Here’s what you need when you crave a warm, nourishing and flavorful bowl: the red split lentil soup meets all these requirements. It’s ideal for those following a vegan diet and is rich in plant-based protein. It’s also a perfect choice if you want to detox your body, maybe after a period of parties and excesses.
This red split lentil soup takes very little time to cook because red split lentils are hulled. So, like all lentils, they don’t need soaking and they cook quickly: in less than half an hour you’ll have a steaming, fragrant, nourishing and colorful soup on the table.
At home it was appreciated even by the Dutchman, my official food critic. I thought that with his rather delicate taste he wouldn’t like it much, but he said it was really good. And considering it’s only 4 Weight Watchers points per serving, well, you should definitely make it — it’s really worth it.
Find other red split lentil recipes here:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Cooking time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 cup red split lentils (hulled)
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil (measuring teaspoon)
- 28 oz canned peeled tomatoes (or chopped/diced)
- 2 onions
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 stalks celery (including leaves)
- 4 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 1 tsp ground cumin (optional)
- to taste chili pepper (optional)
- to taste salt
- Points per serving = 4 WW points
Tools
- Pot
- Strainer
- Immersion blender
Steps
In a large pot sauté the chopped onion and celery with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Let them cook gently for 5 minutes: if they dry out too much add a tablespoon of vegetable broth. Then add the garlic chopped, a bit of chili and cumin to taste and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
Add the well-rinsed and drained red split lentils, the broth, the rosemary sprigs and the canned tomatoes. As soon as it starts to boil turn down the heat and let it cook for about 20 minutes, until the lentils are tender.
Remove the rosemary sprigs and use an immersion blender to reduce everything to a smooth purée. Adjust the salt to your taste and serve hot.
Here is our vegan red split lentil soup ready to be brought to the table. Serve it as is or with bread croutons and, if you like, another half teaspoon of olive oil drizzled raw directly on the plate: in that case remember to count the extra WW points.
Actually it’s even better the next day; there were two portions left and the flavor was even better when reheated. But with soups it’s often like that — not a surprise: the flavors blend better after some resting time.
I hope you enjoy this soup — leave me a comment to tell me if you liked it.
Enjoy your meal!
by Giovanna Buono
Storage
You can prepare this soup in advance; it will keep in the refrigerator for 4 days and in the freezer for 4-5 months.
FAQ (Questions & Answers)
Which vegetable broth can I use?
If you don’t make vegetable broth from scratch with fresh vegetables you can use a bouillon cube (make sure it’s vegan) or a vegan organic granulated broth that you should find in health food stores. Follow the package instructions to prepare 1.5 liters of broth (about 6 1/3 cups); I only need 4 teaspoons of the granules. I left a link in the ingredients to a granulated product similar to the one I use.
