Curried red lentil soup is one of our bi-weekly go to’s. I love making soup on Friday night as we eat it for lunch on Saturday, and often Sunday too. We eat big and delicious breakfasts on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and it often feels like we’ve just finished cleaning the kitchen when it’s time for lunch.

Enter, soup made the night before! This soup is a real crowd pleaser and hearty enough for most. It’s not spicy, but the combination of the creamy coconut milk, the savory curry powder and the sweetness of the raisins, it pretty much hits all of the most delicious flavors. We usually eat it with a green salad and sometimes some crusty sourdough bread. It freezes well and gets better day after day. We hope you love this super simple soup as much as we do!

Curried Red Lentil Soup

Print Recipe

Course Dinner

Ingredients

• 2 TBSP ghee or coconut oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2-3 TBSP curry powder
• 6 cups chicken bone broth
• 2 cups organic red lentils  - read option below for soaking & sprouting lentils
• 1/2 cup organic raisins
• 13.5 oz can full fat coconut milk - 1 can
• 14.5 oz can of organic diced tomatoes - 1 can
• 5 oz organic baby spinach or baby kale - frozen works great, too!
• sea salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

• Heat ghee in a large pot, I use a 5 qt dutch oven and it’s the perfect size. We make all of our soup in this beloved “love pot”.
• Add onion, and cook for 5-6 minutes or until translucent.
• Add curry powder and sea salt. Stir for about a minute. Keep a careful eye here, we’re toasting the spices, but don’t want them to burn.
• Add bone broth, cover and bring to a boil.
• Add lentils and raisins, reduce to low-medium heat for a steady simmer. Partially cover pot with a lid. Cook lentils for about 15 minutes or until tender, but not overcooked.
• Once lentils are cooked, add coconut milk, tomatoes and spinach. Cook for 1-2 minutes, just until spinach is cooked.
• Serve and enjoy. Add an optional dollop of creme fraiche on top if you’re feeling fancy!

Notes

• Red lentils often vary in cooking time, depending on whether they are split or whole. So, keep a close eye on them when they are simmering, they might be done in less than fifteen minutes

Soaking and Sprouting:

If you don’t have time to soak and sprout, this recipe will still be delicious. If you only have time to soak and not sprout, that’s great too. Soaking neutralizes the anti-nutrients, while sprouting makes the nut, seed, grain or lentil that much more nutrient dense.

To soak: Soak lentils overnight in water and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. Drain through a fine mesh sieve. Rinse with filtered water until water is clear and not cloudy.

To sprout: Pour filtered water over lentils (still in sieve, sitting on a bowl…don’t forget to dump water from the bowl) twice daily until you see the little sprout – red lentils often are fully sprouted 48 hours after initial soaking. So, if you’re making soup on Tuesday night, soak on Sunday night and the timing will be perfect. *Put the bowl in or near a window, the sun helps with speedy sprouting. Cook as you normally would.

Pretty much any nut, seed, grain, lentil can be soaked and sprouted. I’ll be doing a whole post about this at some point. My bible when it comes to traditional food techniques is Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.