Slow Cooker Red Lentil Soup
Ginny McMeans
Published:
August 22, 2023
Last Modified:
July 15, 2024
Slow Cooker Red Lentil Soup is so easy and the flavors are diverse and rich. It’s a soup the whole family will love and they’ll also want it over and over again.
Slow Cooker Red Lentil Soup is so tasty and it came out so good! The flavors are diverse and rich and my husband loves it.
There is something I have to tell you about Ed. He puts saltine crackers in every soup or chowder that he sees.
No question or thought – he just adds the saltines. Thank goodness he loves this with his signature saltines (oh, well).
I love it too, sans the crackers, and so will you. 🙂
You can easily double this recipe. Just make sure your crock-pot will be big enough. That would be 8 servings.
This plant-based stew is loved by everyone and if it isn’t gone on the first night the leftovers will be just as good.
If you serve it with grilled panini sandwiches on the side then you will definitely have leftovers – or go back to the original recipe that serves 4.
And, of course, you can freeze leftovers for another night. That’s always a good thing. Just reheat and serve – to all.
Have you ever heard of a ‘dump’ recipe? I think it all started with cakes where you mix everything in a pan and then bake.
Well, cooking has evolved and there are ‘dump and go’ recipes for slow cookers too. That is what I would call this recipe.
There is nothing missing and all the texture and spices are there. The difference is that you don’t have to do any pre-sautéing or soaking.
The flavors and quality all come through.
All the flavors meld over the long period so that you can walk into your home smelling the great aroma of a home-cooked meal. It is truly a ‘dump and go’ soup and it tastes delicious.
Ingredients
- Red lentils are sturdier than brown lentils.
- Vegetable broth adds flavorful liquid for the soup.
- Carrots are sweet and cut into very small pieces for quick cooking.
- Tomatoes add lots of tasty juices.
- Tomato paste adds rich flavors for the base of this soup.
- Onion is the best base for so many recipes. They cook up sweet and taste great.
- Garlic has a pungent flavor but when used sparingly it is delicious.
- Lemon juice just a little bit to add a tangy flavor.
- Ground cumin is also unusual but gives more of a tasty kick.
- Dried basil has a peppery taste and wonderful aroma.
- Dried thyme is very earthy and a little bit sweet, with a slight mint taste.
- Chili powder the king of spices for this soup and adds spicy heat.
- Black pepper adds a bit of contrasting spice.
Instructions
- You don’t have to pre-soak lentils. That makes this an even easier soup.
- Put everything in the slow cooker and cook on low 8 hours or on high 4 hours.
- Add salt to taste, if needed.
- This is what you could call a dump and go recipe.
I have a few more slow cooker soup recipes on the blog and here is another lentil one you might want to take a peek at.
It is Slow Cooker Lentil Vegetable Soup. Just a heads up. And how about a peek at what it looks like too?
More Crockpot Soup Recipes
- Slow Cooker Exotic Mushroom Soup makes for a perfect romantic meal.
- A classic – Slow Cooker Navy Bean Soup.
- Slow Cooker Tomato Soup from Scratch is addictive.
You see, I love soup. I think everybody does and I’m not even at the end of making the ones I have swirling around in my mind.
There are already 25 soup recipes on my blog. Ha! Yeah, soup’s good stuff!
Red lentil soup is also more of an unusual one and you get an extra bonus because it has so much protein.
How do you freeze red lentil soup
- IF FREEZING:
- Let cool to room temperature. Package in rigid sided containers.
- TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING:
- Remove from the freezer and put in the refrigerator overnight because it is a pretty solid mass and will take longer to defrost.
- THE NIGHT OF SERVING:
- Put all in a large saucepan and heat through. You can add more broth if you think it is too thick. Ready to serve.
Slow Cooker Red Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups red lentils dried
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 3 carrots cut into chunks
- 14 ounces tomatoes canned, another ounce more is good too, depends on your can size
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic very finely diced or minced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- You don’t have to pre-soak lentils. That makes this an even easier soup.
- Put everything in the slow cooker and cook on low 8 hours or on high 4 hours. Â
- Add salt to taste, if needed.
- This is what you could call a dump and go recipe.
Video
Nutrition
112 responses to “Slow Cooker Red Lentil Soup”
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I have really come to like lentils. This soup looks great and it is great for you!
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Thanks Peter! You are so right.
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Hi!
How well do you think this would work with a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes? Do you think reducing the broth would be sufficient?
Thanks!-
You could add the larger can of tomatoes but it would definitely be more ‘tomatoy’. It would change the flavor balance but it might be really good. Just different. I would not reduce the broth by much – maybe 4-6 ounces or the soup might become a stew. That might be okay too. You could add another carrot if you were going for a stew.
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I did it the way she was asking about. I took out the tomato paste and subbed one extra can of tomatoes. I used 2 14oz. cans of chicken broth, so I guess it reduced the chicken broth by about 4 oz. I don’t think it really increased the tomato taste. It still had plenty of lentil taste
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Hi,
Just wanted to update you. I’m in Canada, and the smallest can of diced tomatoes I could find was 19 oz. I used the whole can, maintained the amount of broth, but decreased the tomato paste to 3 oz.
It was soooooo yummy!
Thanks again for all your recipes, I love your blog.-
Thank you so much and Wonderful! You are a GOOD cook!
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Can green lentils be used instead of red?
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Yes, you sure can. Thanks for asking Dee.
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My husband made this last evening. It was very tasty, however I had to add more water, it was just too thick. Next time I would add more vegetable broth (at least a cup) and towards the end add some small pasta too. Wonderful and healthy!
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That sounds like a great addition. Thanks so much!
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Thanks for this fantastic recipe, which I found on Pinterest. We made it last weekend and it was a big hit – a definite keeper we’ll enjoy again and again!
Though it was delicious as written, we’re spice-lovers so we upped the cumin to 2 teaspoons, and added two cooked potatoes (diced) that we had on hand at the very end, just long enough for them to heat through. The results were delicious and thick and hearty and abundant – we’re still enjoying the yummy leftovers (though it’s nice to know we can freeze it if so inclined!) Love how easy it is, and the mouth-watering aromatherapy as it cooked was an added delight! 🙂
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I understand about the spices. The cumin sounds really good too. I would put cumin in a lot of things but Ed does not love it so much. So glad you enjoyed it and thanks for letting me know. P.S. I love Pinterest.
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Hi Ginny,
My Mum (who lives interstate), is elderly & lives on her own. She recently bought a slow cooker & is having trouble finding simple recipes. She needs basic recipes without too many additions and small portions. I’m glad I found your site as slow cooker recipes don’t seem very popular, at least on my search engine. I’d love to hear what you have to suggest. It was great to read everyone’s comments about the lentil soup! I think I’ll pull out the cooker (left at the back of the cupboard when my daughter left home!) and give it a a go myself.-
Hi JJ! I am so glad you have found me. I added Slow Cooker to my menu bar so that you could find my list of recipes more easily. The Edamamme Succotash (she could use lima beans instead of the edamame) is really easy. Also the mushrooms, black beans, rice and mushrooms and black eyed peas are easy. They don’t have any of the faux meats in them (I am also getting away from these because of GMO’s). Slow Cooker recipes are still very popular but try the words Crock Pot. You might find more that way. Does your mum get confused yet? Maybe you could find recipes and rewrite them for her in a simplified manner. I try to make mine really easy. Hope you get to make the lentil soup. Thanks for your interest and welcome!
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Thank you, this is in my slow cooker now! There’s a red pepper and some celery in too for good measure since they needed to be used. Dinner is on for tonight.
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That sounds like some great additions. You are going to love it! Thanks for the support too! 🙂
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This was delicious!! Served it over steamed cauliflower for a “meatless Monday” dinner! House smelled great, will also try over sweet potatoes.. Thanks so much for sharing it..
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Fantastic! That sounds so good over steamed cauliflower. Good idea! My pleasure and keep coming back. 🙂
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This looks so good and so comforting!!
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It is Ashley! Thanks!
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I made this recipe last night. Huge hit! It was my families first experience w Lentils. Even my 4 year old ate her entire portion. I was wondering if you had the nutrition facts for this recipe? Such as, calories, fat, dietary fiber per serving. thanks!
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That is so wonderful! Love that your little child enjoyed it too. Makes me smile so big. I am sorry but I don’t have any of those nutrition facts. I have tried some apps but they never seem to match. At least not close enough for me to put on the blog. This soup is soooo good for you though. Lentils are way up there on the GOOD list.
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Hi! :] I was planning on making this but I have a few questions… Should my veggie broth be salted or unsalted? And should I drain my can of diced tomatoes before dumping them in? Thank you! I hope to make this in the near future!
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You can use unsalted but you might want to use a little sea salt to taste. I used salted. No, don’t drain the tomatoes. You want their juice. I am glad you are going to make it. I think you will be very happy.
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HI.I am not a fan of using tomatoes/food out of a can. Would you suggest stewing a few fresh tomatoes or adding one or two fresh chopped tomatoes to substitute and add more broth?
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Fresh ones, diced, would work beautifully!
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Hi, I am new in the slow cooker business. I want to make this soup for a party. Can I double the recipe? Thanks in advance!
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Yes Miriam, it will double up perfectly. Juts make sure you have a big enough slowcooker to hold it all. 🙂
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Can’t wait to try this recipe and see more of them.
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Hi. This recipe sounds and looks so good. Can’t wait to try it.
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That is great!
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I’m thinking the crackers in everything may be a guy thing – my husband does that too!
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Ha! You might be right. 🙂
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I love how much flavor this has! It came out thicker than I expected but I think I actually prefer it that way. It’s pretty and smells great, too. Thanks so much!
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You are so welcome Max! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
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I added some chopped fresh spinach at the end. Yummy!
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That really sounds good too! Thanks Peter!
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Thanks for this recipe. I had bought some red lentils for some recipe a while back and then couldn’t remember or find what I was going to make. This looks like it’s going to be great! You didn’t say and so I used my 4 quart slow cooker, then I notice you linked to a 6 qt. I hope it’s okay, I’ll just keep my eye on it I guess, there’s 3 inches or so of room for expansion. Thanks again!
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Yes, that will still work. It does not expand much at all and 3″ will be enough. I am glad you found this recipe and I think you will be very happy.
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Do you have the nutritional info for this recipe? Thanks!
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No, I am sorry I do not.
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I’m trying this out for the first time…followed your recipe exactly, except I added a bunch of kale that I needed to use up. Hope it’s good! We’ll find out in 6 hours or so. Thanks!
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Wonderful! Good & Easy. The kale was a nice addition, so I’m making it again today & I’m purposely adding kale for the extra oommph of nutrition & color…probably wait until the last hour or so of cooking.
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That is wonderful Karen! I bet the kale really did turn out good in there. Thanks for the tip.
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How long would I cook this in my Instant Pot? any idea?? thank you.
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Hi, I am so sorry but I don’t even know what an Instant Pot is. I will have to research that. If I can figure out how this would work with it I will come right back. Thanks for your question.
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Délicieuse cette soupe, merci pour le partage.
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Merci Martine! 🙂
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Hi, they will taste as god but the texture will be a little different. Brown lentils aren’t as firm as red lentils when they are cooked. Thanks for asking. 🙂
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Made this and it is amazing! I doubled the spices, added an extra cup of water, and an extra can of tomatoes. Very easy to make and a great comfort food. So yummy. Thanks!
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Fantastic Krista! I am so glad you enjoyed it so much. Love how you changed it up a bit too.
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I made this today exactly as written and I love it! This will be one of my favorite soups. It’s a definite keeper! Thank you!
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Love to hear that Pam! That is such a good thing to hear 🙂
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I just made this on the stovetop because I wanted it for lunch. It was easy and delicious! Would only be better in a slow cooker.
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Great Joelle! Good to know that it can be thrown together quickly too. Thanks 🙂
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Going to try this today. I especially like how there wasn’t 9 miles of photos before you get to the recipe like on most food pages. 🙂
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Thanks so much. I am glad to hear your thought on the photos. I fight with myself on whether I should add more photos or tell longer stories, like some. I guess I am a short and sweet kind of girl – even though I am 5’10”. 🙂
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Looks delicious! Can you tell me what sized can of tomatoes you use?
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14.5 ounce. Your can can be another ounce also and it will be fine.
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Horayyy I found you again! I made your soup and then someone closed my page so I was panicking after is turned out so amazingly well. The soup has a Mexican style flavour which my whole family loved. I served with a slice of homemade quiche and had no leftovers.
Thanks so much for sharing the recipe I will definitely be reusing this.
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Oh, great! Thank you so much for your kind words and I am glad you found me again!
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Looking forward to trying your delicious looking soup. Is it my imagination or are there corn kernels in the soup and can I make this stove top with the same results. Thank you
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It sure looks like it Maureen. I’ll go check my original notes. I may have missed that when I was typing. It is probably not more than 8 ounces. Evidently it is delicious without corn because I get compliments on it. 🙂 Yes, stove top can work too.
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do you happen to know the calorie/nutritional value?
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No Gail. I am sorry but I don’t have this information at this point but am working on a program that is as accurate as it can be.
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I don’t like tomatoes, so can I make this without the diced tomatoes and tomato paste? Also, do I put in more of the broth since I won’t be putting tomatoes in the soup?
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That is a tough one Jan because the tomatoes are such a major part of the recipe flavor. All I can say is give it a try and, yes, add about a cup more liquid. You could add another type bean if you like such as navy beans or even a potato.
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Coconut milk go good in this?
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Yes Joy! Definitely 🙂
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I accidentally added in 6 oz of tomato paste instead and it is in the crockpot now! Hope it will still turn out. Thank you for posting this 🙂
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You might want to add a little more water. Like maybe 1/4 cup just to cut it down a little bit. I think it will be fine. Thanks for trying it 🙂
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I took your advice and added the water. I’m glad I did, my whole family loved it and I will be making it again!
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Fantastic Haley! I am so glad. 🙂
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This only makes 4 servings … can I easily just double the ingredients and still have a good result?
thanks … the soup does look yummy!-
Yes LeeAnn – no problem at all.
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Can I add more vegatables to this? If so, any suggestions?
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Yes, you sure can P 🙂 You can add more of the same or to make it really hearty you can add cut up potatoes. Some kale added at the end could be really good too.
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Loved how quick and easy this was to prepare and tastes so good.. Thank you very much for sharing!!
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Fantastic Stewart and thanks for letting me know! You are so welcome 🙂
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This only makes 4 servings? will this be ok to leave for the week as my meal prep?
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Maybe I should up that serving amount to 6. 🙂 I was think a lot per person wasn’t I? 6 servings should give about 1 1/2 cups each. Yes, you could prep everything before hand and add it to the crock-pot later.
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The soup was delicious! Definitely something I’ll make again but that sodium count seems awfully high. The per serving amount is half of the recommended sodium for the day. Is that right?
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Thank you so much Ella. Oh, these nutrition counters make me nervous. 🙂 I’ll go double check. Be right back.
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I’m back 🙂 Most of the sodium comes from using so much Vegetable Broth. That is so high in sodium. I took the 1 teaspoon of salt out of the recipe. That helped a bit. You can choose low sodium vegetable broth to help curtail the amount of sodium and then add in the salt that you like. I’m sure it will come out lower that way. Homemade vegetable broth would be wonderful too but you really do need all 6 cups for the recipe. Thanks again for your kind words!
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Hi Ginny,
Thanks so much for the quick response. Big sigh of relief on my part. I used unsalted vegetable broth, so the sodium content will be much lower than listed and closer to my comfort zone. Like I said, the soup was delicious. Despite the lack of salt from my broth, the overall flavors were wonderful. 🙂
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Thank you for this recipe. it’s rainy and cold here and the perfect time for this soup, so I will make something like your soup for my husband soon. I hope he is gonna like it. -
Thanks for the great recipe. This looks great. it’s rainy and cold here and the perfect time for this soup, I will make something like your soup for my boyfriend soon.I hope he is gonna like it.
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post-Christmas meals, cake, cookies, candy…
perfect soup!
Happy teenagers (and mom and dad)Thanks!
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Hi!! This looks wonderful. How long should I cook it using a regular pot? I don’t have a slow cooker ? Thank you in advance!
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It shouldn’t take long at all Tal. 30 to 40 minutes.
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I’ve been on a huge soup kick lately, and even though this one screams WINTER COMFORT FOOD and it’s already in the low 70s here on San Francisco Bay…wait…low 70s? YEP! Don’t ask. Still, this recipe just sounds…well…YUMMY!!! (That, and easy – and I have things to do in and around the boat today that will keep me out of the galley, so…)
I’m thinking a good sourdough toast with an herbed butter (Miyoko’s for the win!) would accompany this nicely! Add a glass of Cabernet or Chardonnay (either would work) and voilà !
I’ll have to halve the recipe since my Crock Pot is only a tiny little 3-quart jobby-do (it’s just me in this boat with two cats, and I really doubt they’d want any), but I’m going to be eating well tonight! It WAS going to be a Greek cabbage soup until I saw this, and I’ve been craving some lentils lately!
Thanks, Ginny!
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Well, it had to wait until tonight (the 20th since I wasn’t feeling well on the 18th), but it was cold, rainy, windy, and nasty – PERFECT soup weather! I was in a rush since I overslept a little, so I didn’t get the measurements QUITE exact – came home to more of a red lentil STEW than a soup, but that suits me just fine. I sampled a spoonful and it was fantastic! (I also added just a little hot sauce to “kick it up a notch”). It’s almost done, and I’m starved! Seriously, it couldn’t be easier – just dump it in and go, even in my little mini crock! I’m taking some to work for lunch tomorrow and freezing the rest. Thank you!-
You are so welcome Cap’n Dave! Thanks so much for letting us know!!!
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If I make this in a 1-3 qt crock pot will it be OK if I 1/2 the ingredients?
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I don’t see why that wouldn’t work Susan. It if has low, medium and high then I think it would be fine.
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This lentil soup recipe looks great! I’ll get to taste it at 4am, when it’s done! I need more high protein recipes without meat. I only get about 15grams a day. Any suggestions?
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I’m glad you made it Traci! Just about everything we eat has some protein but, yes, 15 grams is too low. Off the top of my head, the high protein foods are legumes and veggies, oats, green beans, tofu, seitan, all nuts. Mix these things with nut milk and greens and you’ll get plenty.
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If I don’t have red lentils, can I use green lentils?
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Yes, I think it would be delicious Hannah. They would hold up well in the slow cooker.
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