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    You are here: Home / Recipes / Soups, Salads & Pasta / italian lentil soup

    italian lentil soup

    Jan 1, 2015 · 14 Comments

    This Italian Lentil Soup is simple to make, but hearty and delicious! This is rustic Italian cooking at it's finest. Serve with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil on top, and crusty bread!

    italian lentil soup | The Baking Fairy

    Happy 2015, my loves! The first thing I am sharing this year is straight from my Italian mamma's kitchen, her amazing Lentil Soup. Traditionally, lentils are eaten in Italy on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day for good luck and wealth in the new year, but truth be told, we make this soup all the time and it's delicious! I mentioned on my Facebook page that my family traditionally eats lentils on NYE and I had a reader ask me for a good lentil soup recipe... so, here we are! Ask and you shall receive, my friends. This is incredibly simple but it packs tons of savory, delicious flavor! It's healthy without compromising any richness, and it's the best way to kick off the new year. Resolutions to lose weight and eat better, anyone? This fits right into your new diet, I promise. 🙂

    italian lentil soup | The Baking Fairy  italian lentil soup | The Baking Fairy

    My mom's family is from Puglia, a region in southern Italy, so a lot of the traditional foods are very simple, peasant recipes! This lentil soup is vegan {because guess what, animal products are expensive!}, and just uses dried lentils, onions, celery, tomatoes, bay leaves, and a little bit of salt and olive oil. Don't be deceived by it's simplicity, that's what makes it so incredibly good! If you're not a soup person, making this with a bit less water turns it into a creamy lentil side dish, perfect alongside grilled chicken or a yummy roast. Please enjoy this authentic Italian recipe, straight from my kitchen to yours. May your new year be full of luck, wealth, and good health {and lentils}!

    italian lentil soup | The Baking Fairy

     

    5.0 from 3 reviews
    italian lentil soup
     
    Save Print
    Prep time
    10 mins
    Cook time
    60 mins
    Total time
    1 hour 10 mins
     
    Author: Valentina | The Baking Fairy
    Recipe type: Vegetarian
    Serves: 6 bowls
    Ingredients
    • 1 lb {1 normal bag} dry lentils
    • ½ white onion, chopped
    • 2-3 stalks celery, chopped
    • 1 tomato, chopped {or a handful of baby tomatoes, cut in half}
    • ½ tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 vegetable bouillon cube
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 2 teaspoon salt, to taste
    • water
    Instructions
    1. First, sort and rinse your lentils. Sometimes, small rocks or other weird stuff ends up in the bags, so make sure you're only eating lentils!
    2. In a large nonstick pot, combined the onion, celery, tomato, olive oil, and cleaned lentils. Add in the bay leaves, salt, and bouillon cube, then add enough water to cover everything in the pot plus a couple inches on top.
    3. Cover, and cook on medium-low heat for 60-70 minutes, until the lentils are soft and flavorful. Add more water, if needed, to make it "soupier," or cook, uncovered, for a bit longer for thicker, creamier lentils.
    4. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil on top, and crusty bread!
    3.2.2885

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Megan - The Emotional Baker says

      January 05, 2015 at 1:23 pm

      What a delicious looking soup! I can guarantee I'll be trying it very soon 🙂

      Reply
    2. Marie says

      January 30, 2015 at 9:58 am

      i would think italian lentil soup would include "garlic"? I use it in mine...it's delicious.
      What makes it Italian? The ingredients are the norm? Celery, onions tomatoes.
      I make this soup frequently. It's a keeper.

      Reply
      • [email protected] says

        January 30, 2015 at 11:46 am

        Hi Marie! I am full-blooded Italian, and this is the way my mom has always made the soup, so that's what makes it Italian for me 🙂

        Reply
    3. Doug says

      February 20, 2015 at 11:09 am

      Thanks for the recipe - ever try this with red lentils? For some reason - I have trouble with the color of regular lentils...it doesn't seem appealing to me.

      Reply
      • [email protected] says

        February 20, 2015 at 11:11 pm

        Hi Doug! I have personally never tried red lentils, but I'm sure they are similar enough to regular lentils to where you could make this recipe with them. Let me know how that works out for you! 🙂

        Reply
    4. Scott Williams says

      April 10, 2017 at 12:33 pm

      Lentil soup has always been my favorite and I really liked you version of it. I agree with doug. Red lentils are the best! Thanks for sharing 🙂

      Reply
    5. Paul (On The Gas) says

      January 04, 2018 at 11:25 am

      This Lentil Soup recipe was incredible and it helped my child recover from the flu because they loved the flavor. Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe.
      Cheers Paul

      Reply
    6. Vince Trombetta says

      May 25, 2019 at 3:11 pm

      Will make it today. I have a bag of red lentils, but the date shows best use by 2018. Do you think they're ok to use?

      Vince

      Reply
      • valentina says

        May 27, 2019 at 1:58 pm

        Hey Vince! I personally would not use them, as even if they were best by December 2018, we are already almost 6 months past that! I also have never made this soup with red lentils so I don't think I would recommend them here. Traditional green lentils would work best!

        Reply
    7. Jess says

      October 07, 2019 at 2:59 pm

      Hi! Could this be made in a slow cooker? Would be great to prepare in the morning and have it ready to come home to! 🙂

      Reply
      • valentina says

        October 07, 2019 at 5:01 pm

        Hi Jess! I’ve never tried it but I think it would work well! I would do it on low if it’s gonna be most of the day so that the lentils don’t get too mushy!

        Reply
    8. Carlee says

      July 16, 2021 at 4:32 am

      Thank you for your recipes, both the Apple Cake and this Lentil soup one - will be trying them both soon as they sound super delicious!

      My Sicilian mother in law used to made (and I still make it on a time poor evening for dinner!) Fennel Seed / Fenocchio and Lentil pasta soup, the ingredients are really simple (green lentils, fennel seeds - fennel leaves too if you have them, pasta, water and salt) and it’s on the table in around 30 minutes! 20 minutes for the lentils and the extra time to cook the pasta. It’s peasants’ fare but just a really good, vegan Italian meal.

      Reply
      • valentina says

        July 28, 2021 at 2:23 pm

        Thank you so much for your sweet comment, Carlee! This lentil soup is definitely a family favorite. I love your version with the fennel, sounds delicious! I do have a really hard time finding fennel in the US but I would love to try it. I have been wanting to veganize the italian apple cake so I do hope to be able to share that at some point!

        Reply
    9. Wylie says

      September 20, 2022 at 1:26 pm

      Wifey keeps saying "Don't mess with success. Stick with the Rheinlander Lentil soup recipe." Well. This recipe looks much easier and too good to pass up. Thank you. Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana copycat recipe just got crossed off the to-do list.

      Reply

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    Hi! My name is Valentina and I'm The Baking Fairy! Pediatric physician assistant by day and food blogger extraordinaire by night. Full-blooded Italian, but I've lived in Texas for most of my life. I love margaritas, brownies, avocados, and my mamma's homemade pizza. Married to my high school sweetheart (who is ALSO a pediatrician). My mission is to make plant-based cooking fun and delicious, one recipe at a time. I want to show people that vegan food is not just for vegans!

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