Recipe: The Best Lentil Vegetable Soup (Gluten Free & Vegan)

I'm not going to sugar coat it, there is nothing pretty about this soup. In fact, there's probably nothing pretty about any soup.... but what I can promise you is that it's delicious. 

When I first made this soup, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to convince Jesse to try it. Lentil Soup? It's something he would have turned up his nose at, palming it off as a hippie vegetarian dish or a bit too weird for his liking. 

But little did I know, this soup would become his FAVOURITE dinner.

But I did have to persuade him by serving it with cheesy garlic bread rolls...Whatever works, right!

Nevertheless, he ate it, loved it and it's become a new staple in our house. It's warm and comforting, easy to make and packed full of vegetables.

Soup is one of my favourite easy ways to get extra veggies in - and whilst it's technically summer in Australia, we've been enjoying this all season long because it's too good to pass up. 

So let me share the recipe with you >> 

Gluten Free & Vegan Lentil Vegetable Soup

gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, clean eating friendly, freezer friendly

1 onion, finely diced 

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp coconut oil or oil of your choice

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 ribs of celery, diced

2 potatoes, peeled and diced

1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and diced

4 cups/1 litre vegetable stock 

2 tins lentils, drained and rinsed*

Salt and pepper, to taste 

• Place your onion, garlic and coconut oil/oil into a large saucepan and saute over a medium-high heat until your onion has softened. 
• Add all of your other ingredients to the pot, bringing the mixture to the boil over a high heat before turning the heat to low to simmer your soup for ~30-45 minutes. 
• Stir your soup occasionally, checking to ensure everything is mixed and taking your soup off the heat once all of your vegetables have softened. 
• Season your soup to taste with salt and pepper or seasonings of your choice. 
• Enjoy as is, or if you prefer a thicker soup, add some of the soup to a blender (or blend with a stick blender) and pulse a few times to break up some of the ingredients. 
• This soup will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days or can be frozen in individual portions (we freeze ours in freezer and microwave safe containers) to defrost, reheat and enjoy later on. 

Thermomix/Cuisine Companion Instructions
I have a Tefal Cuisine Companion and usually use this as it's so much easier. Instead of chopping the onion, I put it whole in the Cuisine Companion for ~15 seconds on speed 12 and then add the garlic and oil and set it to the "Slow Cooker" program (P1 for 5 minutes) to saute with the lid off. After that's done, I add all of the other ingredients, change the temperature on slow cooker P2 to 100C and set it for 45 minutes. At the end, I pulse it for a few seconds to break up the ingredients and make a thicker, heartier texture.

Notes:

• *You could probably use dry lentils instead of canned, however, I haven't been able to find dry lentils that are gluten free (that is, not cross-contaminated during processing) and canned lentils are super easy.
• The vegetable measurements in this aren't exact as I usually just throw in whatever we have in the fridge - mushrooms, peas, corn, zucchini, whatever! Add whatever you like or have available. 

    

   

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