Green Lentil Potato Soup
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A hearty and rustic lentil potato soup made with leeks and your choice of green or French Puy lentils flavored with woodsy herbs like rosemary, sage, thyme and bay. A truly satisfying veggie meal to step into fall with. Very demure, very French, very Mediterranean.
Green Lentil Potato Soup
It’s my healthy vegan take on green French lentil soup cooked in its rustic form by sautéing aromatics and building layers of flavor before simmering the lentils with herbs and potatoes until buttery soft. The end result is a mindful protein packed deliciously satisfying bowl of comforting lentils and potatoes you’ll want to be eating all winter long. Easy peasy and so delicious!
About the Lentils
If you can find the French Puy green lentil variety by all means go for it. They are more peppery in taste and a little bit smaller in size than your average green lentils, however any green and even brown lentils will be super delicious here as the flavor profile from all the herbs and aromatics is truly chef’s kiss! Unlike beans, there’s absolutely no soaking required at all. Do not use the red variety as they will literally turn into mush within 15 minutes and you really don’t want that.
Let’s Talk Potatoes
I’m in a very committed relationship with gold potatoes for most uses but especially for a rustic soup such as this where I really want tons of texture. Gold potatoes are waxy but they also get buttery soft while keeping their shape during cooking and enough bits break off the edges melting into the soup to add some subtle creaminess.
Useful Ingredient Notes + Tips
- Leeks – Fabulous aromatics that hold up perfectly to a slow cooked stew. Clean them well by immersing them in a bowl of cold water after slicing, agitate the water and allow all the dirt and sand to sink to the bottom of the bowl. The clean leeks will then float to the top and you can easily scoop them out with your hands or a spider ladle.
- Carrot, Celery + Garlic – Your usual suspects adding their magic between the layers of flavor. Cook them slow until softened and they begin to get some color.
- Dry White Wine – to deglaze the pan with the aromatics and add that “je ne sais quoi” you’d expect from a rustic French style meal.
- Rosemary, Sage, Thyme + Bay – Woodsy herbs that hold up to the long slow cooking process of the lentils while infusing them with the most divine herbaceous aromas. Fresh is best especially in the case of rosemary but dry can also work in a pinch. Start with a couple of teaspoons of dried herbs each then taste and increase amounts as desired mid way through cooking.
- Shoyu – I use it here in lieu of salt and to boost up the umami profile. You could use Tamari or just season with sea salt if preferred.
- Parsley – a little bit of freshly chopped flat leaf parsley is needed to brighten up those slow cooked earthy flavors. Fresh onion chives or scallions would be really lovely too alongside red pepper flakes and some crusty bread.
- Texture – I meant for this to be a rustic soup where I could see lentils, potatoes and carrots. If a creamier final texture is desire you can always transfer about 1/3 of the soup to the blender and blitz it until silky then mix back into the soup.
Add Ins
Although already a very hearty soup you can always boost the micronutrient profile by wilting in a couple of handfuls of baby spinach, kale or chard. Adding cooked mushrooms and some grains like barley, farro or quinoa could be really nice variations on the basic recipe.
On Storage
A great make ahead soup as it will taste even better the second and third day after all the flavors mingle. Reheat in a saucepan on the stove top until bubbly and consume within 5 days.
What to Serve with This Soup
- Crusty Homemade Bread
- Vegan Flatbread
- Rosemary Focaccia Bread
- Quinoa Flatbread
- Bruschetta
- Tofu Bacon
- Fluffy Naan Bread
- Crispy Baked Tofu
- Fluffy Dinner Rolls.
More Vegan Soup Recipes
- Vegan Zuppa Toscana
- Mushroom Barley Soup
- Vegan Potato Soup
- Split Pea Soup
- Vegan Lentil Soup with Garlic, Ginger and Coconut
- Amazing Sweet Potato Soup
- Garden Vegetable Soup
- Potato Dill Soup
- Dill Pickle Soup
- Vegan no Clam Chowder
- Best Vegan Potato Leek Soup.
How to Make Green Lentil Potato Soup
Green Lentil Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 small leek (or 1 yellow onion)
- 1 carrot peeled + diced
- 1 celery stalk diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1.5 cups green / Puy Lentils (picked through and rinsed well)
- 2 cups small diced gold potatoes
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 6-7 cups water
- 8 sprigs fresh thyme (about 1/2 bunch fresh or 2 tsp dry)
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 1 sprig sage (optional but nice depth of flavor)
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 Tbsp shoyu or tamari (in lieu of salt)
- 1/3 cup Italian flat leaf parsley minced
Instructions
- Clean the leek: Slice the leek into rounds and transfer to a bowl of cold water. Agitate the water to make sure the leeks get cleaned really well the let them soak for 5 minutes for any sand and grit to sink to the bottom of the bowl. Prepare a clean lint free tea towel and using a spider ladle or your hands scoop out the clean leeks and place them on top pf the towel then pat dry (they should all be floating on top of the water by now).1 small leek
- Preheat your heavy bottom soup pot over medium heat. Add a light drizzle of olive oil and sauté the leeks, carrot and celery until fully softened and they begin to get some nice golden brown color around the edges and brown bits on the bottom of the pan. (Turn up the heat a little bit if need be but keep a close eye on the aromatics so nothing burns).1 carrot, 1 celery stalk
- Push the veggies to the side of the pot and add another drop of olive oil in the center then drop in the minced garlic. Sizzle for about a minute until fragrant then give everything a good stir.2 garlic cloves
- Add the splash of white wine if using and with a flat end wooden spoon scrape any brown bits that have formed on the bottom of the pan. Reduce until almost evaporated then add the lentils, herbs, water, shoyu and bring to a boil. Partially cover with a lid and adjust your heat to medium low so that there’s a constant simmer all throughout the pot.1.5 cups green / Puy Lentils, 1/4 cup dry white wine, 8 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 sprig rosemary, 1 sprig sage, 1 bay leaf, 3 Tbsp shoyu or tamari, 6-7 cups water
- Cook the soup for 20 minutes then add the potatoes. Bring the pot back to a gentle boil and cook another 20 to 25 minutes until both the lentils and potatoes have cooked through. (Stir often during the final stage of cooking to make sure no lentils stick to the bottom of the pot and burn.)2 cups small diced gold potatoes
- Adjust seasonings to taste with salt and pepper and discard the herb sprigs. Serve garnished with the parsley and crusty bread or bruschetta.1/3 cup Italian flat leaf parsley
Video
Notes
- Texture Note- For a creamier stew rather than rustic soup texture simply transfer between 1/4 and 1/3 of the soup to a blender and puree until silky smooth. Stir back into the rest of the soup until combined.
- Add Ins - Although already a very hearty soup you can always boost the micronutrient profile by wilting in a couple of handfuls of baby spinach, kale or chard. Adding cooked mushrooms and some grains like barley, farro or quinoa could be really nice variations on the basic recipe.
- Leeks - Fabulous aromatics that hold up perfectly to a slow cooked stew. Clean them well by immersing them in a bowl of cold water after slicing, agitate the water and allow all the dirt and sand to sink to the bottom of the bowl. The clean leeks will then float to the top and you can easily scoop them out with your hands or a spider ladle.
