Gluten Free Recipe: Comforting Lentil Soup

A Delicious, Simple and Budget Friendly Comfort Food

Mar 1, 2009

This Comforting Lentil Soup is perfect for those cold winter nights, yet light enough to be enjoyed year round.

All too often, when looking for comfort foods, people turn to fatty foods filled with starch and lacking in nutrition. When this happens the foods you eat can leave you feeling stuffed, but unsatisfied. A good comfort food should feed the nutritional needs of the body as well as fulfilling the need for comfort. Comforting Lentil Soup is the perfect solution in that it feeds both the emotional and physical well being.

Lentils are a budget friendly and fast cooking legume. They should be carefully rinsed and sorted, but require no pre-soaking. They are high in protein and fiber and have been shown to aid in controlling blood sugar, making perfect as a comfort food while being diabetic friendly.

Adding to the nutrient rich properties of lentils, this soup also combines the vitamins in spinach and carrots with the immune boosting properties of garlic. Savory onions, flavorful broth and herbs round out the flavor, eliminating the need to add extra salt or additives.

Comforting Lentil Soup

Prep: 30 minutes

Cooking: 30 minutes

3 Tbs. olive oil
1 1/2 c chopped onion
1c chopped carrot
2 cloves minced garlic
3/4 c frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried sage
1 Tbs. dried parsley
4 c gluten free beef broth
4 c gluten free chicken broth
1 lb. lentils, carefully rinsed and sorted

Directions:

In a medium stock pot on medium heat, cook onions and carrot in olive oil until onions are golden. Add garlic and cook for one more minute.
Stir in spinach, dried herbs and broth. Increase heat and bring to a boil.
Stir in lentils. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Serves 6

Helpful Variations

This Comforting Lentil Soup is a gluten free recipe that is budget friendly and dairy free. The blood sugar controlling properties of lentils also make it diabetic friendly.

To make vegetarian Comforting Lentil Soup, substitute eight cups water for the beef and chicken broth and add two teaspoons of garlic salt before serving.
To make a complete protein meal, add 1/2 cup brown or white rice with the lentils and increase liquid by one cup.

Flavor Variations

Add one cup diced red potatoes when boiling.
Serve soup over cooked angel hair or penne pasta and garnish with parmesan cheese. Use gluten free corn or rice pasta to ensure that it remains a gluten free recipe. Omit parmesan cheese to remain dairy free.
Add one can undrained, diced tomatoes when boiling.

For another lentil recipe that is gluten free, dairy free and diabetic friendly, try Savory Lentils and Rice.

The copyright of the article Gluten Free Recipe: Comforting Lentil Soup in Dinner Recipes is owned by Marissa Carter. Permission to republish Gluten Free Recipe: Comforting Lentil Soup in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.