I love lentil soup. It’s hearty and filing and inexpensive. I feel like it’s pretty hard to mess up. As long as you start with a pretty basic base, I think you can tweak the spices and toss some new ones in without any major disasters. This was my favorite experiment of late…and I think it’ll be one I keep going back to.
Well, except, don’t use two types of lentils like I did. They cooked at different rates which made me draw on my small reserves of patience to wait for the yellow ones to finish cooking. But luckily, the forgiving green ones didn’t get mushy.
Lentil Soup with Cardamom & Cinnamon
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
1 medium-large carrot, finely diced
2 medium stalks celery, finely diced
1 lb dry lentils
8 cups (2 qts) chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup chopped grape tomatoes
1/2 heaping teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 heaping teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch ground ginger
How To
1. Place the olive oil into a large pot and place over medium heat.
2. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, carrot, celery and salt and sweat until the onions are translucent and the veggies have softened, about 6 to 7 minutes.
3. Add the lentils, tomatoes, broth, coriander, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger and stir to combine.
4. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the lentils are tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Serve as is, or puree part of the soup for a creamier texture. (I pureed 2 cups in my food processor. You could also use a stick hand blender.)
5. Serve with salt & pepper to taste.
I like mine with lots of black pepper and extra cinnamon on top. 🙂
1. Place the olive oil into a large pot and place over medium heat.
2. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, carrot, celery and salt and sweat until the onions are translucent and the veggies have softened, about 6 to 7 minutes.
3. Add the lentils, tomatoes, broth, coriander, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger and stir to combine.
4. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the lentils are tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Serve as is, or puree part of the soup for a creamier texture. (I pureed 2 cups in my food processor. You could also use a stick hand blender.)
5. Serve with salt & pepper to taste.
Notes
I like mine with lots of black pepper and extra cinnamon on top.
Delicious! My two favorite things, Lentils and Cinnamon! I go through a full Simply Organic tell glass jar of cinnamon is about 3 weeks by myself. I never go a day without using it! One of my favorite lentil soups is from Dreena Burton’s Let Them Eat Vegan cookbook. It is her Smoked paprika french lentil soup, so good! (Smoked Paprika is my second favorite spice, I go though that stuff just as quickly as cinnamon!)
This looks amazing! I was wondering how many you think this would serve? I am looking to feed 6-7 hungry adults and 2 toddlers, do you think this would make enough or would it be best to double? Thanks and I love reading your blog!
Just wanted to let you know that I ended up doing 1.5x what your recipe called for and it was just enough! I wanted to double but did not have a big enough pot 🙁 . The soup was a hit, thanks again for a fantastic recipe!
Fabulous. Although I prefer red lentils usually this looks really healthy. Cinnamon for sure adds depth of flavor and cardamom is just out of this World.
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8 responses to “Lentil Soup with Cardamom & Cinnamon”
Yum! Perfect meal for a chilly autumn evening!
Delicious! My two favorite things, Lentils and Cinnamon! I go through a full Simply Organic tell glass jar of cinnamon is about 3 weeks by myself. I never go a day without using it! One of my favorite lentil soups is from Dreena Burton’s Let Them Eat Vegan cookbook. It is her Smoked paprika french lentil soup, so good! (Smoked Paprika is my second favorite spice, I go though that stuff just as quickly as cinnamon!)
This looks great! I’ve never made lentil soup before – definitely time to give it a try.
yum- perfect fall soup!
This looks amazing! I was wondering how many you think this would serve? I am looking to feed 6-7 hungry adults and 2 toddlers, do you think this would make enough or would it be best to double? Thanks and I love reading your blog!
hmm I don’t remember exactly how much it made. I know I had leftovers but not sure how much. I’d double it, just to be safe.
And thanks for reading my blog and loving it! 🙂
Just wanted to let you know that I ended up doing 1.5x what your recipe called for and it was just enough! I wanted to double but did not have a big enough pot 🙁 . The soup was a hit, thanks again for a fantastic recipe!
Fabulous. Although I prefer red lentils usually this looks really healthy. Cinnamon for sure adds depth of flavor and cardamom is just out of this World.