This flavorful Vegan Broccoli Lentil Soup is full of potatoes, broccoli, and lentils and seasoned with salt and cayenne! The perfect soup to keep you warm during those long winter months.
It’s another Meatless Monday over here at SMTY and this broccoli lentil soup will not disappoint!
This recipe is actually inspired by our good friends, the Conroy’s (hey Conroys!). They’re probably the cutest family you’ll ever meet and guess how many of them there are….
SEVEN.
Yea. I know.
There’s Barney, Tina, Emma, Lucy, Liam, Clara and last, but not least, Alice.
They are such an incredible family and they just happen to be vegetarians! One night, Trevor and I were over at the Conroy’s house for dinner and out comes this kind of weird looking soup, Tina’s broccoli lentil soup. At first, I was a little hesitant. Tina is an AMAZING cook, but broccoli soup? And it kinda looks brown….
and there’s no cheese and no meat? Say WHAAAT?!
But, after I actually tried this soup I was utterly blown away. This soup is why people say to “never judge a book by it’s cover”, because I’m telling you this is the best soup I’ve ever had. It’s so flavorful, it’s healthy, it’s filling, it makes a ton, and it just so happens to be vegan. So, “thanks, Tina” for first introducing me to this incredible broccoli lentil soup!
First, let’s prep the veggies. Start by cutting potatoes into large chunks. Leave the skins on and make sure not to cube them too small, or they’ll just disintegrate into the soup. Then you’re going to prepare your broccoli by cutting off the stems. Leave on as much or as little stem as you like. I like to cut the broccoli so all of the crowns are bite sized. Then dice about half of a yellow onion and mince a bunch of garlic.
This recipe uses quite a bit of garlic (as you know I’m obsessed with it as you can see in this Light Greek Yogurt Lemon Pasta), so if you have a garlic press, I’d highly recommend using one to save some time! I honestly have never loved anything as much as my garlic press. Overall love in life goes like this… Trevor, Teddy, and then my garlic press.
After all of your veggies are prepped, you’re going to heat oil in a large stock pot and start browning your potatoes. Once the potatoes start to stick to the bottom of the pot (be careful not to fling hot oil on yourself trying to “unstick” the potatoes), add in your onion and continue cooking until the potatoes are golden and the onions are slightly softened.
Then stir in the garlic and cook for thirty seconds.
The base of this soup, the browned potatoes, onion, and garlic add SO much flavor to this soup, but you also need to make sure you’re seasoning throughout the process! After each step below, taste, and re-season with a little bit of salt, so you can really build the flavor! We also like to add cayenne pepper, but that’s optional! Quick tip: as with any time you are seasoning your dish, don’t add too much at once. Season, taste, season and taste, because you can’t take it out, but you can always add more!
Next, add in 16 cups of hot water.
Yes. You read that right.
16 cups of water! I told you this makes a ton of soup!
Bring this to a boil, making sure to scrape the potato off the bottom of the pot, and then add in your bay leaves. You’re going to cook this for 15 minutes.
Now stir in the lentils and reduce your heat. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Next stir in the broccoli and simmer for another 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes have past, pluck out the bay leaves, re-taste and re-season with salt and the optional cayenne pepper!
Serve immediately or let cool and then store in the refrigerator! This soup usually lasts Trevor and I for about a week. Trevor likes to eat this with a side of peanut butter crackers…don’t ask, some sort of fond childhood soup and cracker memory…. I love to butter up some saltines and dunk them in.
This broccoli lentil soup is so flavorful thanks to the longer cooking time, and seasoning throughout the process, but it’s still so easy! Just prep the veggies and then dump everything in when the recipe calls for it! Make this soup on a Sunday afternoon and have the most delicious, healthy, warm, filling soup for the week!
– Jennifer
Do you ever eat vegan? People always wonder how vegans get their protein, but if you look below 1 and 1/2 cups of soup is only 177 calories with almost 12 grams of protein! Show me the yummy!
Broccoli Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 pound russet potatoes chopped into large cubes
- 1/2 large yellow onion diced
- 6-8 cloves garlic minced
- 16 cups vegetable broth (or water)
- 3 whole bay leaves
- 1 pound brown lentils
- 1 pound broccoli stems removed, but crowns left whole
- salt to taste
- Cayenne to taste - optional
Instructions
- Prep the veggies. Cube the potatoes, dice the onion, mince the garlic, and cut the broccoli to your liking.
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large stock pot. Stir in the potatoes until golden brown and sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Stir in the onions until they are slightly softened, just a minute or two.
- Then add in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Pour in 16 cups of vegetable broth and bring to a boil over high heat, making sure to scrape up any potato that may have stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Once boiling, add in the bay leaves and cook for 15 minutes.
- Reduce the heat back to medium, add in the lentils, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Then stir in the broccoli and simmer for another 15 minutes.
- Pluck out the bay leaves, re-taste and re-season and serve immediately or let cool and store in tupperware in the refrigerator!
Nutrition Information
*Note: Nutritional information is estimated and varies based on products used.
;lawdida
Its looks gross but it is SO good, I added mushroom “better than bullion” to the water. It tastes so good. I did put some Parmesan cheese on mine.
Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy
Ha!! I love this comment. It’s SO true. It IS ugly, but very tasty! Glad you enjoyed this 🙂
Aly
This was delicious!
Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy
Thanks Aly! I’m so happy you liked it. 🙂
Susan
This is a wonderful soup!! One of my new favorites, so thank you for sharing 🙂
Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy
Hi Susan! Thank you so much for making the recipe! I’m so happy you enjoyed it 🙂 It’s one of our favorites, too!
Tina Conroy
You’re welcome. ; )
xo
Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy
You’re amazing, Tina! 🙂
Caralyn @ glutenfreehappytummy
looks so hearty and delicious! yum!
Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy
Thanks Caralyn! 🙂
Stacey @ Bake.Eat.Repeat.
Lentils are not something that I’ve ever really cooked with, but this soup is making me want to try! Although, like you, I would initially be pretty unsure of this! You made it sound delicious though so now I want to try it!
Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy
Thanks Stacey! You should definitely try it…it’s not much of a looker, but it really is tasty and easy to make 😉
Cate @ Chez CateyLou
I love soup, and this one is so perfect for Meatless Monday! Hearty and healthy and delicious – what could be better than that?!
Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy
Thank you Cate! It really is one of my favorite soups 🙂
Kammie | Sensual Appeal Blog
Mmmm… broccoli <3 I love this soup. Nicely done and the photos are gorgeous!
Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy
Thank you Kammie 🙂
Christina | Simply Yum
Would never think of combining broccoli and lentils but will have to give this a try. I have a bunch of lentls and am always looking to try new soups! Love that this recipe makes a lot of soup. Always love having lots of leftovers!
Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy
You’ll have to let me know if you get to try the recipe 🙂 I love having lots of leftovers, too, because it means less dishes for the rest of the week, ha!
Brent
I love your recipes!! And I know that Trevor is your biggest fan!! Your story about him is exactly correct!! It started years ago…. every noon one year when Trevor was only in preschool, our lunch menu (his request) was New England Clam Chowder with Ritz crackers and peanut butter!! I didn’t realize that he still loved that “side dish” with his soup! Fond memory!! : )
Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy
Thanks Brent! 🙂 I think it’s hilarious that he loved clam chowder and peanut butter crackers when he was sick…that’s quite the combo! 😉