An easy and delicious gluten-free and vegetarian soup to warm up with on chilly days. Comes together in 15 minutes, then simmers to a flavorful, hearty soup! Pair with our Easy Gluten-Free Cornbread and you have a meal! Bonus, makes a large quantity that freezes and reheats well.
Actually, my son and husband love soup all year round but I tend to eat soup only when the weather turns colder. And as of the last week, Fall air has officially arrived in the Northeast and soup is now a regular in the rotation.
This lentil soup is a long time favorite of my husband and mine.
In fact, it was my husband who requested this homemade lentil-tomato soup tonight.
Recipe from Cooking Light, with a few adaptations, we have been making it for as long as I can remember and each time it taste better than I remembered.
And it couldn’t be simpler.
It’s just lentils are cooked up with sautéed onions, vegetable broth, water, boxed or canned chopped tomatoes and lots of yummy spices.
So, all you need is literally 5 main ingredients plus 6 spices — all pantry staples:
gluten-free lentils
yellow onions
vegetable broth
fresh cilantro (it’s not an overpowering flavor — my husband is not generally a fan but loves this soup!
boxed or canned chopped tomatoes
plus ground cumin, turmeric, chili powder, ground red pepper, salt and pepper.
Celiac friends, lentils are a naturally gluten-free grain but they are prone to cross contamination… so as recommended by Tricia Thompson of Gluten-free Watchdog, be sure to use gluten-free lentils, rinse them well and carefully pick through them. Click here for some testing from Gluten-free Watchdog which backs up her recommendation.
And the soup is easy to make.
Pro Tip: It comes together quickly — 15 minutes or less, so it’s best to gather all the ingredients first and measure all the spices into a small bowl, then get started.
Then its just 3 easy steps:
Saute onions
Add garlic and spices and saute for just a minute
Then add all the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and let simmer into a flavorful, hearty soup over the next hour or two.
Options:
After it’s simmered an hour or longer (we prefer to simmer it 2 hours because the lentils continue to cook and the flavor continue to blend), you can serve as is, puree it using an immersion blender or even reserve a cup or two of the soup and then blend the rest and pour the un-blended reserved cups back in.
We’ve enjoyed it all ways and it’s really personal preference.
Paired with cornbread, and a big salad, you’ve got a meal!
An easy, delicious and hearty gluten-free and vegetarian soup. It's packed with nutrients and paired with cornbread and a salad makes a meal! Freezes and reheats well. Pair with our Easy Gluten-Free Cornbread and make it a meal! Servings vary depending on if you serve it as a main meal or side dish.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr45 minutesmins
Course: Soup, Dinner
Cuisine: Gluten-Free, Vegetarian, Vegan
Servings: 6-10 servings
Author: Healthy Gluten-free Family
Ingredients
1tablespoonolive oil
2cupschopped onion
1teaspoonground turmeric
1teaspoonground cumin
1teaspoonchili powder
1/2-1teaspoonground red pepperdepending on how spicy you want it
1/4teaspoonsalt
1/4teaspoonblack pepper
2garlic clovesminced
3 1/3cupswater
2 1/3cupsdried gluten-free lentilsrinsed
1/3cupchopped fresh cilantro
5 1/2cupsvegetable brothTo help with the math -- I used 1 32oz box + 1 1/2 cups
1 750g26.46oz box chopped tomatoes or 28oz can diced tomatoes, undrained (both work so whichever you have in your pantry or find in store)
Instructions
Making the soup
Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or sauce pan over medium-high heat.
Add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes or until tender.
Add the garlic and all the spices (turmeric, cumin, chili powder, ground red pepper, salt and black pepper) and sauté for 1 minute.
Add the remaining ingredients -- water, broth, lentils, cilantro and chopped tomatoes, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer minimally 1 hour. 90 mins to 2 hours is preferable as the lentils cook more and the flavors blend more.
Serving options
You can serve as is with the lentils and tomatoes whole and some broth.
Alternatively, you could puree the entire mix using an immersion blender
Other third option, reserve 2 cups lentil mixture. Blend the remaining mixture with an immersion blender, then stir in reserved 2 cups lentil mixture.
Garnish with cilantro, if desired.
Serve and enjoy!
Extra stores well in the refrigerator for several days. Freezes and reheats well.
I made this in my Instant Pot, and it was a huge hit with the whole family! I used the IP to sauté the onions, garlic, and spices according to the original recipe, added the remainder of the ingredients, set the IP on high pressure for 13 minutes, and did a quick release when finished. It worked out great! I think the next time I will decrease the time to 12 minutes ??.
Hi! My name is Karen, and I’m the mom in our Healthy Gluten-Free Family. My posts and pictures here and on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter are labors of love that allow me to share a very personal journey with you, one our family has taken together — learning, experimenting and sharing how to raise a healthy happy gluten-free family. Read more ...
I made this in my Instant Pot, and it was a huge hit with the whole family! I used the IP to sauté the onions, garlic, and spices according to the original recipe, added the remainder of the ingredients, set the IP on high pressure for 13 minutes, and did a quick release when finished. It worked out great! I think the next time I will decrease the time to 12 minutes ??.
So happy you all loved it! And glad it worked in the insta-pot! Thanks for sharing how you cooked it!
What brand of lentils have you found marked gluten free? We have been searching for years!
My local store carries a brand called Pereg that’s labeled gluten-free… hope you find it!