Simple Red Lentil Minestrone Soup
Sometimes you just crave something simple, comforting, and nourishing. This red lentil minestrone soup checks all those boxes. Cozy up to a bowl today!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup celery diced (approximately 2 medium stalks)
- ¾ cup carrots diced (approximately 2 medium carrots)
- 1 cup yellow squash diced (approximately 1 small yellow squash)
- 1 cup zucchini diced (approximately 1 small zucchini)
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon onion powder (or ¼ cup red onion, diced)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder (or 2 cloves garlic, minced)
- 4 cups low-sodium or no-sodium vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with their juices
- ¾ cup red lentils
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 handfuls spinach leaves
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice (to taste)
- cracked black pepper (to taste)
Optional
- ½ cup uncooked chickpea pasta
Instructions
- Cook the vegetables: Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable broth in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the celery, carrots, yellow squash, and zucchini and cook the vegetables over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for approximately 8 minutes.
- Season the vegetables: Add Italian seasoning, onion powder, and garlic powder to the pot and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, until the vegetables are coated with seasoning and have softened. If needed, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of vegetable broth to prevent sticking.
- Add the lentils, liquids, and tomatoes: To the pot, add the rest of the vegetable broth, water, diced tomatoes with their juices, red lentils, and tomato paste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the vegetables are fork-tender.
- Add the finishing touches: Stir in the spinach leaves, nutritional yeast, and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Add cracked black pepper and additional lemon juice, a half teaspoon at a time, to taste. Remove from heat and serve when the spinach leaves have wilted.
- If including pasta (optional): While the soup is simmering, in a separate pot, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and stir the cooked pasta into the soup at the end.
Notes
- If you are adding pasta to the soup, I recommend cooking it separately and adding it to the soup at the end, as noted in the recipe. While you'll have one less pot to clean if you cook it in the same pot as the lentils and other ingredients, doing so will impact the flavor of the soup. This is especially the case with grain-free pastas (like chickpea pasta), which often release a scummy foam as they cook.