow already began (and I didn’t feel like running to the store) so I had to pick something that could make with items I had on hand. Just the mere title of this soup made me want to make it. I just sampled it and think this may be gone before some of my football apps- and well before the game began!! Love that I “found” this recipe and will add it to my staples for SURE:)
Yummy! Would love to win the Dutch oven to make this even better!
This is one of my favorite recipes on this site. It has a nice rich flavor, easy to throw together and I almost always have everything on hand to make it.
I made this for the first time this week when we had snow in the Northeast – perfect way to enjoy your snow day AND it is healthy as well! I used an immersion blender directly in the pot and tossed in mixed frozen vegetables that includes carrots, corn, peas and green beans and it was great! Just make sure you start slow with the immersion blender not to splatter everywhere!
Cancer has a way of refocusing what one eats. This wonderful recipe has two pulses, Lentils and Chickpeas (both are gut friendly). The instructions were easy to follow and the result flavorful & tasty. It is a great way to use those last few vegetables in the fridge. Pulses have become part of our diet and I buy bags of lentils and chickpeas and prepare them myself. It is easy and cheaper.
Thank you for posting this. I making this for a friend with cancer because I read that these ingredients are helpful. Best wishes to you!
This a delicious, full tilt soup! It is a wonderful addition to any meal or a meal all by itself with a crusty bread and glass of wine. What a warm and delightful treat to come home to after a day of snow shoveling or travel. The chickpeas provide a wonderful protein hit to a vegetarian soup with the smoky paprika and tomato rounding out the taste sensation. I added peas to the soup at the end of cooking
and that little sweetness was a wonderful contrast to the other flavors. JUST LOVE THIS SOUP!! It has quickly become a new family favorite!
Delicious Soup! It was perfect for a cold snowy evening and so easy to make. Went together in less then 20 minutes and I had all the ingredients on hand. This recipe will become a regular for my family .