Red Lentil Soup with Spinach
1 Freestyle Points 114 Calories
This delicious, Middle Eastern inspired Lentil Soup, made with red lentils, turmeric, spinach, carrots and lemon will exceed your expectations. It’s golden in color, and very easy to make and leftovers are freezer-friendly.
I love lentils and lentil soup. One of my go-to’s are my Chicken and Lentil Soup. I wanted to recreate a lentil soup I had at a Persian restaurant and knew this would be amazing! Directions included for Dutch oven or Instant Pot!
I tested this recipe a few times to get the consistency just right on the stove and in the Instant Pot. Since I had so much soup, my daughter Karina brought some to her boyfriend and he went crazy over it! Since I made so much, I froze the leftovers so now I have soup for another night. This tastes just as good heated up for leftovers the next day.
Tips:
- For a thicker soup, puree half of the soup with an immersion blender for a creamier texture.
- Anytime I convert a stove top recipe to the Instant Pot, use 1/4 cup less broth since there is no evaporation.
More Lentil Recipes You May Enjoy:
Red Lentil Soup
This delicious, Middle Eastern inspired Lentil Soup, made with red lentils, turmeric, spinach, carrots and lemon will exceed your expectations. It’s golden in color, and very easy to make and leftovers are freezer-friendly.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 16 ounces (2 1/3 cups) red or yellow lentils (I used red)
- 8 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 cups (2 oz) baby spinach
- Juice of half a lemon
Directions:
Stove Directions:
- Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, add the onions and carrots and saute until soft, about 5 to 6 minutes, stirring.
- Add the chopped garlic, turmeric and cumin and continue cooking for 2 – 3 minutes more.
- Stir in the lentils, add the broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook covered on low for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened. Remove from heat.
- Toss in parsley, spinach and stir in lemon juice and serve.
Instant Pot Directions:
- Press saute and add the oil to the insert, add the onions and carrots and saute until soft, about 5 minutes, stirring.
- Add the chopped garlic, turmeric and cumin and continue cooking for 2 – 3 minutes. Press cancel.
- Add the lentils and broth, cover and cook on high pressure 15 minutes. Natural or quick release.
- Toss in parsley, spinach and stir in lemon juice and serve.
Nutrition Information
Yield: 8 servings, Serving Size: 1 1/4 cups
- Amount Per Serving:
- Freestyle Points: 1
- Points +: 3
- Calories: 114 calories
- Total Fat: 2g
- Saturated Fat: 0.5g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 590mg
- Carbohydrates: 16.5g
- Fiber: 5.5g
- Sugar: 3.5g
- Protein: 8g
All images and text ©Gina Homolka for Skinnytaste
posted January 15, 2019 by Gina