On the list of the most loved vegetable soups, we’re pretty sure traditional Classic French Lentil Soup is at the top, right near tortilla soup, minestrone, and classic tomato soup.
Having attended culinary school in France, lived in Paris, and been raised in a French family means I’ve spent years immersed in the country’s food traditions. My experience as a trained chef, recipe developer, and cookbook author means I have rigorously tested this recipe and made it easy enough for a weeknight dinner but delicious enough for a dinner party.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This is a simple, healthy recipe for traditional lentil soup made with lentils, tomatoes, broth, and many herbs and greens. I’m calling it Traditional Lentil Soup because it is the traditional recipe I grew up making, and it just so happens to be loaded with veggies and vegan.
It has a French slant thanks to my having grown up with French family and having spent years in France at culinary school. However, it is by no means the only version of this soup out there.
Recipe Ingredients
The ingredients you’ll need to make this French lentil soup are:
- Olive oil – The main fat you’ll use to cook the mirepoix (carrots, celery, and onion).
- Carrots – To provide sweetness.
- Celery – To provide crunch
- Red onion and Garlic – Give the recipe a backbone of flavor
- Kosher Salt and Freshly ground black pepper – To bring out the flavors
- Lentils – We like to use green French lentils, but you can use brown lentils instead.
- Bay Leaf, fresh marjoram, thyme, or oregano—These herbs all bring a lot of flavor, so add some to the soup.
- Diced tomatoes – These provide acid and make the soup base.
- Vegetable broth – The key to making the soup brothy.
- Red wine vinegar – Optional – It brightens the whole dish.
- Spinach or kale or chard – Optional – If you want more nutrition and more flavor in the soup.
- Flat-leaf Italian parsley – Optional – I add fresh parsley when I have it but you can skip it if desired.
How To Make This Recipe
Here is how to make this French lentil soup:
- Saute The Vegetables: Heat the oil and cook the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic until softened, seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Simmer The Lentils: Add the lentils, bay leaf, oregano, tomatoes, and broth, and simmer until the lentils are cooked through but not mushy.
- Blend The Soup: If desired, you can blend part of the soup, but this isn’t necessary.
- Serve: Stir in the vinegar, greens, and herbs, then drizzle in some olive oil and serve.
What Is French Lentil Soup?
Lentil soup is traditionally eaten in many cultures worldwide, from the Middle East to Italy. This recipe is a French-style lentil soup, which is often found in many home cooks’ repertoires in France (and is arguably one of the most famous foods in France).
In addition to the classic French-style soup base of mirepoix (aka a mix of carrots, onions or leeks, and celery), it is traditionally made with green lentils from France known as “Le Puy” lentils.
How To Clean And Prepare Lentils
Unlike dried beans, lentils do not need to be soaked before use. However, doing so can cut the cooking time by as much as half. However, we often skip that and cook them for their entire time. Regardless, you’ll want to rinse the lentils before using them and pick out any debris.
Tips To Make Traditional Lentil Soup
Regarding cooking instructions, making this lentil soup couldn’t be easier. And it’s one of the quickest soups to make, as you can have it on your table in just over 30 minutes.
Though this soup is pretty straightforward, we do have a few tips:
- Find The Lentils You Like: Vary the type of lentils to green or black (just don’t use red lentils, which will turn to mush).
- Amp It Up With Spices: You can alter it by adding in spices (like cumin, coriander, paprika, or curry). We’d suggest adding any of those spices in just after the vegetables are soft and cooking until the spices are fragrant (about 1 minute) before adding the salt and pepper and continuing with the recipe.
- Choose Your Texture: Like with classic tortilla soup, some people like this served chunky while others like blending it to make it smoother. Or, better yet, you do what we call for in the recipe and blend part and leave party chunky so you get the best of both worlds.
Ways To Garnish Traditional Lentil Soup
Since we’re always and forever searching for balance in our cooking, we like to make a few tweaks to amp up the taste of our lentil soup. We always add a splash of acid (like lemon juice or vinegar) and some fresh parsley. But it’s also fabulous with a pinch of red pepper flakes or aged Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
This soup can be a meal paired with a crusty loaf of bread. But it’s also perfectly paired with a green salad or a French Carrot Salad.
Other Soup Recipes To Try
Here are a few of our other favorite soups to try:
Go stock up on all your cooking essentials, then head into the kitchen, make this, and share it with us by tagging @saltandwind and #swsociety on social!
More Recipes Inspired By France
Not heading to France quite yet? Here are five of our readers’ favorite classic French recipes to make at home to stoke your wanderlust:
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Classic French Lentil Soup Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
For The Traditional Lentil Soup:
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for garnish
- 4 medium carrots ends trimmed and discarded, remaining diced
- 4 celery stalks ends trimmed and discarded, remaining diced
- 1 medium red onion (or white or yellow onion) ends trimmed and discarded, remaining diced
- 6 medium garlic cloves peeled and minced
- Kosher salt and Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cups black beluga lentils or green or brown lentils (don't use red because they'll break apart and turn mushy)
- 1 medium bay leaf
- 1 sprig fresh marjoram, thyme, or oregano leaves
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
- 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, chicken broth, or water
Optional Garnish:
- Splash red wine vinegar or freshly-squeezed lemon juice, optional
- Handfuls baby spinach, kale, or chard optional
- Handfuls Fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves optional
Instructions
- Make The Traditional Lentil Soup: Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat until it's shimmering. Stir in the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic cook until translucent and softened. Season well with kosher salt and black pepper. Stir in the lentils, bay leaf, and oregano (if using) and cook until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and their liquid and the broth or water, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until lentils are just soft but not mushy, about 25 minutes.TIP: You can stop now and serve the soup brothy (remove the bay leaf and oregano sprig) or blend part of it. Put 1/3 of the soup in a blender, food processor, or use an immersion blender and blend 1/3 until smooth (this thickens the soup but still leaves texture!
- Serve The Lentil Soup: If you want a little more "brightness," add in some lemon juice or vinegar. For a little more nutrition and flavor, stir in a few handfuls of greens or parsley until they wilt. Otherwise, drizzle in a bit more olive oil and serve with crusty bread and a green salad!
