Hearty Lentil Soup With Spinach - Vegetarian Version

Submitted by Chef #698258

"I usually make this with bacon, but I can't eat meat on my current restricted diet, so I've tossed that smoky slab and added some other stuff! I've also almost doubled the original amounts of original recipe - I can't make small batches of soup! I pack it up in plastic containers and take them to work. *Please note that preparation time may vary. I'm a slow chopper and I accounted for that in the given time below!"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 15mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Yields: 3-4 Quarts
• Serves: 8-12

ingredients

• 1⁄4 cup olive oil (or thereabouts)
• 1 1⁄2 large onions, chopped fine
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped medium
• 4 celery ribs, chopped medium
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 large bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
• 2 cups lentils
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper
• 8 cups vegetable broth
• 3 cups water
• 8 ounces spinach, baby whole or 8 ounces regular spinach, chopped

directions

1. Heat olive oil at medium-high heat.
2. Add onions, carrots and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften (4-8 minutes).
3. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (30 seconds).
4. Stir in tomatoes, bay leaf and thyme; cook until fragrant (30 seconds).
5. Stir in lentils, salt and pepper to taste.
6. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until vegetables are softened and lentils have darkened *7-10 minutes).
7. Uncover, add vegetable broth and water.
8. Bring to a boil, cover partially, and reduce heat to low.
9. Simmer until lentils are tender but not mushy (30-35 minutes).
10. Discard bay leaf.
11. Puree 3 cups soup in blender until smooth, then return puree to pot.
12. Stir in spinach until wilted.
13. Serve! (or place in plastic containers for work!).

Reviews

[Deb from Ca]

Delicious soup, easy recipe! My whole family and my son's friends loved this soup! I used kale instead of spinach just because I think it holds up better in soup and gives a little extra texture. I also add a small can of tomato sauce, a bit of crushed red chiles and cooked it for a couple of hours...just our preference. I served it the corn muffins which were the perfect complement to this hearty soup. We have several vegetarians in our family, so this is definitely a keeper! Thanks for the recipe!

 

[DPar6310]

This was so good, even my meat loving son in law ate several bowls.

 

[elimaddy]

I can't believe that more people haven't tried/reviewed this recipe. It's great! I've tried it twice. It's really tasty AND easy to make, healthy, filling. If you have an immersion blender, use that to smooth it out. Thanks to Chef #698258 for creating & posting this recipe!