Chicken Lentil Soup Recipe
This Chicken Lentil Soup Recipe is a hearty, filling recipe that is perfect for those chilly days. Shredded chicken is mixed with red lentils, vegetables, warm spices and topped with fresh herbs. You will love this easy soup that also freezes well!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup diced sweet onion
- 2 medium carrots diced
- 3 celery stalks diced
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne red pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 1 1/2 cups red lentils, rinsed and picked over
- Juice of 1 lemon optional
- 3 cups shredded chicken
- Fresh dill chopped
- Fresh parsley chopped
- Crushed red pepper for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the 3 Tablespoons olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat.
- Sauté the onion and garlic until soft, about 2 minutes then add the cumin, turmeric, coriander, ginger, curry powder, cayenne red pepper, salt and black pepper and continue to sauté about 4 minutes until the spices bloom.
- Add the carrots and celery and sauté until carrots are tender, about 8-10 minutes.
- Add the vegetable broth and lentils and stir to combine.
- Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, or until lentils are tender.
- Stir in the lemon juice {optional}. If you want to pureed all or half of the soup with an immersion blender or blender do that now.
- Stir in the shredded chicken.
- Serve the soup with dill, parsley and crushed red pepper.
Notes
- Storage: You can store this soup in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You may want to stir in more broth or water when you reheat the soup. Somtimes the liquid gets soaked into the lentils.
- Freezing: This soup freezes very well if you want to have leftovers. Let it cool completely before freezing in an air tight container for up to 3 months.
- If you want a bit thicker of a soup add 2-3 Tablespoons of tomato paste once the onion, garlic and carrots are cooked.
- Some other additions that are nice include quinoa or couscous, chickpeas, grilled chicken, butternut squash or zucchini.
Nutrition
Serving: 6g | Calories: 376kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 1223mg | Potassium: 769mg | Fiber: 15g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 4076IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 5mg