Easy Lentil Soup Recipe - Vegetarian and Vegan - Peas and Crayons (2024)

FAQs

Should lentils be soaked before making soup? ›

The other good news: Lentils don't need to soak as beans do (though you do need to sort and rinse them before cooking). Different types of lentils cook in different amounts of time. Red lentils are the fastest cooking and they dissolve as they cook and make for a smooth soup.

Here are some of the reasons why you should include lentil soup in your diet. Lentils are high in protein, which is essential for building and maintaining your muscles, bones, and skin. Protein also helps you feel full and satisfied, which can support weight loss and appetite control.

With both lentils and split peas coming from the legume family, they can be used almost interchangeably. Although they look alike, they're grown and cultivated in different ways. While split peas are dried field peas that have been split in half once the skin is removed, lentils are harvested as seeds.

Lentils aren't rice—they don't need to absorb every last drop of cooking liquid. They're more like pasta: best cooked in an abundance of water or stock. Bring your liquid up to a boil, add your lentils, then turn down your heat to a simmer for at least 25-30 minutes.

Rinsing lentils will allow you to get rid of any accumulated dust, dirt, small rocks, twigs and possibly bugs that have come along for the ride: you don't want any of that in your food! None of this will hurt you however.

Soak and Rinse Legumes: Before cooking legumes, soak them in water for several hours or overnight. This helps soften the legumes and removes some of the complex sugars that can contribute to gas production. Rinse the soaked legumes thoroughly before cooking.

Black Lentils (Beluga lentils)

Best of all, black lentils are the most nutritious variety of lentils, boasting the highest amount of protein, plus high levels of calcium, potassium, and iron.

No matter which type of lentil was chosen, this pulse proved to have a beneficial effect on blood sugar, keeping it low, especially when eaten regularly, and as a replacement for starchy foods, according to Ramdath. The minimum amount to keep blood sugars from rising is ¼ cup dried pulses.

You can also add salt, aromatics like a halved onion, herbs, and spices to the pot before the lentils and the water, like beans, or wait until they're done cooking to flavor them.

Peas have 6 grams of fiber, less than the almost 9 grams provided by lentils. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, lentils provide 7 milligrams of iron, while split peas only have 2.7 milligrams. Both foods are beneficial sources of potassium, with split peas providing 750 milligrams and lentils 772 milligrams per 1 cup.

Are red lentils and yellow lentils the same? ›

Ultimately, which of the two is better depends wholly on your preference. In conclusion, apart from their color, yellow and red lentils differ in their taste and nutritional value. Yellow lentils have no taste and are rich in iron. On the other hand, red lentils are slightly sweet and ricer in sodium and potassium.

They may be sold as whole lentils or split with the husks removed. Whole lentils with husks intact take longer to cook and will retain their shape; split lentils without husks cook very quickly and break down into a puree. These differences in texture will determine in which recipes they may be used.

the color change you've observed is from oxidation. If you want to prevent this, lay some plastic wrap over the surface of your lentils to prevent air from getting to them, or add some acid, like lime juice, to the recipe.

Yes, you can overcook lentils; they will become mushy. Much depends on the type of lentil you're using. Some cook quicker and hold their shape better than others. To avoid overcooking them, always follow the cooking directions in your recipe and use the type of lentils called for in the ingredient list.

As the veggies hit the boiling water, volatile acids are released into the water and are carried away in the steam. When the pot is covered, the steam and the acids it contains are forced back into the water. Once there, the acids react with the chlorophyll in the vegetables, turning them an unsightly shade of brown.

How To Soak Right? Soaking lentils for two- eight hours is mostly recommended. In a bowl add the dal and rinse it with water, changing the water 3-4 times and clean it gently by stroking with your fingers. Now add water to a bowl and soak the dal for about 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on the type of lentil.

Do you cook lentils before adding to soup? Nope! Dried lentils cook in 35 minutes in the soup, and there's no need to soak them either!

Editor: First, I wonder how old your lentils are. If they're more than a year or two old, they will often stay crunchy in the middle no matter how long you cook them! Another trick is to wait to add salt or acidic ingredients until near the end of cooking. Take a look at our post on cooking lentils for some more help!

Red lentils do not need soaking. Puy lentils don't need soaking (and are delish). Less sludgy than red or yellow.