This hearty vegan lentil and black bean soup recipe is the perfect comfort food for chilly days. Only 223 calories per generous serving!
In the spirit of Meatless Monday, I pulled together a healthy, vegetarian (actually, this one will satisfy those who prefer vegan, too) lentil black bean soup for dinner.
Truth be told, I needed something light after a weekend of hot gravy sandwiches - that would be a piece of bread, smeared with cranberry-maple sauce, loaded with turkey and stuffing and drenched in gravy.
Oh yeah. You can see why I needed to get back to basics. A simple soup of lentils simmered with black beans, onions, garlic and flavored with smoked paprika is just what the diet doctor ordered. My jeans concur. And I'm always a sucker for a comforting soup, like chicken corn potato chowder or my family's favorite fisherman soup with tilapia.
All this talk about meatless meals leads me to this cookbook.
Last week I attended a book signing for Pam Anderson's new book, Cook Without a Book: Meatless Meals. You may remember that I am a big fan of Pam Anderson's recipes and books - her Spicy Coconut Shrimp Stew is one of our favorites. Pam speaks to the home cook, developing recipes that can be made and enjoyed by novice and experienced cooks alike. She is a down-to-earth, kind soul who clearly loves what she does. She was accompanied by her daughter Maggy, who is a force of her own - she has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know and spunk to spare.
There are plenty of books out there that are packed with vegetarian recipes. So, what makes Pam's book different? One of the most appealing things to me is that the book provides formulas for whipping up healthy, meatless meals while providing latitude so that you can come up with your own flavor combinations depending on what ingredients you have on hand. If you're not in the mood for being creative, that's okay. There are plenty of suggestions for each type of meal and the categories run the gamut from oatmeal and breakfast pizzas to skillet stews and fast-food favorites (Italian, Asian and Mexican).
This Lentil & Black Bean Soup recipe doesn't come from Pam's book, but is inspired by her philosophy of working more meatless meals in our repertoire.
How to make this lentil black bean soup recipe:
Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan set over medium heat. Add onions and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are beginning to soften, 6 to 7 minutes.
Add garlic, smoked paprika and bay leaves and saute for 30 seconds.
Stir in diced tomatoes with juices, lentils, 3 cups vegetable or chicken broth and 3 cups water. Increase heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil.
Reduce the heat slightly and cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender, 25 to 35 minutes.
Remove from the heat and let cool for about 10 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Transfer half of the lentil mixture, half of the black beans and ¾ cup chicken broth to the bowl of a blender or food processor. Pulse until combined, but not pureed. It should be a chunky texture.
Pour the blender mixture back into the lentils in the saucepan, along with the remaining 1 cup of vegetable or chicken broth and remaining black beans. Stir and reheat over medium heat. Stir in parsley. Serve.
Other recipes with lentils:
Instant Pot Lentil Soup with Sweet Potatoes {Cookin' Canuck}
Dal Makhani {Indian Simmer}
Lentil Drops in Garlic Tomato Sauce {eCurry}
Curried Lentil Soup {Namely Mary}
Roasted Shrimp & Green Lentils {Blue Kitchen}
Hearty Lentil & Black Bean Soup with Smoked Paprika
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ large onion chopped
- 2 large stalks celery diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 14 ounces can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup dried brown lentils
- 4 ¾ cup low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth divided
- 3 cups water
- 1 14 ounces can black beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan set over medium heat. Add onions and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are beginning to soften, 6 to 7 minutes.
- Add garlic, smoked paprika and bay leaves and saute for 30 seconds.
- Stir in diced tomatoes with juices, lentils, 3 cups vegetable or chicken broth and 3 cups water. Increase heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender, 25 to 35 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and let cool for about 10 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Transfer half of the lentil mixture, half of the black beans and ¾ cup vegetable or chicken broth to the bowl of a blender or food processor. Pulse until combined, but not pureed. It should be a chunky texture.
- Pour the blender mixture back into the lentils in the saucepan, along with the remaining 1 cup of chicken broth and remaining black beans. Stir and reheat over medium heat. Stir in parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
soccer mom
Absolutely amazing soup! I have made several times as written...tonight I used pinto beans instead of black because that was what I had. Still great! I also added some chopped up spinach (not a lot) t0 get some greens in.
Annette
This recipe is delicious thank you! I am making freezer meals for a friend. Do you think this would be a candidate for freezing?
Dara
Hi Anette - Absolutely! This soup freezes well.
Deb
The majority of my family loves this dish! There are seven of us so this is a win. My daughter gets credit for finding this recipe. It’s delicious, filling and nutritional. It’s nice to have a meatless meal that is so satisfying!
Dara
I'm so glad to hear that! Definitely a win when you can please the majority of a big family. 🙂
monalisa
What a hearty vegetarian meal, and it has one of my favorite spices – smoked paprika! delicious..
Deepika
I am pure vegetarian and always searching for delicious ways to eat more healthy. Now, this black lentil recipe is on my list. I will definitely cook this one for my family.
Ashley Gross
I've made this recipe a few times now, and it's always delicious! I serve mine with a side of cornbread. A perfect meal to warm us up after being out in the cold, rainy Washington weather!
Jessica
I love black bean soup, but hadn't seen one made with lentils too. I skiped the oil, added frozen corn, and swapped cilantro for the parsley, I love the smokey flavor, so thank you for a very good recipe. I'll be sharing in a FB group!
Dara
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Jessica, and that you were able to make a few changes to suit your tastebuds.
Peter
When you say one cup, do you mean 230ml or thereabouts?
Dara
Hi Peter, the calculator that I use converts 1 cup to 236 mL, so you're right on track!
Hannah
Hi, I'm sorry but I'm a little confused. It says that it serves 4 and the serving size is 1/4 cup. Does this mean the recipe only makes 1 cup of soup? I may have just misread something.
Thank you.
Cassie Sue
It says 1/4 of the soup, not 1/4 cup. I read it wrong at first too.
Jo Momma
Chicken broth? I didn't know chicken broth was vegetarian! 😉 Probably to satisfy a carnivore's craving for a nice growth hormone soaked piece of meat though eh? You know you need meat to make chicken broth right? Doesn't count as meatless in my book honey.
Dara
Hi Jo Momma, thanks for your comment. You'll notice that I wrote "vegetable or chicken broth" in the ingredients, in case people needed another option. If you don't want to use chicken broth, then don't use it! Vegetable broth is easy to find and a great way to keep this vegetarian.
Cyn
Of course I made it my own but the basic recipe is superb. Dinner was delicious and plenty of leftovers.
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Holly
This was pretty good for a meatless soup. Was a bit bland for our taste. Added cumin and cayenne pepper.
Debbie
Hi Dara, my boyfriend and I just had this for lunch and it was yummy, thank you. I was wondering if you could include the nutritional values as my boyfriend's on a diet and he'd like to add the calories etc into his mobile app.
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Hi Debbie, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I just added in the nutritional information. I'm sorry that the serving size is a little vague. The next time I make this soup, I'll be sure to update that to a more accurate measurement.
Debbie
Thank you so much Dara, that's very kind of you. I look forward to trying out some of your other recipes
haley
I've made this twice now and both times it has no flavor. I'm not sure why.
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Hi Haley, I'm sorry to hear that you've had that experience. This soup is typically a popular one with my readers (see comments above), so I'm not sure why it hasn't turned out for you. That being said, let's try to work this out. Here are a few suggestions:
1) Be sure you taste the soup and season properly with salt and pepper. This step alone will make a huge difference.
2) Use a good-quality vegetable or chicken broth. Since that is the base liquid, its flavor will have a great effect on the outcome.
3) You could try increasing the amount of smoked paprika to your liking.
I hope that helps!
Terri
I added about 1/4 tsp fenugreek powder and doubled the amount of black beans. Getting ready to serve it up now.
Julie
Hi - my boyfriend are planning to make this soup for dinner. Have you tried doing it in a crockpot? If so, how did you do it? Thanks!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Hi Julie, I haven't made this in a crockpot. It doesn't actually take that long to put it together and, honestly, I think you'd spend just as much time prepping for the crockpot as you would making the soup in a regular saucepan. For example, you would still need to soften the vegetables on the stovetop and run half of the soup through a food processor to achieve the right texture. I hope you'll still give it a try. It's one of our favorites!