A hot bowl of soup made from pantry staples and ready in 30 minutes this, lentil quinoa soup is an excellent weeknight meal. Bursting with plant protein, high fiber, and essential nutrients, it's not just a good detox soup but this filling soup freezes well for easy meal prep recipes.
Ingredient Notes
Lentils- are a great source of plant-based protein and fiber. For this recipe you want red lentils. Green lentils, black lentils, and french lentils would take to long tp cook and would require a different amount water.
Learn more about these amazing legumes, and their health benefits, how to cook lentils, and check out my ever-growing list of lentil recipes. (I most definitely obsessed with lentils)
Jalapeño- Do you like your soup spicy? Then just chop the jalapeño up and throw the whole thing in, seeds and membranes included. For milder pallets split the jalapeño and remove the white membrane and seeds. Chop up the green flesh and toss it into the soup.
Just make sure you wash your hands after this step; you don’t want to rub jalapeño juice in your eyes accidentally. Which I have done on more than one occasion.
Spices- are the key to the flavor if this red lentil quinoa soup with a Moroccan inspired blend of: ground cumin, chili powder, coriander, cinnamon, dried thyme and turmeric.
Preserved lemons are a pantry staple in our household. They are super easy to make but are also not hard to find in grocery stores.
If you don’t have preserved lemons don’t hesitate to make the soup without them. It’s still delicious. Just squeeze lime or lemon juice over the top after cooking and before serving.
Diced tomatoes are probably the easiest, but any kind of canned tomatoes works just fine. If you have whole peeled tomatoes in your pantry go ahead and use them. Toward the end of the cooking just use the back of your spoon to crush the tomatoes up in the soup.
Instructions
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onions, diced garlic, and diced jalapeno pepper, and sauté until the onions are translucent and aromatic.
Next, stir in the chopped carrots and red bell pepper. Cook for a few minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.
Add tomato paste and spices (ground cumin, chili powder, coriander, cinnamon, dried thyme, turmeric), stirring until the spices become fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
Incorporate the remaining ingredients, except for the raisins. Bring the soup to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the lentils and quinoa are tender.
Finally, add the raisins to the soup and allow them to plump up. Remove the bay leaf and serve with fresh parsley or cilantro.
Tips, Tricks and Alterations
- Do not be tempted to add more quinoa. It will seem liquidy at first but don't worry the lentils and quinoa will absorb most of it.
- Add some baby spinach in the last 5 minutes to pack even more nutrition in to this hearty soup
- Sever with toasted pita bread or a slice of bread.
More great soup recipes:
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Red curry lentils with sweet potatoes and spinach
- Black Bean Soup
- Chickpea Curry Soup with Roasted Cashews
Recipe
Lentil Quinoa Soup
Equipment
- Dutch oven or large pot
- Sharp knife
- Vegetable peeler
- Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 1 Onion (chopped)
- 6 cloves of garlic (diced)
- 3 carrots (peeled and chopped)
- 1 bell pepper (chopped)
- 1 fresh jalapeno pepper (diced)
- Olive oil
- ½ preserved lemon (chopped)
- 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 4 cup chicken (or vegetable) broth
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ¾ cup lentils
- ¼ cup quinoa
- ½ cup raisins
Optional
- fresh cilantro for garnish
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice (if you don’t have preserved lemon)
- greek yogurt for topping
Instructions
- In a dutch-ove saute the onion in oil on medium-high heat.
- Press and add the garlic.
- Chop and add carrots, peppers, and preserved lemon.
- Let vegetables cook for 5 minutes and then add tomatoes with liquid and broth.
- Stir in the spices.
- Add and stir in quinoa and lentils
- Bring to a boil and lower to a gentle simmer for 11-13 minutes.
- Stir in the raisins.
- Serve as is, or with a scoop of greek yogurt and chop cilantro.
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