Recently I have been enjoying exploring lentils though up until now I have only been using the green du puy lentils. There are many different types of lentils and I wanted to branch out and try a new one. When I was out shopping the bright red lentils caught my attention and I picked some of them up. Despite the fact that we have had a few warm days the weather has gotten cooler again and I was in the mood for a soup. While searching for recipes I came across a few for curried red lentil and chickpea soups that sounded good. Using those two main ingredients as the base for my soup I proceeded to add my favorite soup vegetables; onions, carrots and celery. Next I added some diced tomatoes to add more body and red to the soup. I thought that I was pretty much done but then as I was pulling out the lentils I noticed the quinoa in my cupboard and I recalled that it had worked well in several soups that I had made before and I decided to throw some in as well. I had ended up with a recipe for a nice and healthy sounding soup that also promised to taste great.
Red lentils cook pretty quickly and I only needed to simmer them in the soup for as long as I would have simmered the soup to allow for enough time for the flavours to mingle anyways. The curried red lentil soup with chickpeas and quinoa was nice and easy to make and it did not take long. This soup could easily be made on a week night. I really enjoyed the combination of the red lentils, chickpeas and quinoa and the textures that they added to the soup. The soup was nice and thick and hearty and yet somehow light at the same time. With the curry powder in it the soup was nice and aromatic and it tasted great. I wanted a bit more heat in the soup so I added some chili sauce though you could easily omit it or reduce it or even increase it depending on your tastes. I garnish the soup with some fresh chopped cilantro and a dollop of thick and creamy strained (or Greek style) yogurt.
Curried Red Lentil Soup with Chickpeas and Quinoa
A healthy and hearty lentil, chickpea and quinoa soup seasoned with curry flavours.
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger, chopped
- 1 tablespoon curry powder (or 1 tablespoon garam masala + 1 teaspoon turmeric)
- 1 cup dry red lentils
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon chili sauce such as sambal oelek or to taste
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup quinoa, cooked
- salt and pepper to taste
- cilantro
- Greek yogurt or sour cream
directions
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat, add the onions, carrots and celery and cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
- Add the garlic, ginger and curry powder and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the lentils, broth, tomatoes and chili sauce.
- Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 10-15 minutes.
- Add the chickpeas and quinoa and cook for 5 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper and serve with a garnish of cilantro and a dollop of Greek yogurt.
mirtilla says
May 6, 2009 at 11:15 pmSembra buona…
Anonymous says
May 6, 2009 at 11:42 pmYum! I love lentils of all kinds. I’ve been on a curried lentil salad kick lately:
http://danamccauley.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/lentils-for-lunch/
In fact, I’m having it for lunch again tomorrow!
Mary says
May 6, 2009 at 11:58 pmKevin, the color of your soup took my breath away. I’ll have to pay more attention to lentils.
Heather says
May 7, 2009 at 12:07 amlove the chickpeas in there!
noobcook says
May 7, 2009 at 1:29 amLuv the deep orange hue. Looks super delicious!
Mrs Ergül says
May 7, 2009 at 2:13 amI am always looking for new ways to cook lentils and chickpeas! Now this is killing two birds with one stone!
judyfoodie says
May 7, 2009 at 3:12 amI was just wondering what to do with the rest of the quinoa in my pantry. This sounds like a plan.
Helene says
May 7, 2009 at 3:18 amCongratulations Kevin!
I love lentil soup. I’ll have to try your recipe for a change.
I will be posting a new lentil recipe that I tried this week soon.
Indonesia-Eats says
May 7, 2009 at 3:27 amThis one will be my husband’s choice. Thanks for the recipe, Kevin!
Anyway, long time I didn’t visit your blog. How are you?
MaryBeth says
May 7, 2009 at 3:28 amI love the color and it looks very flavorful…
Anonymous says
May 7, 2009 at 4:07 amA full bowl of Nutrition there !!
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
May 7, 2009 at 5:05 amA beautiful soup! Really appetizing!
Cheers,
Rosa
Nina Timm says
May 7, 2009 at 6:48 amBeautiful colors!!! Are you still having cold weather?
Sophie says
May 7, 2009 at 8:07 amMMMMMM…I love an excellent lentil soup!!
I love that you have added quinoa, an excellent & healthy grain to the soup! Lovely flavours, Kevin!!
Recently I made your cardamom & mango jam & the taste was exquisit! So, thank you a lot!!
Jamie says
May 7, 2009 at 10:40 amI love lentils and love using the tiny red lentils to make a wonderful, tangy, spicy dal, which does end up rather like a thick soup. Your soup looks especially luscious!
Melynda says
May 7, 2009 at 12:21 pmI just cooked quinoa for the first time (I know I am late for this grain!) and now this soup is next. Looks wonderful.
Marta says
May 7, 2009 at 1:13 pmcongrats of being asked to guest post1 that must be quite the honour 🙂
This soup looks amazing, I love anything with quinoa in it, and I’m on a soup streak, so I’ll be trying this 🙂
Soma says
May 7, 2009 at 1:13 pmRed lentils always taste good. What a lovely color Kevin!
Joanne says
May 7, 2009 at 1:17 pmYou would be an awesome guest post-er! Love the lentil soup, it’s such a great color.
Debbie says
May 7, 2009 at 1:18 pmLooks great Kevin, I will check out that site too!
Kirby! says
May 7, 2009 at 1:53 pmYummy!! This has all of my favorite things in it!
Anonymous says
May 7, 2009 at 3:49 pmmmm i just bought lentils , have never used them, but this makes me want to give them a whirl 🙂 Beautiful dish!!
Anonymous says
May 7, 2009 at 3:59 pmthe color on this is so lively! I don’t use lentils much…the flavors you blended may compliment them in a way that would make me want to pair them together.
Cookin' Canuck says
May 7, 2009 at 4:46 pmI love curry, quinoa, and chickpeas. I think that’s a sign that I definitely have to try your soup. It looks wonderful!
http://www.cookincanuck.com
Lisa says
May 7, 2009 at 7:10 pmThis is a perfect recipe. I will be trying this for sure. I can never get enough chickpeas, and pairing the lentils and chickpeas with quinoa makes this one powerful healthy soup. Gorgeous image too.
Kerstin says
May 7, 2009 at 7:29 pmWhat a lovely soup, it’s so pretty and looks really tasty and healthy! We always have lentils and chickpeas in our panty.
mycookinghut says
May 7, 2009 at 7:49 pmthis dish is great!!
Anonymous says
May 7, 2009 at 7:54 pmThe colors look just great.
Coffee and Vanilla says
May 7, 2009 at 8:13 pmVery nice recipe Kevin! I love all lentil soups and this one looks very interesting 🙂
Margot
jordan says
May 7, 2009 at 9:32 pmThis looks so beautiful! I have been wanting to make a soup with chickpeas!
Y says
May 7, 2009 at 9:50 pmYum, another one for the bookmark folder! 🙂
Donna-FFW says
May 7, 2009 at 11:32 pmThis soup looks delicious, like a mealin itself.
Chef Fresco says
May 8, 2009 at 2:00 amI’ve been wanting to cook something with quinoa forever – this soup looks awesome
ttfn300 says
May 8, 2009 at 2:39 amlove the curly q’s of quinoa in this soup 🙂
Hayley says
May 8, 2009 at 2:52 amLooks gorgeous Kevin, I’m on my way over to Zesty Cook!
finsmom says
May 8, 2009 at 3:45 amQuinoa and Chickpeas are two of my favourite ingredients, so of course this recipe sounds amazing!
Thanks for sharing another great recipe! You rock!
Michael in Phoenix says
May 8, 2009 at 1:43 pmI made this last night, as I happened to have everything on hand. It is delicious! I made it exactly as written, but used sriracha (1 scant teaspoon) for the chile sauce. My family (lovely wife and two teenage boys) went nuts. Thanks for a very good recipe Kevin!
meeso says
May 8, 2009 at 10:10 pmSounds good, I’m headed over!
Michael in Phoenix says
May 9, 2009 at 4:14 pmYou’re always welcome. We can set an extra plate anytime!
Elra says
May 10, 2009 at 4:03 pmTruly humble, healthy and delicious!
Tonya @ What's On My Plate says
May 11, 2009 at 12:32 amYou had me at yellow with this! Amazing.
cb says
May 16, 2009 at 7:14 pmMade this last night and it was fabulous! The only change I made was using chili powder since I didn’t have chili powder! Thanks for the recipe!!
Anonymous says
October 20, 2012 at 7:21 pmOne of the best soups I have made. I substitute the Quinoa with bulgar worked excellent.
zuzazak says
January 26, 2013 at 10:10 pmthat's exactly what i felt like today! except i made mine a bit differently and with crispy friend potatoes:
http://cheesy-mash.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/warming-lentil-soup-with-crispy-fried.html
zx
Moira says
January 27, 2013 at 10:23 pmKevin ~ what's your opinion on green/yellow/red/brown lentils ? I know some authentic recipes are specific as to which you use. Do you think it really matters ?
Kevin says
January 30, 2013 at 5:50 pmMoira: I like to try to use the lentils that the recipe calls for but if I ran out or if I wanted to try something new then I would have no problem substituting another lentil in.
Monica McGuiness says
August 18, 2013 at 1:21 pmWhat a delightful looking soup. And so healthy. Thanks for this.
Anonymous says
October 1, 2013 at 12:43 pmHello Kevin, I tried to cook your soup and make it look like yours. Mine looks brown, but tasted very good. I posted on my blog and I tagged you. I really love your dishes. Thank you. Susana @ Delicioso y Divertido.
Dianne Beaver says
August 23, 2015 at 12:59 pmHey Kevin, the link to Zesty Cook is broken, looks like the site no longer exists. This soup looks wonderful, will you post the recipe on your blog?
kevin says
August 23, 2015 at 1:22 pmDianne Beaver: The recipe is up! Thanks for letting me know that it was down on Zesty Cook!
Chelsea says
December 1, 2016 at 1:06 amThis is delicious! I added dry quinoa though and just added more broth to make it one pot meal. I also upped the ginger to more like 2-3 tbsp.
Chota bheem says
January 7, 2017 at 4:26 pmI love this one! Have made it quite a few times!
kevin says
January 8, 2017 at 2:25 pmChota bheem: I'm glad you like it!
Lisa says
February 12, 2017 at 10:27 pmA cup of cooked quinoa, or a cup of raw quinoa, cooked?
kevin says
February 13, 2017 at 2:38 amLisa: The recipe calls for cooked but you could use 1/3 cup raw and simmer until cooked, possibly adding extra broth.