Perfect Lentil & Kale Soup Recipe

I’d like you to read this post in its entirety. It’s important. It’s about lentils, what you can do with them, and how they can save you money. Did you know that lentils are what’s considered a superfood? Did you know that lentils are one of the least expensive ingredients available? Did you know they’re delicious and that you can make an incredible soup using them as a base? If not, please continue reading down below. I’ll tell you all about it.

Why This Lentil Soup is So Excellent

Besides their pleasing texture and hearty consistency, lentils are one of those legumes that is highly affordable. Right now, you can visit just about any grocery store in America and find a one pound package of dried lentils for around $1.50. One pound of lentils offers approximately two dry cups. After they’re cooked, that two cups more than doubles.

The soup I made using this recipe, in which I used lentils as my base, provides approximately 12 servings (I doubled the ingredient list below). And I’m talking about big bowls here, not those little skinny ones. So if you’ve got a family of six, this soup will feed everyone dinner for two nights. Overall, the ingredient cost for the entire soup is under $10. If you do the math, you’ll discover that each serving will set you back only $.83.

Compare that to a Big Mac for dinner. Currently, one Big Mac costs $5.83. For 12 people, the cost would add up to $69.96. I can tell you that a serving of this soup is so much better than a Big Mac. And that’s not to mention the health benefits of the mighty lentil. Oh the health benefits…

Health Benefits of Lentils

As I mentioned above, lentils are part of the legume family. They’re actually one of the least expensive legumes by weight. A mere serving of cooked lentils provides the body with folate, fiber, manganese, protein, thiamin, iron, phosphorus, potassium, and copper. But beyond that list, there are certain health benefits associated with eating lentils. All those things I just mentioned above? This is what they do:

• Lentils reduce the risk of chronic diseases.
• They offer an excellent source of plant-based protein.
• They’re good for the heart.
• They’re an important part of a healthy digestive system.
• They help with regulating blood sugar levels.
• They’re low in sodium and saturated fat.
• They’re full of polyphenols that produce antioxidant activity.

Not bad, right? All that from simply eating some incredibly easy to prepare lentils.

History of Lentils

There are quite a few different types of lentils; red, small green, medium green, large green, black, big yellow, small dark speckled blue-green, and so many others. They all date back years and years – 8,000 to 10,000 years to be exact. Many types have been found to have been cultivated and eaten along the banks of the Euphrates River in what’s now northern Syria. Needless to say, it’s an old food that’s been around a while. In more modern times, however, some 2,000 years ago, lentils became what’s known as a staple food of the Egyptians, ancient Romans, and Hebrews. Believe it or not, lentils are even mentioned in the bible; there’s a story in the Book of Genesis that tells of how Esau, the firstborn brother of Jacob, sells his birthright to Jacob for some lentil stew. If that doesn’t indicate the value of lentils, I’m not sure what will.

Today, lentils remain a staple in Middle Eastern and Indian diets and are popular in a variety of cuisines throughout the world. As a matter of fact, lentils are so popular in India that just about half of worldwide consumption occurs on the subcontinent. Lentils are very high in protein, which lends themselves well as a meat substitute. And since much of the Indian diet is vegetarian, lentils play a large part in nearly every traditional Indian meal.

Today, in the U.S., if we search hard enough, we’d find nearly 50 varieties of lentils available to us. And as I mentioned above, they’re tasty with a nice meaty texture. If you were to add them to a soup or stew, you’d do well for yourself. If you were to cook them into a thick curry and eat them with rice, you’d do very well for yourself.

Lentil Soup Ingredients

Below, I’ll give a quick list of the primary ingredients you’ll need for this dish. I’ll also offer photos of each. For the complete list of ingredients and their suggested amounts, please see the recipe card below.

Vidalia Onion – You can use any type of onion you can get your hands on, but my favorite has always been Vidalia. Because of the Vidalia’s low sulphur content and high sugar levels, they’re simply the best tasting onion out there. But since you’ll be cooking these onions down, I wouldn’t worry too much about that. Use what you have.

Fresh Garlic – Always use fresh garlic for soups and stews like this. Dried and frozen garlic somehow don’t seem to offer the same luxurious flavor that fresh does.

Carrots – You’ll use fresh carrot as part of the base of this soup, so go ahead and chop them up nice and small. You’ll brown them in the pot early on and the smaller the piece, the more brown you’ll get.

Diced Tomatoes – Use the canned variety here. There’s no need to chop up your fresh tomatoes. Those in cans are packaged at peak ripeness and taste great.

Dried Lentils – Use brown or green dried lentils. They are the easiest to find and are the least expensive.

Fresh Kale – If you plan on preparing this soup during the harvest season of October and November, you’ll find that kale is very affordable. It’s in season and is plentiful. Buy a big bunch of it. I’m not sure you can add too much.

How to Cook the Perfect Lentil

This section discusses how to cook dried lentils for those who would like to be in the know. You won’t need this information for this recipe, as you’ll simply add the lentils to the pot with the rest of the ingredients. I just thought I’d add this as some bonus information.

The question most people ask before cooking lentils is, “Do I need to soak lentils before cooking?” The answer is no, you don’t. Lentils are an extraordinarily quick and easy legume to prepare in that they require no soaking at all. There are, however, a few tried-and-true suggestions/tips you’ll need to keep in mind before you begin though.

1. You don’t need to soak lentils before cooking.
2. You don’t need to rinse them either. If they’re dirty, yes, rinse them, but otherwise, it’s fine to cook unrinsed lentils.
3. Don’t add salt to the water in which you’ll be cooking the lentils. Salt can toughen their skins. Any seasoning should be done after the lentils have been cooked and drained (if necessary).
4. Use a ratio of 1:3, meaning for every one cup of dried lentils, use three cups of water.
5. Each cup of dried lentils creates two and a half cups of cooked.

To cook the perfect lentil, bring three cups of unsalted water to a boil. Add the lentils and then reduce the heat to low. Keep your pot uncovered and allow the lentils to cook until tender. Depending on which type of lentil you’re preparing, this can take anywhere from 20-45 minutes. Test the lentils throughout the cook period. You want to remove from heat just when the lentil isn’t hard in the middle anymore. Don’t overcook them as they’ll become soft and mushy and that’s not appetizing. When finished, if there is any leftover liquid in the pot, strain it. And that’s it!

Cooking Equipment for This Lentil Soup

The best part of prepping the ingredients for this wonderful soup is that you won’t need many tools to do so. All you’ll need is a cutting board and a chef’s knife. As for cooking the soup itself, you’ll need a wooden spoon, a ladle, and a large pot. Since I doubled up on the ingredients when I prepared this soup, I took advantage of my 10-quart stockpot. If you follow the ingredient list below, you won’t need a pot that large. A six or eight quart pot should be fine.

How to Prepare Lentil & Kale Soup

To prepare this dish, please use the contents inside the recipe card below. These quick instructions are a mere overview. These instructions include photos, so that’s why I’m adding them here.

To start, brown the carrots and onion in the pot over medium heat on your stovetop. Then, add in the tomatoes, garlic, and spices. Let cook for a few minutes.

Add in the lentils, broth, and salt. Let cook for 25 minutes. Then add the kale, ground pepper, and lemon juice. Cook for a few more minutes.

At the end of the process, you’ll be graced with the most wonderful looking and tasting lentil and kale soup!

Substitutions & Additions

I wouldn’t substitute the onions and carrots with anything. If you don’t have those two ingredients, wait until you can buy them. They’re important to this soup. There is one very nice substitution that can be made, however, and I’ll discuss that below.

What to Substitute Kale With

Hands down, the best substitute for kale is collard greens. If you can’t find any kale, you can easily swap in some collard greens and no one will notice. Yes, they’re obviously different, but not so much that people will care. Their texture and flavor is similar. What else can you substitute for kale? Try English spinach, baby spinach, Swiss or rainbow chard, mustard greens, Chinese broccoli. beet greens, or bok choy. These are all fine substitutes.

What You Can Add to This Soup

Let’s discuss additions. As I was enjoying this wonderful soup, I told myself that I could have easily added some chopped celery. Celery is a popular ingredient for soups like this and it would have fit in perfectly. I would have browned it with the onion and carrots early in the process. Also, I know this is unorthodox, but I also thought it would have been fun to add some small pasta elbows. If I were to add them though, I would have cooked them in some salted water separately and then added them to the soup at the last minute. I wouldn’t want them absorbing the water meant for the soup or altering the flavor in any way.

Side Dishes That Complement Lentil Soup

There are tons of side dishes that have the potential for making this awesome lentil soup even better. I’ll list those sides below:

I could go on and on, but I think the options above are quite enough. Basically, use your imagination and have at it!

Wine Pairings for Lentil Soup

Since lentil soups generally aren’t too heavy or red meat focused, the wine you’ll likely want to pair with it will be a medium-bodied red. Either that, or a heartier white. These wines will go perfectly with the earthy, savory, and chunky soup. With this in mind, consider a medium-bodied Syrah or Sangiovese, which will pair perfectly with the browned carrots and onions. Depending on how much lemon, cumin, and curry you added to your dish, you may want to consider an off-dry Riesling

Below, I’ll list some additional wines that might pair well with this type of soup.

Can You Store Leftover Lentil Soup?

You certainly can! If you doubled up on this recipe like I did, you might want to add about half the soup to some containers and freeze it. It should keep just fine in the freezer for a few months. Otherwise, this soup should store well in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.

If you tried this recipe and enjoyed it, please leave a positive rating as well as a comment down below. Let me know your thoughts and your ideas for making it even better. Thanks!