Eat Well, Spend Less: Five Ways With Lentils (Curried Lentil Soup)

This month for our Eat Well, Spend Less series we’re talking about emergency preparedness. We were hit fairly hard by Hurricane Irene recently and lost power for 18 hours; others fared much worse.

We were scrambling a little for things like flashlight batteries and warm blankets, but all in all, we didn’t suffer much during the outage. Still, it was a fair warning that we could -and should- be better prepared next time. While the Texas fires may not be warming our doorsteps, we never know what we might need to be prepared for. Certainly a few snow days are in my future, although I’ve got a few months before I have to worry about that!

We’ve talked about the benefit of a well-stocked pantry, but how much more valuable does it become during a crisis or natural disaster predicament? Suddenly those cans of lentils, tuna and beans are looking particularly fine, wouldn’t you say so?

Lentils are one of my favorite staples to have around – for main meals or sides – and today I’m going to show you why.

For the Love of Lentils

There’s a permanent place in my pantry for lentils of all kinds – red, French, green and brown. Here are a few of the reasons why:

Versatile. Lentils don’t quite the the same reputation for versatility as say, rice or potatoes, but they actually can be served up many ways (five of them I’ll share below in the links). Hot, warm or cold? They can be served at any temperature. Soup or salad? Both! Side dish or main? Either.

Frugal. Plain rice or beans may top lentils for cheap eats, but when they replace meat as a protein, such as in the burgers below, that is when you’ll start to see them benefit your budget.

Quick-cooking. Lentils do not require a soak in water before cooking and only need about 30 minutes of simmering, making their cooking time hours faster than beans and equal to brown rice. Of course, canned lentils are an instant option, as long as you don’t mind sacrificing texture for time.

Healthy. Okay, so we know lentils are packed with protein, but how about full of fiber? Check. High in iron? Yep, and thus a smart choice for vegetarians and folks who don’t eat a lot of red meat.

Dry Storage. Honestly, anything I can pack into jars and add to the pantry shelves is a winner in my books. I don’t have to worry about combating freezer burn or jostling for fridge space.

Five Ways with Lentils

  1. Lentil Shepherd’s Pie. This vegetarian take on a classic comfort food is popular among all of our family members – and that is saying a lot!
  2. Simple French Lentil Soup with Bacon. So easy and SO good, especially during the cooler months. This recipe also freezes great.
  3. Black Bean & Lentil Burgers. Another meatless main dish option that the whole family loves. For ease, this recipe can be made with canned lentils.
  4. Warm Lentil Salad with Parsley. French lentils studded with sautéed carrot, celery and onion and then tossed in a French-style vinaigrette; from Patent and the Pantry.
  5. Green Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk and Curry. Our current favorite soup, courtesy of Super Natural Every Day. Recipe below.

This soup is on regular rotation for our lunches, especially now that the cooler weather has arrived. I love it because all of the ingredients are pantry staples, so if the fridge shelves are looking bare, I know I always have a warm, nourishing meal to fall back on with this soup.

The recipe is slightly adapted from Heidi Swanson’s Green Lentil Soup with Brown Butter from her latest book, Super Natural Every Day. I highly recommend it!

Coconut Curried Green Lentil Soup

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Course: Soups & Stews
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 269kcal
Author: Aimee

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons coconut oil or unsalted butter
  • 1 Tablespoon good quality curry powder freshly ground
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 large sweet onion chopped
  • 5 cups vegetable stock or water
  • 1 1/2 cups green lentils rinsed
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt

Garnish options

  • fresh chopped chives
  • yogurt
  • 1 pinch curry powder

Instructions

  • Melt coconut oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat, then add curry powder, garlic, and onion. Saute for about 3-4 minutes on medium heat, stirring often so the garlic doesn't burn.
  • Add vegetable stock and green lentils. Bring soup to a boil, then partially cover and reduce heat. Simmer for between 20 and 50 minutes (or until lentils are tender; mine typically take about 50 minutes).
  • Once the lentils have finished cooking, remove soup from the heat and stir in the coconut milk and salt. Puree the soup using an immersion blender or regular blender (in batches if using regular blender) until it is as smooth or as chunky as you prefer.
  • Serve immediately with your choice of garnish.

Notes

adapted from Super Natural Every Day

Nutrition

Calories: 269kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Sodium: 1181mg | Potassium: 552mg | Fiber: 15g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 445IU | Vitamin C: 5.1mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 4.5mg

Have you cooked with lentils before? What is your favorite way to serve them?

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55 Comments

  1. I also have jars and jars of lentils in my pantry. Lately I’ve been particularly partial to red lentils and the small brown and green French lentils, but the brown lentils you can find in every supermarket will do for most recipes, and they’re available and inexpensive. Thanks for highlighting some great lentil soup recipes.

  2. We really need to eat more lentils. James has recently really got into curried lentils, so I should try introducing them to him in other recipes.

  3. We are big on the lentils here at our house. We make lentil soup, stewed lentils to accompany salmon, curried lentils and lentil burgers. I love their versatility.

  4. Aimee, I love lentils and I’m so looking forward to trying your recipes. The other nice thing about lentils is that they are one of the easiest beans to digest. So if you have a hard time with other beans, you may have an easier time with lentils. I often toss a cup in with a cup of brown rice and cook them together for a one pot meal/snack.

    Here’s my standby lentil soup recipe – packed with good vegetables!

    http://fitfamilytogether.com/lentil-soup-recipe-for-active-families-on-the-move

    (Funny, it’s delicious with sardines!)

  5. You always have such great meal ideas. I love that I can save these recipes on Pinterest, and come back to them whenever I need some dinnertime inspiration. I never think to eat lentils, but don’t eat very much red meat, so they’re going to jump right into regular use around here.
    Thanks so much!

  6. I just made lentil soup for the first time, fell in love with it, and was wondering what else I can do with lentils – thank you for this post! 🙂

  7. I’ve only tried brown lentils, but I’ll have to get some of the other ones. Is there a big difference between them?

  8. Thanks for sharing these tips. I like to add lentils to bolognese sauces and lasagnes to bulk them out so I don’t need as much meat.

    My husband is a big fan of Dhal Bhat, which he grew to love when he lived in Nepal. I’m sure he’d be keen for me to make more of that with lentils too.

  9. Thanks for sharing! I am in love with lentils, I cook them almost every week. One of my favorites is chana dal (gram lentils), they have a good flavor and hold their shape instead of getting mushy.

    That soup looks delicious, especially with the little chill that’s been in the air!

  10. i am new to this so…..do you have to do anything special to the canning jars before storing lentils or other similar items in them in the pantry? do you label items and dates, and if so how without looking junky after awhile? thanks 🙂

  11. We love lentils too. My husband’s new favorite way to eat them is a stew I concocted from lentils, white beans, chicken sausage, and spaghetti sauce.

    Meanwhile, I am looking forward to trying your curried soup for lunch some day soon! Thanks!

  12. Super Natural Every Day is my new favourite cookbook, and I’m making the recipes faster than I can eat them. I didn’t get to this one yet, so I made your version for lunch today and it was fantastic!

  13. Nice – I had blackbean/lentil meatloaf last week, and have been meaning to try to get that recipe, because it was SO delicious – and now I find a blackbean/lentil burger recipe on your site. Serendipity rocks!

    That said, one of my favorite recipes (I’ve never figured out exactly why my kids love this so much, but I don’t question it!) with lentils is Kosheri. My take on it (as loved by my kids) is posted on my site:

    http://www.naturallyradiant.info/site/kosheri/

  14. I made this for dinner tonight. My french green lentils were much more green than yours, making the end result a tad unappetizing looking, but the flavor was delicious!

    And, since you asked another commenter what she uses red lentils in, I thought I’d share one of the recipes I like to cook over the winter. It’s from Kayln’s Kitchen: http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2009/10/recipe-for-spicy-red-lentil-and.html

    The only thing to note about red lentils (and you probably know this) is that they cook faster and can therefore turn mushy quickly.

  15. This sounds delicious! I’m planning a soup swap at my home. Does anyone know if this soup would freeze well? I know lentils freeze well, but not so sure about this one with the coconut milk in it. Thanks!

  16. I have not imagined lentils can provide us these benefits. Thank you for sharing this blog, I have learned things about Lentils for my meals.

  17. I can’t wait to try this soup! It sounds wonderful and wonderfully healthy. However, I found counting calories was the only way that works for me. Any idea how many calories are in this soup?

  18. I’ve made this soup several times and my whole family (including a picky two-year-old) LOVES it! I altered it a bit by using red lentils and Madras curry paste because that’s what I had on hand. So delicious and high in protein.

  19. THANK YOU!!! I just made the lentil shepard’s pie last night and everyone loved it! Both my guys had two plates and we finished the last part for lunch today. Thanks again for all your yummy recipes. My family is healthier because of them 🙂

  20. Yummy! Thank You! This Coconut Curried Green lentil soup is delicous! I added some fresh cilantro when I blended! Thank’s for the inspiration! ☆ ~N~

  21. Hi,

    Here is one of my favorite ways to use lentils (and it’s vegan too) 🙂
    -Broken link has been removed–