Hearty Green Lentil and Broad Bean Soup (Easy, Nourishing Recipe)
There’s nothing like a steaming bowl of homemade soup to nourish the body and comfort the soul—and this green lentil and broad bean soup is just that. Made with simple, wholesome ingredients, it’s a frugal one-pot meal that’s rich in fiber and protein. I love serving this on busy weekdays or chilly evenings when I want something filling. With just a few pantry staples and homemade stock, this soup comes together beautifully and tastes even better the next day. Whether you’re feeding a crowd or stocking your freezer, this is a real food recipe worth keeping in rotation.
Tips for making this recipe
- Instead of fresh chopped tomatoes you could use 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce or 1/2 tomato paste mixed with 1 cup extra stock
- If you use fresh broad beans instead of dried, you will reduce your cooking time from 60 minutes to 20 minutes.
- Skip the chilli powder if you prefer a really mild soup.
- This soup tastes even better the next day so it is a good idea to make a double or even triple batch and have a nourishing lunch option for more than one day.
- This soup can be made entirely from pantry staples if you use dried beans and lentils as well as canned tomato sauce. Then substitute onion powder and garlic powder for fresh onion and garlic. You can also replace the carrot and potato with whatever veggies you have in cold storage or canned on your pantry shelf.
- This soup is also freezer friendly.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed or diced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder or 1 dried red chilli (optional)
- 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes (about 3 large tomatoes) OR 1 1/2 cups fresh or canned tomato sauce
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 medium potato, peeled and diced
- 1 medium carrot, diced
- 1/2 cup dried broad beans, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup green lentils, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
- 1/3 cup fresh coriander, to serve (optional)
- unrefined salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions for making this hearty green lentil and broad bean soup
The night before (or 8-12 hours before you want to make the soup), soak the lentils and the broad beans in some warm water. Alternatively, use fresh broad beans and only soak the green lentils for 2-3 hours before cooking (or even use red lentils and skip the soaking step!). This way you can make your soup today instead of waiting till tomorrow! This will also considerably shorten your cooking time, as the fresh broad beans will only take 20 minutes to cook compared to 60-70 minutes for dried broad beans.
Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pot and saute the diced onion on medium low heat. Once the onion is soft and translucent, stir in the garlic and saute another 1-2 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle in all the spices and the red chilli and saute for a couple of minutes, stirring, until the spices become fragrant (don’t let them burn though as that would make them bitter tasting).
Drop in the diced carrot, potato, lentils and broad beans to the pot. Add some more salt and pepper. Give it a quick stir. Bring the soup to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the broad beans are soft (they will take the longest to cook) – about 1 hour. Adjust for salt before serving.
Serve the soup garnished with some fresh chopped coriander if you like. It is great eaten with some garlic bread or some fresh buttered rolls.
Be sure to check out my other soup recipes!
Nourishing Broccoli Soup with Crème Fraîche
Hearty Green Lentil and Broad Bean Soup
Equipment
- stick blender (optional)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed or diced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- ½ tsp ginger
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp chilli powder or 1 dried red chilli, optional
- 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 medium potato, peeled and diced
- 1 medium carrot, diced
- ½ cup dried broad beans, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
- ½ cup green lentils, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
- unrefined salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- The day before (or 8-12 hours before you want to make this soup), soak the green lentils and the dried broad beans in some warm water.
- When the beans and lentils are done soaking, melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pan. Saute the diced onion until soft, add the diced garlic and saute for another 1-2 minutes.
- Once the onion and garlic are soft, stir in all the spices and the red chilli and saute, stirring, for a couple of minutes until the spices become fragrant.
- Pour the chopped tomatoes and the stock into the pan and blend with a stick blender until smooth. Or leave unblended if you prefer a chunky soup.
- Drop in the diced carrot, potato, lentils and broad beans to the pot. Bring the soup to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 1 hour until the broad beans are soft. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
- Serve hot garnished with some fresh chopped coriander if you like.
Notes
- Instead of chopped tomatoes, you could use 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce or 1/2 cup tomato paste mixed with 1 cup stock.
- To have your soup ready much quicker, you could use 1 1/2 cups fresh broad beans instead of dried beans and only soak the lentils for 2-3 hours before cooking. Your cooking time will also be reduced to about 20 minutes as fresh broad beans are quicker to get tender.
