Turkish Red Lentil Soup
Full of bold flavors of smoked paprika, mint and lemon, this Turkish lentil soup is full of hearty grains such as lentils and rice and is gluten free and made in nearly 30 minutes.
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 270kcal
Cost: $10
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ red onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper seeds removed and diced
- 2 garlic cloves chopped finely
- 2 tablesopoons butter or ghee
- 2 tablespoons olive oil + more for garnish
- 1 tablespoon dried mint
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon Turkish red pepper or other red pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 medium sized tomato chopped and seeds removed
- 1 lemon zested (about 1-2 Tb of zest) + lemon wedges for garnish
- 1 cup dried red lentils
- ¼ cup basmati rice
- ¼ cup red quinoa or other quinoa, but black will take longer to cook
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- Fresh herbs for garnish parsley, mint and/or chives
Instructions
- In a large pot, add the butter and olive oil and saute the chopped onion and red bell pepper until the pepper is tender, about 5-8 minutes. Then add the chopped garlic and saute until fragrant, for another minute
- Add the dried mint, paprika and Turkish red pepper (or you can substitute regular red pepper and stir the spices together in the oil
- Stir in the tomato paste, chopped tomato and lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Allow the tomatoes to cook for 1-2 minutes to soften.
- Add the dried red lentils, white rice and red quinoa and stir all of the grains together so the flavors coat all of the grains.
- Add 6 cups of vegetable broth and bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, bring down to a strong simmer and cook the soup for about 30 minutes until rice, lentils and quinoa are tender. Taste for doneness and seasoning and adjust as needed.
- Once soup is cooked, turn off the heat use an immersion blender to puree some of the soup for a smoother texture.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with a squeeze of lemon, drizzle of olive oil, top with fresh herbs.
Notes
- Either red or orange lentils will work for this recipe since both cook down fairly quickly.
- To blend the soup, use either an immersion blender or ladle soup in a blender. I like some texture and chose to not blend it all the way.
- This can be made in the slow cooker as well! Do the recipe as written and add soup to the slow cooker on low for 6 hours.
- To make this lentil soup vegan, just omit the butter and use only olive oil.
Nutrition
Calories: 270kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 125mg | Potassium: 760mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1551IU | Vitamin C: 41mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 4mg