Soups and stews can be made into many foods. They can be fed to a family for a whole week, or if you’re only feeding one or two people, enjoy them now and freeze them for later.

The soup is reheated easily. Leftovers can be kept for some time, usually 3-5 days.

Making vegetarian soups from scratch provides a fantastic opportunity to incorporate many vegetables, beans, and other nutrients into meals.

One can have unlimited potential.

The problem with soups and many other one-pot meals is that they are full of nutritional potential.

This certainly applies to many types of recipes, but soup is exceptionally adaptable. A single pot of soup can contain a wide variety of vegetables, beans (and other vegetarian proteins), whole grains, herbs, and spices.

As a registered dietitian, I can’t help but love making soups for my clients.

Many people I work with are relatively new to plant-based diets or diets rich in vegetables. It’s not necessarily easy for them to eat many vegetables, salads, or side dishes.

However, they are happy to put a bunch of vegetables in their soup. Even leafy greens have become more accessible to work with. My green soup is always a hit!

Similarly, for those new to eating chickpeas or lentils, eating many beans may feel out of reach.

But chickpeas can be easily blended into a silky, irresistibly creamy chickpea soup. I have yet to cook for the lentil skeptics who don’t like my simple French lentil soup.

Soup is a simple, crowd-pleasing carrier of ingredients that might otherwise be challenging.

For those who already enjoy healthy plant-based ingredients, soups offer endless invitations to be creative.

Holly, kale, and lentil soup seasoning

The herbs are the star of the soup. Fresh herbs are certainly an option, but I also invite you to consider dried herbs!

Dried herbs are a beneficial ingredient. Yes, it’s great to use fresh rosemary and thyme when you have them at home.

But to be honest, I often forget to pick up herbs. Or I buy a whole bunch and only use a little.

I knew I could come up with creative ways to use fresh herbs. But I can (and do) often use dried herbs to avoid this. In this case, I’ve used bay leaves and dried thyme.

Broth or broth base also helps to flavor kale and lentil soups. If you have fresh vegetable stock at home, that’s great!

If not, your favorite store-bought broth will do.

One of my kitchen shortcuts is keeping soup bases or clear soups close by. There are so many brands and options now that soup bases are very economical.

I also like a little umami in this soup. Freshly grated Parmesan cheese may add some flavor, which helps create some flavor.

I create this delicacy using either nutritional yeast or cashew Parmesan cheese. Both options were good, although I found cashew Parmesan more flavorful!

Lentil is a plant protein

Of course, lentils are another key ingredient in this recipe (and its primary source of protein).

This article covers some of the different types of lentils that I use regularly in my recipes. Sometimes, a particular variety of lentils will be better than others.

However, you can use a variety of lentils in kale and lentil soups. Brown, green, Padina (also known as Spanish), and French (also known as Du Puy) lentils are all good.

Make Holly, kale, and lentil soup.

One of the lovely things about this soup is that it can be a beginner’s recipe. It’s simple to make.

Step 1: Prepare

There is some preparation time because you need to cut the vegetables. Chopping Onions, peeling carrots, slicing celery, and gathering other ingredients may take 10 to 15 minutes.

Then, you may need 10 to 15 minutes to break down your butternut squash.

If you prefer, you can save time by purchasing pre-peeled and cut pumpkins. Many grocery stores now carry pre-cut pumpkins.

Step 2: Cook

The cooking time for the kale and lentil soup is about 45 minutes, but the cooking process is relatively free.

First, stir the onion, celery, and carrot into the olive oil.

After that, you will add garlic, onion, herbs, broth, and butternut squash. (This is a “pour something into the stockpot” recipe and one of my favorites!)

The lentil soup needs to simmer for about 30 minutes. This may take more or less time, depending on your lentil variety and the age of the lentils you use. I recommend tasting a small portion of chilled lentils to make sure the lentils are ready.

At this time, you will add the chopped kale to the stockpot. Give the kale another 10-15 minutes so it’s completely soft.

At this point, the soup is ready to be eaten or stored.

Service proposal

I would not say I like soup these days. A slice or two of (vegan) buttered toast is enough to make me very, very happy.

Even so, there are other options. You can serve the soup with a fresh green salad for crunch and texture. It’s delicious with cereal. If you have a fresh vegetarian dinner roll around, it’s adorable!

Finally, consider topping the soup with more cashew Parmesan. A nice drizzle of beautiful olive oil is also lovely.

Store Holly kale and lentil soup

The rest of the soup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. They’re also suitable for freezing: you can freeze parts of the soup for up to 6 weeks.

Speaking of portions, this soup makes six hearty meals. If you’re serving a group of people, you can double the recipe.

This soup is delicious. Butternut squash adds a subtle sweetness and has a rich, savory, earthy, and hearty flavor.

The soup is also really filling because it contains a lot of fiber, provided by all the vegetables and lentils.

Full, comfortable, healthy? It’s a win-win.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 sticks of celery, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced (1lb / 455g after preparation)

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

Two teaspoons of dried thyme

Two bay leaves

1 cup dry brown, green, French, or Padina lentils (200g)

6 cups vegetable soup

1 small bunch kale, stemmed and chopped (8oz / 225g after preparation)

2 TBSP cashew Parmesan cheese (instead of 2 TBSP /10g nutritional yeast)

Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Prepare food

1.Peel and chop the vegetables, then mix the rest of the soup ingredients.

2.Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onion, carrot and celery. Fry for 5 minutes or until the Onions are soft and transparent. Add the garlic and continue cooking, stirring constantly, for another minute.

3.Add the pumpkin, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, lentils, vegetable stock powder, and water (or vegetable stock) to the pot. Bring the heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 30 minutes.

4.Add the kale to the pan, cover again, and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Add nutritional yeast and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. If the soup is thicker than you like, feel free to add a little water. Enjoy.