This sweet potato lentil soup makes a delicious family meal that uses healthy everyday ingredients. It’s rich, thick, and deliciously filling.Recipe yields 4 servings (1 ½ cup each).
Warm the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the diced onion, carrots and celery, stirring often, until the onion is turning translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic (I used 3 large cloves) and cook until fragrant while stirring constantly, about 50-60 seconds.
Add the rest of the ingredients, raise the heat and bring the mixture to a boil, then cover the pot and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.
Turn the heat off, taste and adjust the seasoning as needed, adding more salt or pepper or a touch of chili flakes if you like, for overall flavor.
Optional step: to make thetexture creamier, transfer 1 cup of the soup to a blender, fasten the lid, protect your hands from the steam with a tea towel and purée the soup until smooth (careful, it's still hot!). Return the puréed soup back into the pot, stir to combine, and a touch of broth if you prefer a thinner soup.
Serve when it's still hot along with crusty bread for dunking and grated parmesan or pecorino cheese if you don't keep it vegan, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and black pepper if you wish. Enjoy!
Notes
*Approx 2 large sweet potatoes.Storage: store cooled leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 3 days, or in the freezer up to 1 month. Thaw from frozen before reheating. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop in a saucepan or pot over medium heat (covered) until warmed through. Add more broth or water as needed to thin.Nutrition facts: the nutrition values are for one serving and they are based on an online nutrition calculator. It’s an estimate only and it should not be considered as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice (extra parmesan cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to serve are not included). Please see my disclosure policies.