Mexican Lentil Soup

Easy soup for kids to make using the protein powerhouse: lentils. The lentils are grown in Montana and are a great way to add protein to our meals. This soup can be made vegan with vegetable broth or add more protein with bone broth. This soup is kid approved!

Prep Time20

Cook Time1

Course: Soup

Keyword: protein in lentil soup

Servings: servings

Equipment

Large Pot

Ingredients

2 T Olive oil
1 Onion
2 Carrots sliced or diced
2 Celery stalks diced
1 Red bell pepper diced
3 Garlic cloves
1 T Cumin
¼ t Paprika
1 t Oregano
2 c Diced tomatoes
2 cans Green chilis or use Rotel (tomatoes + green chilis)
2 c Lentils green or brown, rinsed
8 cups Vegetable broth
½ t salt

Instructions

Set up your workspace. You can peel and chop vegetables as you go.
Dice the onion first. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and add onion.
Next chop celery and add it to the pot, then bell pepper and carrots. Use a chopper or Salad Shooter to speed this up. Saute until beginning to soften, 3-5 minutes.
Add garlic, cumin, paprika, and oregano, saute another minute.
Add tomatoes, chilis, lentils, broth, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, with lid on (or vented) until lentils are tender, about 60 minutes.
Note: I boil for 30 minutes and then let sit for 30 minutes, checking to see if the lentils soak up all the broth. If so, just add more broth. You can test your lentils at this point to see if they are soft or need to boil a bit longer.

Video

Notes

As with most soups, I find they taste better the next day. With this soup, the lentils will definitely be softer the longer it sits.

To add more protein, use bone broth in place of vegetable broth.

In cooking class the kids perform a carrot test to demonstrate where the vitamins and minerals go and why soup is so healthy.

This recipe is kid-approved.

Nutrition