Granny's Secret Lentil Soup Recipe

This scrummy lentil soup recipe is my all-time favorite soup ever! My granny used to make it for me when I was a little girl, and I still absolutely love it some 30 years on. It does take slightly longer to make than some other soups, and the lentils need to be soaked overnight, but I guarantee the results will be well worth it!

Preparation Time 15 mins (plus overnight for soaking the lentils) - Cooking Time 1hr 45 mins - Serves 4-6

250g red lentils

250g carrots, scrapped and then chopped into small pieces or grated

3 vegetable stock cubes

Salt and pepper to season

Method

1. Rinse the lentils under some cold water and then soak in a bowl of water overnight.

2. The following day, drain the lentils and place in a large saucepan with the carrots and stock cubes. Fill the pan 2/3 full with boiling water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1hr 30 minutes.

3. Next, pour the soup into a large bowl through a sieve. The carrots and lentils will gather in the sieve. Mash them all through the sieve until the mixture is free of lumps.

4. Transfer the smooth mixture back to the saucepan to warm through again for a few minutes. Then ladle into warmed bowls and serve with crusty bread and butter.

Variations

Although I love the simplicity of this lentil soup recipe, you could always try adding in some chopped swede along with the carrots for a more varied taste.

Top Tip

To ensure optimal freshness when buying carrots, always make sure they are firm with no sign of wrinkles.

Nutrition Nugget

Carrots have an extremely high beta-carotene content, which converts to Vitamin A in the body and helps improve vision, especially night vision.

This soup is also extremely low in fat. For example, lentils contain only 0.2g of saturated fat per 100g.

For a comprehensive list of the different calories in foods , please see this helpful article (opens new window).

For more delicious vegetarian soups like this lentil soup recipe, click here.

Or return to our full catalog of easy vegetarian recipes.

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