Carrot and Lentil Soup

Easy and delicious Carrot and Lentil Soup is made with simple ingredients in just 30 minutes! It's high in protein, full of flavor, kid-tested, and parent-approved! Your kids will love it!

Course dinner, Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American, Mediterranean

Diet Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings servings

Calories 176kcal

Author Kristi

Equipment

1 Dutch Oven
1 Food Chopper
1 Garlic press to mince fresh garlic

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
1 onion chopped.
4-5 carrots Medium sized. Washed and sliced - see notes.
4 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup lentils rinsed and drained
6 cups vegetable broth Can use chicken broth or stock (if you prefer). See notes.
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon black pepper
salt to taste (see notes)

Instructions

Heat oil in a Dutch Oven over medium heat.
1 tbsp olive oil
Add finely chopped onions and sliced carrots. Sauté until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
1 onion, 4-5 carrots
Add minced garlic. Cook for one minute.
4 garlic cloves
Add cumin, turmeric, and thyme. Stir into vegetables.
1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp ground turmeric
Stir in lentils and broth. Bring to a boil.
1 cup lentils, 6 cups vegetable broth
Reduce heat to bring it to a simmer. Cook for 30-35 minutes (see notes).
Add balsamic vinegar and black pepper. Stir.
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, ½ teaspoon black pepper, salt
Enjoy!

Notes

To make this soup most kid-friendly, chop onion and carrots until they are about the size of a cooked lentil. A good quality food chopper will save you so much time.
Carefully taste the soup before adding salt to it. If you are using broth made without sodium, you will likely want to add some salt.
If you would like a thinner soup, you can add an additional 0.5 - 1 cup of broth (or water).
If no one in your family requires a salt restriction, I suggest adding a half teaspoon of salt the first time you make this, keeping in mind that store-bought chicken and vegetable broths contain salt (sodium). Once you have your kids sold on this soup, consider gradually reducing the amount of salt each time you make it.
Use either brown or green lentils.
Increase cooking time to 35 minutes if using green lentils.
To save time, use pre-cooked steamed lentils and simmer for only about ten minutes. You can find them in the produce section of Trader Joe's grocery stores.
To save time, you can use pre-packaged Mirepoix (diced onion, carrots, and celery) found in the produce section of most grocery stores.
This lentil soup can be made ahead of time and reheated either on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Up to two cups of the broth can be substituted with water, if needed. However, if using less-sodium broth, I do not suggest substituting any of it with water. I tried it and it didn't taste very good ;)

Nutrition