Middle Eastern Lentil Soup

Name: Middle Eastern Lentil Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 large onion (diced); 2 garlic cloves (minced); 2 TBL organic unsalted butter (you can also use olive oil); 2 cups split red lentils (rinsed well); 1 large carrot (chopped); 1 litre organic/natural vegetable stock; 3 cups water; 1 TBL turmeric; 1 TBL ground cumin; 2-3 tsp sea salt; 1/2 cup organic quinoa (cooked as per packet directions); 2 - 3 lemons (juiced)

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Middle Eastern Lentil Soup is the perfect soup for winter. It is made with dried red lentils, carrots, lemon, quinoa and some amazing spices. Best of all it is so easy to make and you can also make it if you have a Thermomix.

A bowl of middle eastern lentil soup next to another bowl.

Red Lentil Soup (or Arabic Lentil Soup or Lebanese Lentil Soup as it is also known) is a soup I grew up eating. In addition to the red lentils it also includes onion, carrot, lemon and a bunch of spices. My mum’s version was made with rice, but I have since adapted it to include quinoa.

It is one of my favourite soups and I love to freeze portions to have at a later date.

This red lentil soup recipe is an amazing healthy soup recipe just like this Mediterranean lentil soup and this Mexican vegetable soup.

WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE

Gluten free – This recipe is of course gluten free.

Dairy free & vegan option – you can make this red lentil soup dairy free or vegan by substituting the butter with olive oil.

Freezer friendly – you can freeze this soup for 2-3 months.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

Ingredients you need to make the soup - onion, garlic, carrot, dried red lentils, butter, lemon, quinoa, stock, water and spices.

Butter – I use either grass fed or organic butter in this recipe. If you wanted this recipe to be dairy free or vegan, then substitute the butter with olive oil.

Red Lentils – make sure you rinse the lentils really well as they may contain dirt, stones or debris.

Quinoa – you can also make this soup with rice. The version that I grew up with contained rice, but I changed it to quinoa. Make sure you rinse the quinoa or rice.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan on low heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 10 minutes or until the onion has softened.

Step 2. Add the remaining ingredients (except the lemon and quinoa) and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the red lentils are falling apart.

Stirring the soup after adding the lentils, carrots, stock, spices and water.

Step 3. Blend the soup with a hand stick blender. You can use a potato mashers if you don’t have a hand stick blender or you can just leave chunky and not blend. It will still taste amazing.

The soup being blended with a hand stick blender.

Step 4. Add the quinoa to the soup and stir through. Add the lemon (I recommend adding the lemon slowly and tasting as you go as some people prefer it to have less lemon than others).

The quinoa being stirred into the red lentil and quinoa soup.

Step 5. Serve and enjoy

HOW TO COOK QUINOA

First, you need to rinse the quinoa and then add the (½ cup) quinoa to a small sauce pan with ¾ cup water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 15 minutes.

How to make in your thermomix

INGREDIENTS

900g/2lb water
Pinch of sea salt
100g/3.53oz organic quinoa, rinsed
1 large onion, halved
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons organic unsalted butter (olive oil would also work)
1 large carrot, roughly chopped
300g/10.58oz split red lentils
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons sea salt
1250g/2.75lb water
2 tablespoons vegetable stock paste
Juice of 2 – 3 lemons

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook quinoa – add water and salt to the mixing bowl. Next, add the rinsed quinoa and place in the rice basket and put on the lid. Cook for 20 minutes/Varoma/speed 4. Empty basket into thermoserver.
Chop onion & garlic – first place onion and garlic into the mixing bowl and chop 3 seconds/speed 7.
Saute – scrape down the sides with the spatula, then add the butter and saute for 4 minutes/100C/speed 1
Chop carrots – add the carrot and chop for 3 seconds/speed 7
Add lentil & spices – add the lentils, tumeric, cumin and sea salt and cook for 1 minutes/100C/speed 1
Add water & stock – add the water, stock paste and cook 30 minutes/100c/speed 1
Add quinoa & lemon – when cooked, add the cooked quinoa and lemon juice and stir 10 seconds/3 (reverse mode)

RECIPE FAQS

How can I make this red lentil soup dairy free or vegan?

Simply substitute the butter with olive oil

Can I use rice instead of quinoa?

Yes you can! You can use the exact same measurements.

Can I add less lemon to the soup?

I like to add lots of lemon when I eat this soup, but some people prefer it to contain less lemon. I highly recommend that you start with the juice from one lemon and add more if you need to. Or you could add the lemon to each individual bowl.

Can I freeze this soup?

Yes you can! This soup will keep in the freezer for 2-3 months. I like to freeze into the desired portion sizes and then when needed, take out of the freezer and thaw out before heating to eat.

spoonful of the red lentil and quinoa soup.

Looking for other winter dinner recipes? Try these:

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Marsala

Slow Cooker Beef Ragu

30 healthy whole food slow cooker recipes

Lastly, I would love to hear from you if you make this soup. You can either leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! If you do make this recipe, please tag me on Instagram! It really makes my day when I see your creations of my recipes.