Freezer-Friendly Lentil Soup Recipe
Can you freeze lentil soup? Yes! This easy, one-pot freezer-friendly lentil soup can be made in large batches and frozen in freezer bags, ice-cube trays, or freezer-safe containers. If you have picky eaters in your family, this freezer-friendly lentil soup recipe will be a hit for sure! Feel free to sneak in extra vegetables like kale, tomatoes, and celery so you can be sure that they are getting all the nutrients.
What is Freezer-Friendly Lentil Soup?
This freezer-friendly lentil soup recipe is a wonderful soup with plenty of spices like coriander and cumin, and vegetables including carrots, kale, and celery. All of the ingredients get combined in a pot and cooked until the lentils are tender enough to blend up a few times with an immersion blender. Since this soup has more of a chunky-pureed consistency, it freezes extremely well as vegetables tend to lose their texture when they are placed in the freezer.
This freezer lentil soup is a well-balanced, creamy, healthy one-pot wonder that is so convenient to make. It is an amazing cook-ahead meal that is a great way to leverage whatever is in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
This freezer-friendly lentil soup doesn’t include complicated ingredients, and is actually an incredible budget meal if you are looking to tighten up your grocery costs. With a medley of spices, here are the ingredients you will need to make this delightful dish:
- olive oil
- onion – white, sweet, or yellow
- garlic
- carrot
- celery
- dried lentils – green or brown lentils
- canned crushed tomatoes
- vegetable broth
- cumin powder
- coriander powder
- bay leaves – dried
- lemon
- Salt and pepper
- kale – for garnish
Instructions
This stovetop lentil soup recipe is so easy to prepare and yet tastes like it has been simmering for hours. Here is how to make this wonderful fiber-rich soup in your kitchen:
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and onions, and allow them to cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the celery and carrots, and cook them until they are softened and the onions are caramelized, about 7-10 minutes.
- Add the lentils, tomatoes, and vegetable stock to the pot; bring the mixture to a boil, reduce it to a simmer over medium-low, and simmer it for 20 minutes.
-
Add the cumin, coriander, and bay leaves.
-
Stir the soup and cover the pot with a lid. Allow it to simmer for about 20 minutes or so, until the lentils get soft but not mushy.
- Using an immersion blender or stick blender, pulse the soup 2 to 3 times to thicken the soup. Alternatively, you can blend 2 cups of cooled soup in a blender before stirring it into the remaining soup. Add more stock or water to the soup to adjust its consistency if needed.
-
Check the flavors and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Stir lemon zest and juice into the soup before serving.
- Serve garnished with chopped kale.
Variations
Soup is a wonderful dish for you to get creative in the kitchen or use up leftover ingredients. Here are some ways you can adjust this lentil soup recipe:
- Make a Curried Lentil Soup: If you love the taste of curry with lentil dishes, you can add curry powder into the soup along with the other ingredients. You could also replace the lemon with lime, and stir some chopped cilantro into the soup at the end of the cooking time as those ingredients pair beautifully with curry.
- Make a Vegan Smoky Lentil Soup: While bacon lentil soup is a classic dish, for a vegan alternative, you could add some smoked tempeh into the soup to impart a smoky flavor. Other great smoky ingredients include smoked paprika or smoked salt as well.
- Make an Italian-inspired Lentil Soup: By swapping out the seasonings, you can give this soup an Italian flavor profile instead. Simply add chopped rosemary or dried Italian herbs like Italian seasoning or oregano into the soup as it cooks instead of the cumin and coriander. You could also add some crushed red pepper flakes into the soup if you would like your soup to have a spicy taste.
How to Store Freezer-Friendly Lentil Soup
When making this inexpensive freezer-friendly lentil soup, I tend to make a couple of batches. Here are my tried-and-true storage and reheating tips and tricks.
I recommend storing leftover lentil soup in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 3 days. Make sure your soup is cooked completely before you refrigerate it.
Can you freeze lentil soup? Of course! After allowing it to cool completely, you have the versatility of freezing in freezer-safe containers, freezer bags, whichever you have on hand, or even ice cube trays. I find myself using the freezer bags because it uses up less room in the freezer and I can stack them on top of each other. Whichever option you choose, be sure not to overfill as liquids expand during freezing. Feel free to store it in the freezer for up to 6 months.
If reheating from the refrigerator, you can use the microwave heating all the way through. If reheating from the freezer, I recommend taking it out and defrosting it in the refrigerator and reheating it in the microwave or on the stovetop until heated completely through.
Freezer-Friendly Lentil Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced , (white, sweet, or yellow)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 2 cups dried lentils, rinsed and drained, (green or brown lentils)
- 1 14 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 2 bay leaves, dried
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- A few leaves of kale, washed and finely chopped, (for garnish)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add garlic and the onions and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add the celery and carrots and cook until softened and the onion starts to caramelize. This should take about 7-10 minutes.
- Add lentils, tomatoes, and stock to the bot, bringing everything to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and let the mixture simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Add all remaining ingredients (cumin, coriander, bay leaves) except lemon and salt, stir, and cover the pot with a lid. Leave for about 20 minutes or so, until the lentils get soft but not mushy.
- Using an immersion blender or a stick blender, do 2 or 3 quick whizzes to thicken the soup. You can also transfer 2 cups of cooled soup to a blender, blend, then transfer it back to the pot. Feel free to add water or more stock if you want to adjust the soup consistency.
- Check the flavors and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Add the zest of a lemon and add a squeeze of lemon juice and garnish with finely chopped kale.
BON APPÉTIT!
Equipment
- Stove Top
- Immersion/Stick Blender/Blender
Notes
- Wash and rinse the lentils very well to remove any debris.
- Try not to overcook the lentils as the texture will become mushy.
- Feel free to adjust the consistency of the soup to your liking. If you would rather have a smoother soup just blend a little longer.
- Sliced avocados on top can be a tasty and creamy surprise!
FAQ
Certainly! This is why I love making soups in batches. After allowing it to cool completely at room temperature, place the soup in freezer-safe containers, bags, or ice trays. This freezer-friendly lentil soup stores perfectly without sacrificing any flavor for up to 6 months in the freezer. If you decide to freeze in ice-cube trays, once the soup is frozen, take them out of the trays and place them in a freezer-safe bag to prevent freezer burn. Whichever option you choose, don’t overfill the containers as liquids expand during freezing.
The best way to freeze this wholesome freezer-friendly lentil soup would be in either freezer-safe containers, freezer-safe bags, or ice cube trays.
Take the soup out of the freezer and allow it to thaw in the refrigerator in a bowl or plate overnight or for about 4-6 hours until completely thawed. Using a dish while thawing prevents the liquid from spilling over in the refrigerator.
No, you don’t! Unlike dried beans, lentils don’t usually require pre-soaking as they cook very quickly on the stove.
Similar to other soup recipes, there are so many options of other dishes you can serve it with. Consider serving it with homemade biscuits or flatbread or a tossed green salad. You could also serve the soup over cooked quinoa or rice if you are looking to make it an even more filling meal.
Yes, you definitely could! I recommend that you follow the recipe to step 4 to ensure you cook the aromatics and get the mixture up to a simmer. Then, place the lentil mixture into the slow cooker with the seasonings and cook it on either high or low (depending on how quickly you would like it to cook) until the lentils are tender.
Related
If you are looking for other filling soup recipes, consider trying these recipes:
SL
Amazing. Love the soup and so easy to make. And one pot. I am going to freeze the leftovers.