Stay warm with this healthy slow cooker lentil and vegetable soup recipe. It’s one of those amazing set-it-and-forget-it recipes and is great for making for healthy meals to take for lunch throughout the week!
During the holidays, I like to take a little break after posting the top recipes of the previous year (see here for 2017 top reader favorite recipe, 2018 favorite recipes and 2019 favorites). I like to shut down my computer and only check email via phone, occasionally.
It is really great and relaxing…but then one year when I was pregnant with my first child (I now have three kids, boy/girl twins and a toddler) I got a head cold for 5 days. And of course, being pregnant I couldn’t take any medications. So I relied on healthy healing soups, including this lentil soup (I swear this lentil soup cured me!)
This lentil and vegetable soup is packed full of veggies. It’s so comforting! And whenever I’m talking about comforting meals and dishes, I always think of the South.
A few years ago I got to tour behind the scenes at Southern Living Magazine, an event that was cosponsored by Delta Faucet. It just so happened to be a coincidence that the faucet in our kitchen was leaky. As I toured the Southern Living studios I was in awe of all their amazing faucets- they were all Delta Faucet and the ones that one just touches and the water comes on/off. When I got my very own Touch2O Technology faucet from Delta, I was beyond happy and grateful.
The faucet makes washing everything so easy! When I was cleaning and prepping the veggies for this soup, it took me a fraction of the time because I was able to use the pull down handle, and turn it on/off with my arm. It’s the little things, right?
With the start of the new year, there’s always a desire for healthier recipes, and healthy slow cooker recipes are some of my faves.
When it comes to soups, I have to admit that I’m not much of a brothy soup type of person. I like a more heartier soup (like this slow cooker beef and sweet potato stew) – a soup where you can just put ingredients into a slow cooker and it comes out great. This lentil and vegetable soup does just that. It goes into the slow cooker, does it’s cooking, and voila, a delicious healthy gluten free soup is the end result.
Because this soup uses red lentils, the texture is nice and thick at the end, almost creamy. Sometimes to get a thicker soup, recipes call for putting the soup in a blender. Not with this soup! The red lentils cook down and become soft and stir in beautifully with the other veggies for a delicious soup! You can definitely use other lentils, but they might not cook down like red ones do, still delicious, just not as thick in texture.
If you love this recipe, two other vegetarian soup recipes you might enjoy are this vegan red lentil chili and this 5 ingredient tomato white bean soup recipe.
Next time you’re looking for a comforting healthy meal, make this healthy slow cooker lentil and vegetable soup recipe.
Healthy Slow Cooker Lentil and Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- [1 1/2 cups red lentils]
- 4 large carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 1/2 a bunch of kale about 4 leaves stems removed and chopped
- 2 russet potatoes peeled and chopped
- 1 jalapeno chopped (optional)
- 2 garlic cloves pressed
- 1/2 an onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 6 1/2 cups vegetable stock
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and pour in vegetable stock.
- Cook on high for 5 hours, or low for 8 hours (low is preferred). Stir a few times throughout the cooking. If you like a more brothy soup, add in 1-2 cups additional stock.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream and crusty bread on the side (optional)
Nutrition
This post was brought to you in partnership with Delta Faucet & Southern Living Magazine. As always, all thoughts and opinions are mine alone. Thank you for reading about the brands and partnerships that make the SweetPhi blog possible.
Antonio says
Soup is great, thanks for the recipe!
Sweetphi says
So glad you liked it!
Bjorn Again Chef says
Phi,
It has been six months on my learn-to-cook journey began and I am pleased to say that this has become a regular staple in our household rotation. I’ve learned so much in the past little while I was so surprised to read my original comment from September when it took me an hour and 15 minutes of prep on this recipe. I now have it down to 35 with cleanup. Still improving 🙂
Have a great day!
Sweetphi says
Oh wow, thank you SO much for coming back and leaving a follow up comment, that truly means a lot to me. So glad to hear!!
Olivia says
Definitely recommend! This soup was very hearty, filling, and healthy! Didn’t miss the meat at all with this. I used spinach instead of kale and put it in during the last few minutes of cooking. I made this in a pot instead of a slow cooker- just simmered it on low for a little less than an hour. I also omitted the salt and used bullion cubes instead of chicken stock. Three cubes was plenty for my taste.
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for your feedback and letting me know how you made this in an instant pot! I just got an instant pot (I’ve been sharing a few soup recipes and it is one of my favorite things to make in the instant pot) and I totally have to try this in one in the instant pot, it’s one of my all time favorite recipes. Thank you so much for letting me know your modifications, so glad you loved it! 🙂
OLivia says
Just to clarify, I just cooked it in a regular pot on the stove, not an instant pot.
Sweetphi says
Oh haha, I totally misread that, thank you so much for commenting and clarifying (lol, clearly it had been a long day!)
DebraLea says
This was so good. I doubled the recipe but omitted the kale. Will definitely make again.
Sweetphi says
Thank you for the awesome feedback, so happy to hear that.
Chelsea says
Mine wasn’t as creamy since I cooked it on high, but very good soup! I would make it again, so healthy 🙂
stacey says
it’s in the slow cooker right now. I love making big batches of healthy soup to share with our aging friends and family. I substituted frozen spinach for kale, used last summer’s tomatoes from the garden which I freeze in large blocks and played with the ratio of veggies (since it’s the day before the farmers market and my stash is a little low). I’m really looking forward to trying it, but I’m certain it’s going to be great with all of these tasty ingredients.
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for commenting, hope you love this recipe as much as I do!
Karen says
I made this soup today and it is delicious. I only made a couple of changes. I used spinach instead of kale and added a 14 oz can of diced tomatos as well as the broth. Soup tastes rich and I’m sure it will be even better tomorrow.
Sweetphi says
Those are awesome additions, thank you for sharing!
Annie says
For those using an Instant Pot as a slow cooker to make this … you have to use the “normal” setting instead of low! I cooked for 8.5 hours on low and the potatoes were still hard. Did 6 minutes of pressure cooking at the end to soften everything. Great recipe! I will try to pressure cook it all next time for about 20 minutes to experiment.
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for sharing this Annie!
Rachael says
Do you have to soak lentils first ?
Sweetphi says
Nope, that’s the beauty of this recipe, just put it all in a slow cooker 🙂
Paige says
How would I convert this recipe for instant pot
Sweetphi says
Sorry, I have not made this in an instant pot
Inci Kaya says
Can you portion and freeze this soup? Typically when there are potatoes involved the frozen-then-defrosted version texture gets a bit watery.
Sweetphi says
This soup does freeze really well. Usually when I thaw soups I end up adding water so you just don’t need to add too much water 🙂
Ashley says
I made this last night and it was sooo good! Thank you for posting the delicious recipe.
Angela says
I don’t have a slow cooker so I’ve got 2 choices: stove-top or oven. Which do you recommend and how would I adjust the timing?
Sweetphi says
I’d recommend stove top in a big pot, and I’d cook it low and slow just like in a crockpot. So I’d say low for about 3-4 hours 🙂
Andrea says
Can you sub parsnips for pots?
Sweetphi says
YES! That would be delicious – as a side note, I use parsnips in my mashed potatoes and everyone always loves them 🙂 Hope you enjoy this soup
Elise says
How do you do parsnips in mashed potatoes? Half potatoes and half parsnips? Less parsnips? Im intrigued!
Sweetphi says
I use one parsnip and 4 regular potatoes. SO amazing – I did a little post about four years ago, so please excuse the old photos lol – https://sweetphi.com/secret-ingredient-mashed-potatoes/
Elise says
Great!! Trying this soon-thank you!!
Sweetphi says
I think you’ll love it!
Alison says
I have green lentils, can I use those instead of red lentils ?
Sweetphi says
Yes you can, they just might not break down as much as the red lentils do, so it may not be as ‘thick’ in texture as what you see in my pictures. It’s still super delicious though. I’ve had many people make it with green lentils. I would recommend letting it cook low and slow 🙂
Mary says
Loved it! Just a few changes: substituted one carrot with a zucchini, didn’t have kale so used frozen spinach. Super easy because no stove top prep. Great soup to come home to…
Mary
Sweetphi says
So glad you loved this recipe, and I love hearing the substitutions you made 🙂
KAREN says
if i use the cayanne…how spicy will the soup be? I can tolerate just a touch of heat. I cant do really spicy
Sweetphi says
The cayenne pepper definitely does not make the soup hot, it just adds a little flavor, but it is not really spicy at all (I too can’t do really spicy!)
Teresa Fritz says
Excellent recipe but I added a few touches: I pureed the soup with a handheld blender; added 3 tablespoons tomato puree and 6 ounces crumbled feta cheese, then pureed again. Served with a dollop of plain, nonfat yogurt on top and warm Naan bread
Sweetphi says
Those sound like awesome touches you made, thank you for sharing!
LYn says
what about adding sausage or some thing like that to it?
Sweetphi says
That would be a delicious addition
Barb Green says
In the crockpot now! I picked up a green pepper by mistake. Red are sweeter do you think it will turn out right? It sounds so good!
Sweetphi says
I find that both red and green tend to have the same flavor in soups 🙂 I think you’ll be just fine! Hope you love this soup.
Barbara says
Would it be ok to freeze extra soup………I live alone and I couldn’t eat an entire crockpot of soup myself.
Sweetphi says
Oh my goodness yes, this is an excellent recipe for the freezer. Just make sure the soup is cooled down, then freeze it 🙂
Andrea says
Made this tonight – it was fantastic! I used sweet pototoes and added some cauliflower which I had hanging around, which added white to an already visually beautiful presentation. I served it with shredded jack cheese on top. Other than that, I pretty much stuck to the recipe and it was a big hit. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
KennyCooks says
I’m just starting up with a slow cooker. So far awesome. Just finished putting your recipe together. I’m super excited. Can’t wait for the aroma to start. Do you have other recipes for the crockpot.
Sweetphi says
Congrats on starting using your slow cooker, they’re awesome! Yes, I do have more slow cooker recipes, see here: https://sweetphi.com/category/slow-cookercrock-pot/
Marci says
I came across this recipe amd knew it was a must try! I’ve never made lemtils before, so I have to admit I was a little nervous. I used red lentils like the recipe called for and cooked on high for 5 hours, however my lentils did not break down like yours, thus was more brothy than thick. It’s still SUPER yummy, but was wondering if you had any suggestions?
Sweetphi says
Hi Marci, thank you so much for your comment! I think I would suggest having it cook on low for 8 hours, that would be the only difference. I think the “low and slow” helps the lentils breakdown 🙂
Marci says
Awesome!! I’ll make sure to do that next time. Also, what would be considered a serving in order to get the 6-8 serving ratio?
Sweetphi says
I would say a generous 2-3 ladle full? Depends on your bowl and how hungry the people are! I’ve had this recipe be enough for 8 servings or even 12…it just depends on the hunger level lol
Tessa Hudgeon says
Found this recipe on the Internet while searching for some new crockpot recipes. I am soooo thankful I stumbled across this recipe and decided to give it a try. This is such a hearty delicious soup that is perfect for the cold snowy weather we’ve been having in Alberta (Canada) the past week. It was super easy to make and turned out incredible! The sour cream on top finishes it off perfectly! Thank you for sharing this recipe, it’s definitely going to be a staple in my household from now on.
Sweetphi says
Oh my goodness, thank you SO much for the wonderful comment, I truly appreciate it! So glad you liked this soup!!
Sydney says
How I would need to adust the recipe or a 2-quart crock pot?
Sweetphi says
You would need to cut all the ingredients by at least a third
Cindy Brown says
I made this soup for the second week in a row… that’s how delicious it is !! This time l put in two chopped carrots and two chopped parsnips instead of four chopped carrots . It was very tasty ! I love that it makes so much…had it for my supper with lots leftover for some more meals and to freeze in individual servings for when a quick meal is needed ! I highly recommend trying this recipe and don’t forget your dallop of sour cream ! ?
Sweetphi says
Oh my goodness, thank you so much for your awesome feedback and letting me know what changes you made! So glad you liked this soup!
Carroll says
Can you use sprouted trio lentils with this instead of red?
Sweetphi says
Yes! I would just suggest cooking it on low, also it might not be as thick in consistency as mine looks because I’m not sure how the sprouted trio lentils cook down, just a little heads up, but it’s still super delicious with different lentils used!
Cindy Brown says
Thank you so much for sharing this awesome recipe and replying so quickly to my earlier question ! I made this for supper last and it was a big hit ! It was the perfect night to have it because when my two daughters and one son-in-law joined me we were getting our first snowfall and it was pretty nasty out ! I served it with a dollar of sour cream and Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits warm out of the oven . I went with the suggestion of another comment and used about two teaspoons of canned green chilies instead of a jalapeno pepper . My tolerance to anything too hot is pretty low but l’m working on that ! Lol ! That was the only change l made and l love the thickness of the soup . This recipe is definitely a keeper and a go-to comfort food ! ?
Cindy Brown says
This recipe looks easy , delicious and healthy ! I’m going to make it this week as l’m always looking for new recipes for when my newly-vegetarian daughter and son-in-law join me for a meal ! I have red split lentils as that’s what l’ve used in other recipes and was wondering if they will work in this recipe . Thanks . ?
Sweetphi says
I think they’re going to love that you made them this soup! Yes, red split lentils would work, I would say to keep this cooking on low to make sure the lentils get nice and soft 🙂