This is a very simple soup, made with just 4 ingredients, and saucepan to table in just 30 minutes. It contains a head of broccoli including all the stalk, red lentils, an onion and some seasoning.
Change the broccoli to another vegetable and get a completely different flavour!
I had some broccoli to use up today, so decided to make some Broccoli and Lentil soup for lunch. Hadn’t got any bread, so made some Cheapy Bread Rolls to have with it, less than 4p each!
What do I need to make broccoli and lentil soup
- a head of broccoli – this is good way to use up broccoli past its best
- red lentils – this type of lentil doesn’t need any soaking and will cook through in 15-20 minutes
- an onion
- a stock cube – or use salt and pepper or reserved vegetable cooking water
How to make broccoli and lentil soup
Chop the veg. Saute the onion in a pan in a little oil until translucent, add the chopped broccoli and let it cook until softening.
Add the lentils and stock cube and enough water to cover. Simmer gently for 15 minutes. Whizz a bit until most of the veg are chopped up. Or you could fine chop your veg at the beginning and then just leave them as they are.
Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add pepper if you like, or a tiny pinch of chilli, maybe a tsp of vinegar to sharpen. Taste and adjust to what you like.
Serve in a pretty bowl, maybe with a swirl of yogort/cream, a reserved pice of broccoli (cooked) or a sprinkle of croutons on top.
What changes can I make to this vegetable soup?
- change the broccoli to cauliflower, carrots, frozen peas, celery or any other vegetable you have in
- add some curry spices – use a teaspoon each of garlic, turmeric, ginger, ground coriander and ground cumin
- leave it chunky, or whizz it smooth
Does lentil soup freeze?
Yes, most soups freeze really well. Don’t freeze the garnish of broccoli or croutons, add those when you reheat and serve.
I like to store in 1 portion plastic pots as I often have soup at lunchtime. Don’t forget the label!
How many calories are there in lentil soup?
Soup is great for anyone wanting to reduce their energy intake as they are typically quite low in calories. Broccoli and lentil soup is around 160 calories a portion. If you need more calories than that, serve your delicious soup with some bread for mopping, perhaps with some cheese too.
Ingredients
- 1 med onion
- 1 head broccoli
- 1 stock cube
- 100 g red lentils
Instructions
- Chop the vegetables. Use the whole head of broccoli, including all the stalk.1 med onion, 1 head broccoli
- Saute the onion in a pan in a little oil until translucent.
- Add the chopped broccoli and let it cook until softening
- Reserve 4 pieces of broccoli if desired, to garnish.
- Add the lentils and stock cube and enough water to cover.100 g red lentils, 1 stock cube
- Simmer gently for 15 minutes.
- Whizz a bit until most of the veg are chopped up. Or you could fine chop your veg at the beginning and then just leave them as they are.
- Add pepper if you like, or a tiny pinch of chilli, maybe a tsp of vinegar to sharpen. Taste and adjust to what you like
Equipment Needed
Notes
Nutrition
Other soups you might like
Spiced Parsnip Soup 17p a serving. Serve with tomato scone or herb bread
It would freeze beautifully. I freeze soup all the time. It’s lovely being able to take out a slab of delicious lunch without having to cook it
Would this freeze OK do you think I live alone and like to freeze any left overs for another day
In Heathfield, we have a Sainsbury, a small one, a tiny Tesco, and a Co-op. I generally use the Sainsbury, but they often don’t have the cheaper things. I try to get things like that in an online shop, but of course you need to have a decent sized shop to get to make the delivery worthwhile.
I have started popping in the Aldi at the bottom of my daughters road when I go and see her
When I am pricing recipes, I look at mysupermarket.com to get the latest prices and try to use Asda as (I think) the most widely available, I want to make the recipes as reproducable as poss. But of course now I have a HUGE tub of stock AND loads of chicken stock cubes as well from the same place, I won’t actually be buying any for AGES!
Did you know that Tesco sells stock cubes at 15p and Sainsbury’s has theirs at 20p. I got loads from Approved Foods a while ago so I’ll not be buying any for years 🙂
I love the sound of the soup, it would be a good way to use up the broccoli stalk as well wouldn’t it although I’m sure my chickens would rather have it if I let them 🙂