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- Makes 8 cups
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Fresh herbs, zesty lemon, and spicy red pepper flakes deliver a trifecta of tastiness in this nourishing spinach soup. Nutrient-dense lentils add heft and lend their starchy texture as a thickening agent for the savory broth, ensuring each bite is rich and creamy. Cubes of butternut squash get melt-in-your-mouth tender while the wilted greens add vibrant pops of color. A little bit of chopped tomato adds a hint of acidity so each spoonful is packed full of complex flavor. Serve this wholesome soup alongside a slice of crusty whole wheat bread to soak up the excess broth or add in a cup of precooked whole grains for an additional dose of plant-based goodness.
For more hearty vegan soups and stews, check out these tasty ideas:
- Instant Pot Mushroom-Barley Stew
- Curried Butternut Squash and Cauliflower Stew
- Hearty Vegan Red Bean Chili
- Or check out our full collection of nourishing soup recipes
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry brown or green lentils, rinsed and drained
- ½ cup finely chopped onion
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
- 2 cups chopped peeled butternut squash
- 1 cup finely chopped tomato
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 6 cups packed fresh spinach, chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Instructions
- In a bowl combine lentils and 3 cups hot water. Let soak at least 20 minutes.
- Heat a large saucepan over medium. Add onion, garlic, and ¼ cup water. Cook 10 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring occasionally.
- Drain lentils; add to saucepan along with vegetable broth, thyme, and oregano. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Stir in squash, tomato, and crushed red pepper. Cover and cook 20 minutes more or until squash is tender. Stir in lemon juice. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Stir in spinach and lemon zest. Cook 1 to 2 minutes more or until spinach wilts slightly. Serve immediately.
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Comments (10)
(5 from 5 votes)Would like to see the nutritional values per serving since I am new to the vegan diet and want to make sure I am getting enough protein as well as other nutrients.
Delicious soup. My husband even loved it. I used roasted and then frozen butternut squash and canned fire roasted chopped tomatoes since I had those on hand.
Best flavor of any soup and I used Kale instead of spinach
Trying to add and says recipe cn not be found.
Absolutely delicious! The lemon rind and juice really liven up this soup.
For those who want to save time on this recipe, I use frozen butternut squash precut (I toss this in when the recipe says to, I also use a package of frozen spinach ( I throw it in the first twenty minutes of cooking). Makes things a little quicker. I really enjoy this recipe, have made it several times now, really picks me up. I drizzle a little extra olive oil in my bowl before serving, is wonderful.
This was a very easy recipe to make and my whole family loved it. I swapped potato for squash because that's what I had on hand. Also, I added a bay leaf and a couple of carrots. So delish and lemony!
FOK recipes never take as little time as described. The assumption seems to be that you happened to have the ingredients already prepped in your refridgerator. I find this discouraging when counting on a "quick" recipe. Peeling and chopping the squash would take me at least 20 minutes alone, then chopping onions, garlic, and tomatoes...not the 20 minutes they describe. I'll try this recipe, but will allow more than the time allowance they describe....as I do most FOK recipes. I hope that FOK will adjust their time estimates to include the actual time required to prep all of the ingredients in their recipes to something more realistic.
So true. Plus, I scrub those veggies that are supposed to be...and peeling the butternut squash alone, then chopping it, would take me 30-45 minutes maybe. Sometimes I wish for simpler, easy, quick to make dishes too.
beans and Soups