Veggie Soup with Mushrooms and Lentils

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Let’s be real, most of my soup “recipes” are just me dumping whatever veggies I have in the fridge into a pot. And that’s exactly what I’ve done here. I had mushrooms, celery, peppers, cauliflower and a half a jar of tomato paste to use. So I added a few pantry staples and some spices and voila! I had dinner ready for the next three or four nights.

And if you’re familiar with my method for building a balanced meal, you know I always like to include a whole grain and some kind of beans or legumes with my veggies. So I decided to add red lentils into the pot. I wanted something I could literally dump in the pot and walk away from. Red lentils cook pretty quickly, so I knew they would be cooked by the time the rest of my veggies were done. And then I served it with brown basmati rice. So delicious and easy!

As with all of my recipes, you can omit or swap out ingredients as you like. Don’t like white button mushrooms? Use cremini or any others you like. Don’t have frozen spinach? Try kale or collard greens. You get the idea. And as always, if you want something completely different check out my other soup and stew ideas for more inspiration.

Veggie Soup with Mushrooms and Lentils
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Veggie Soup with Mushrooms and Lentils

Course: MainCuisine: Vegan, Oil-FreeDifficulty: Easy
Servings

6

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

30

minutes

Ingredients

  • Brown basmati rice or other whole grain cooked per package directions

  • 1½ cup red lentils, sorted and rinsed

  • ½ jar or can of tomato paste (about 3 to 4 tablespoons)

  • 1 pint white button mushrooms, cut into chunks

  • 1 cup chopped celery

  • 1 cup chopped bell peppers, any color

  • 1 cup chopped cauliflower

  • 1 chopped red onion

  • 3 to 4 cloves crushed garlic

  • 2 teaspoons ground cardamom

  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander

  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin

  • 1 or 2 teaspoons ground black cumin (nigella sativa)*

  • 2 teaspoons ground turmeric

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon onion powder

  • ½ teaspoon black pepper

  • 4 cups veggie broth, plus about 2 cups water (adjusted to your preferred soup consistency)

  • ½ bag frozen spinach

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Directions

  • Cook your rice or other grain per package directions.
  • Dump all other ingredients except the vinegar into a large pot or dutch oven. Bring to a boil and then simmer on the stove until the veggies and lentils are cooked. About 30 minutes.
  • Add the vinegar to taste and then serve soup over your rice or other grains. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for about 4 days.

Notes

  • If you can’t find black cumin you can leave this out. Also feel free to start with a little less if you’ve never tried it before. I find that it has a pretty strong flavor.