Remember on Monday when I told you all that I made soup? Well, as it turns out, that soup is pretty darn delicious.
So, if it’s okay with you, I’m going to share it with ya’ll today, mmmkay?
First of all, I gotta tell ya that it is not easy making a soup like this look pretty. For me, it’s just not happening, but to anyone who else that can, well, they are a genius.
The other day, I came across a bag of lentils that have been sitting in my pantry for, ohh I don’t know, over a year at least (hopefully they don’t go bad?). I decided it was time to do something with those bad boys so I started looking around in some of my cookbooks to see what I could find.
Sure enough, I came across a recipe for Spinach Lentil Stew in my Taste of Home cookbook that seemed not only easy enough, but I also already had almost all of the ingredients on hand. Perfect.
I made a few slight adaptations to the original recipe based on what I had at home, and it worked like a charm.
Spinach Lentil Soup
(slightly adapted from Taste of Home)
Perfect for a quick, cozy dinner on a cool, crisp evening. Pair it with some crusty bread, a nice glass of wine, and you’ll be set for the rest of the night.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup chopped onion
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 package (10oz.) fresh baby spinach leaves
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup lentils, rinsed
- 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 can (14-1/2oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
Directions:
- In a large saucepan, sauté onion in oil until tender, 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and sauté an additional minute. Add baby spinach leaves, cover, and allow spinach to cook down until wilted.
- Add the broth, water, lentils, Worcestershire sauce, salt, thyme, pepper, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add carrots and diced tomatoes; return to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 20-25 minutes longer or until lentils are tender. Enjoy!
*****
Since Jay really has no desire to go anywhere near lentils, I have this whole big batch for myself; but at the risk of overdosing on spinach and lentils, I divided my batch into two, and put the other half in the freezer for another time.
(FYI: When freezing soups/stews, I put it in a sealable, plastic container, and simply pop it in the freezer. I’ve also heard of people using gallon-size freezer bags which can take up less space, but the plastic containers work well for me.)
Lunch today is going to be awesome.
Question for the Afternoon:
Do you have a favorite homemade soup recipe?
Feel free to share and/or link it up in the comments section!
I love lentil soup, I just had some today for lunch made by mom that I had in my freezer…yum.
I love homemade chicken noodle soup. Nothing compares to it for me! It bring back great memories too!
I love hearty soups and stews. I’ve been meaning to find some crock pot coup recipes so I can just set it in the morning and come home to dinner.
My fav homemade soup that my mom makes is a Polish soup called Zurek, that gets translated to Sour Rye Soup in English, but don’t let the name fool you, it’s delish!
I make a pretty delish White Bean Chili. My boyfriend raves about it for days every time I make it. http://www.frolic-through-life.com/2011/07/chili-and-fro-yo/
I LOVE lentils. And I really LOVE spinach. So this sounds totally delicious. Looks like poop (sorry) but sounds yummy! Some foods just are not appetizing to look at, but delicious to eat. Hah.
Enjoy your lunch :)
I think the soup looks great…and super healthy!
I don’t have a favorite soup recipe, per se, but my favorite soup is my Mom’s turkey-veggie. It’s super easy, but she has a way of making it taste out of this world. Moms are good for that.
Mmm looks like an easy, healthy, and delicious soup! I love all the ingredients too, so I’m sure I’d love it!! Some of most delicious foods aren’t always the prettiest to look at! ;)
I love french onion soup – but lately I have been craving Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper – I see a new recipe in my future.
I just had the yummiest puy lentils at a restaurant. It reminded me how much I enjoy lentils so this recipe has come at the perfect time! Thanks :)
I created a curried cauliflower soup a month or so ago that was sooo delicious! I really need to make it again and photograph it this time. I’d love to share it with everyone!
mmmm this looks delicious! If I made it I would have it all to myself too. Mike doesn’t want to go near lentils!
This looks so hearty and filling! I love to make any bean-based soups at home.
I don’t have a favorite soup recipe but I do enjoy making (and eating it). I mostly just combine all sorts of things from my pantry and fridge (beans, left over veggies, maybe a bit of rice, etc.).
This soup makes me homesick. My mom used to literally make gallons of lentil soup.
I loove homemade carrot soup! I’ve also made pea and lentil but yours looks so much better :D
I’ve never had lentils before. I’ve always wanted to try them. This soup looks fantastic!!! I love when spinach is in soup too. I’m definitely going to try lentils and make this recipe. There is nothing like homemade soup and a piece of toasty bread :)
This is one of my favorite soup recipes, from Martha Stewart:
http://www.marthastewart.com/318100/big-batch-vegetable-soup
CHILI, mainly because the husband looooves it and brags about how amazing my chili is :) That makes it my favorite to make!
this soup looks delicious I love lentils! I love homemade black bean soup and butternut squash soup:)
Tomato Basil soup is by far my favorite, but I’ve never made it on my own! For whatever (silly) reason, I’m almost scared to make it–if you know of a really good recipe I would love to know about it! :)
I love all soup and if it can be made in a crockpot I’m all over it!
i love to make giada’s lentil soup and my old co-worker gave me a really good corn chowder recipe that i lost :(
now i’m craving a good bowl of soup!
I will try this in next weeks meal plan :) I have been making at least one homemade soup a week this past month and so far my favorite is your pumpkin and black bean soup! So much flavor! A few others I have tried are kinda bland… My other favorite is from the Double Delicious cookbook – Roasted Butternut Squash and Tomato.
I’m collecting as many soup recipes as possible as we approach winter! Gotta stay warm! :-)
I love lentil soup! Thanks for the recipe :)
Hi there! The soup looks so yummy! Im a Buffalo reader and headed to Albany this weekend to visit friends. After last weekends posts I already requested going to The City Beer Hall, which they said they also love, any other good recommendations while we are in for the weekend..maybe some daytime recommendations – bc sitting and watching the boyfriend and his friends play xbox during the day isn’t sounding fun! I am thinking I might need to try out the farmers market too!
Hey Sarah! That’s awesome to hear you’ll be headed out this way. Here’s a few things I can recommend… (most you can Google for exact locations)
-Farmers Market in Troy (it’s on Saturdays from 9-1, definitely good for during the day)
-If you want somewhere to go for breakfast/lunch after the Farmers Market, head around the corner to Spillin’ the Beans on 3rd Street. DELICIOUS food!
-If you want to go shopping, you can always go to Crossgates Mall!
-Other bars/restaurants in Albany that I like:
Stout
Bombers’s Burrito Bar on Lark Street
Lionheart, near Lark Street
(all of Lark Street is a pretty chill place to visit)
-TCBY for fro yo on Western Ave! :)
Also, check out albanyevents.org – they should have some good info for you. Have fun!
I haven’t made too many soups myself, but I really need to learn how to make all of my mom’s traditional Korean soups. I don’t have enough time to go home and get my fill anymore!
Mmmm, this soup looks so good! Since we are truly getting into soup season now, I will definitely be trying this recipe out. Thanks!
My mom makes this homemade take-out chicken noodle soup. The recipe calls for egg noodles, celery, carrots, chicken, and chicken broth. It tastes delicious! One time, we subsituted the chicken for turkey and it tasted just as good.
Just typing this makes me want to have a bowl right about now. :)
I made this last night, but added spicy turkey sausage so that my boyfriend would eat it too (he liked it, even if he did pick out the spinach). And MAN was it good! Thanks for the recipe!
That is a great idea! So glad you liked it!
This is such a delicious soup recipe! Thank you!
Hi, I made your lentil and spinach soup today, and felt the need to thank you. Ive never made any of your recipes or even seen your site until I went looking for this recipe. Ive made way too many online recipes that just tasted bad and wasted my time and money. So, I wasn’t very excited this one would be any different. I was wrong. This recipe is just perfect and I am thankful. I will be making your White Bean Chicken Chili after this soup is gone.
*** I wish your site let me upload pic so you could see what you helped me create :)
Thanks so much, Sarah! So glad you liked it :)