8-Ingredient Lentil Soup with Potatoes and Kale

  • Prep-time: / Ready In:
  • Makes 7 cups
  • Serving size: 2⅓ cups
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Made with everyday ingredients, this hearty lentil soup fills you up without emptying your wallet. The meaty flavor of cooked-from-scratch lentils creates a rich, earthy base for this budget-friendly soup, while onion and garlic powder add extra body. Tender chunks of potato and carrot give you something to sink your teeth into, kale adds green goodness, and a splash of lemon juice brightens the flavor (a great trick for just about any soup). Serve a steaming bowl of this family-friendly soup with whole grain bread, or enjoy a smaller portion as a starter. Ready in 45 minutes, this scrumptious eight-ingredient soup tastes even better the next day, so consider making double!

For more inspiration, check out these tasty ideas:

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup dry brown lentils, rinsed and drained
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1½ teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1½ lb. Yukon gold potatoes, cut into ½-inch dice (4 cups)
  • 2 large carrots, cut into ⅛-inch-thick coins (1 cup)
  • 2 cups chopped kale (1-inch pieces), stems separated from leaves
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  • In a large saucepan combine lentils, onion powder, garlic powder, bay leaf, and 4 cups water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20 minutes or until lentils are tender.
  • Add potatoes, carrots, chopped kale stems, and 2 cups water. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
  • Stir in chopped kale leaves, lemon juice, and 1 cup water. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 4 to 6 minutes more or until kale is tender. Serve warm.
Nutritional Information:

Per serving (2⅓ cups): 431 calories, 87 g carbohydrates, 22 g protein, 1 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 g cholesterol, 129 mg sodium, 13 g fiber, 5 g sugar

Note: Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only.

Comments (8)

(5 from 2 votes)

Recipe Rating

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Madalyn

Very good! Didn’t have carrots but I added alittle more seasoning, cremini mushrooms & onion. It made the pot alittle crowded but i enjoy more chunkier soup. It was delicious!!

Jenn

You cook the kale stems too?? Is there a reason to do that?

Lisa, Forks Over Knives Support

Hi Jenn, Yes, kale stems are a tasty addition to soups and stews. They are added earlier in the cooking process as they take longer. For many recipes with shorter cooking time, kale stems are not used, but with this recipe, their longer cooking time is easy to accommodate.

Diane Jones

Thank you for FINALLY adding nutrition information for the recipes! Now if only you would add phosphorous and potassium levels for those of us with kidney disease.

Cheryl

Delicious! We love all colors of Lentils and grow lots of kale and spinach oin our Tower Garden..inside!

Diane Novini

Could I use sweet potato instead?

Joyce

Of course! Or use half-and-half. When I try a new recipe, I try to do it as printed. But invariably I always end up, adapting it to my own taste. After all a recipe, author is not God. They devise a recipe based on their own tastes. And so should we all.

Lisa, Forks Over Knives Support

Hi Dianne, Yes, that should work well. Great idea.

About the Author

Headshot of Darshana Thacker

About the Author

Darshana Thacker Wendel

Darshana Thacker Wendel is a whole-food, plant-based chef and former culinary projects manager for Forks Over Knives. A graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, she is the author of Forks Over Knives: Flavor! She created the recipes for Forks Over Knives Family and was a lead recipe contributor to the New York Times bestseller The Forks Over Knives Plan. Her recipes have been published in The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook, Forks Over Knives—The Cookbook, Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health, and LA Yoga magazine online. Visit DarshanasKitchen.com and follow her on Instagram for more.
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