Red Lentil and Quinoa Soup

Name: Red Lentil and Quinoa Soup Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 100 min
Total time: 120 min
Ingredients: 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil; 1 cup Onion (finely chopped); 1 cup Celery (finely chopped); 1 cup Carrot (finely chopped); 1 cup Red Bell Pepper (finely chopped); 1 15 Ounce Can Diced Tomatoes (rinsed); 4 Tablespoons Tomato Paste; 4 cups Flavorful Stock; 4 cups Water; 1 cup Red Lentils; 1 cup Quinoa; 1 cup Chopped Spinach; 2 Bay Leaves; 2 teaspoons Achiote Paste; 1 teaspoon Yellow Aji Pepper (optional); 2 tablespoons Cilantro

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While staring at 2 big jars of quinoa and red lentils in my cabinet, I wondered if there existed a recipe for a healthy and hearty vegetable soup that combined them both? After a little research, and much trial and error, I found the right mix in this Red Lentil and Quinoa Soup.

Origins of Red Lentil and Quinoa Soup

There is a very classic Peruvian soup, menestra de lentajes, that also has a foundation of red lentils and quinoa. Though, it has a much different profiles since it’s typically made with ginger, coconut milk and bacon.

As I was looking for a healthier soup, I decided to go different direction by leaving out the heavy ingredients such as the dairy and meat. By bringing in more vegetables like red pepper and spinach, this makes it more of a traditional vegetable stew. One might even call it a Peruvian vegetable chili.

Adapting the Soup to Make it Your Own

It may seem like there’s a lot of water and stock being used, just know that the quinoa and lentils will take up a lot of the fluids. On the red lentils, I like to use them in soups as they tend to soften and integrate better than green lentils. Paired with the quinoa, it gives a nice overall texture. If you are looking for a little more “chew” in your soup, consider using barley or wheat berries

If are focused on pure vegetarian cooking, substitute in your favorite vegetable stock for the the chicken stock.

Finally, some of the ingredients might be a bit challenging to acquire depending on where you live. Both the achiote paste and aji amarillo paste came from a local Chicago market that caters to Latino shoppers and may not be in most supermarkets. In this case, your favorite hot sauce could easily be substituted for the aji paste.

5 from 4 votes

Red Lentil and Quinoa Soup Recipe

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

1 hr 40 mins

Total Time

2 hrs

Healthy and Delicious can co-exist in this hearty vegetable soup

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Latin American, Vegetarian

Servings: 8 Servings

Author: Tony Bailey

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 cup Onion finely chopped
1 cup Celery finely chopped
1 cup Carrot finely chopped
1 cup Red Bell Pepper finely chopped
1 15 Ounce Can Diced Tomatoes rinsed
4 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
4 cups Flavorful Stock
4 cups Water
1 cup Red Lentils
1 cup Quinoa
1 cup Chopped Spinach
2 Bay Leaves
2 teaspoons Achiote Paste
1 teaspoon Yellow Aji Pepper optional
2 tablespoons Cilantro

Instructions

In a large stockpot, cook the onion, celery, carrot and red pepper in the olive oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes until clear and softened
Boil 1 cup of the water and use it to dissolve the achiote paste, aji paste & the tomato paste. Both the tomato and achiote pastes are notorious for clumping in your soup if they aren’t thoroughly dissolved before introducing.
Add this mixture, along with the remaining water, stock, tomatoes and 1 tablespoon of the cilantro to the pot
Bring this to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the lentils, quinoa, spinach and bay leaves
Cook for 1 hour, or until the lentils and quinoa are cooked thoroughly
Remove the bay leaves, serve into bowls and garnish with the remaining cilantro

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View Comments

Sara Whiteford says:

January 3, 2013 at 3:43 pm

WOW! This looks fantastic! I never considered making quinoa into a soup but totally love lentil soup. Can't wait to try this.
Gretchen Noelle @ Provecho Peru says:

January 4, 2013 at 2:31 pm

Good idea to combine the two!
- tbailey1712 says:
  
  January 4, 2013 at 2:41 pm
  
  Thanks, Gretchen! I was inspired by your share of the article on quinoa by Gaston and his use of pasta de aji in every receta. Was lucky to have been able to dine at AyG when we were in Lima.
hanseata says:

January 4, 2013 at 10:17 pm

Sounds like a nice soup, I'll try it. (Don't know whether I'll find the Achiote Paste, though.)
If you like quinoa - do you know the fabulous book "Ancient Grains for Modern Meals" by Maria Speck? It's one of my most often used cookbooks.
- tbailey1712 says:
  
  January 5, 2013 at 3:45 pm
  
  Sounds like a great book, I'm off to Amazon to search it out...thanks for the tip!
Nik@ABrownTable says:

January 7, 2013 at 6:50 pm

This looks delicious, I love quinoa but have never tried it in a soup yet. I am going to have to change that soon.
- tbailey1712 says:
  
  January 7, 2013 at 7:54 pm
  
  Hey Nik - Same here, it was my first time doing quinoa in soup and am now a big fan. Hope it goes well if you try this out!
Christine (Cook the Story) says:

January 8, 2013 at 3:14 am

I love quinoa! So often people just put it in salads. So great to see it in a soup. And with another big protein like lentils, who needs meat? (Although a bit of that bacon would have been ok with me too!).
- tbailey1712 says:
  
  January 8, 2013 at 5:54 pm
  
  You're spot on about the bacon. I could see bacon, or lots of garlic, both being great variations here.
a farmer in the dell says:

January 7, 2013 at 10:23 pm

I just made a similar lentil soup....the only thing missing? Quinoa. This looks delicious!
lalaine says:

January 9, 2013 at 7:48 am

This reminds me of a popular dish we make in the Philippines made of mungbeans. We usually add pork belly or chicharonnes (crispy pork rinds) or small dried shrimps. Delicious as it is nutritious.

No suprise Foodgawker picked up your photo...great one! I've never tried quinoa and your recipe seems just the right one to start. Thanks.
- tbailey1712 says:
  
  January 10, 2013 at 7:12 pm
  
  Thanks for the tip, mungbeans are now going on my list of items to explore further. I'm most familiar with them in cake form, but need to look at their soup side too, it seems.
Sara Blevins says:

January 16, 2013 at 1:17 pm

This recipe is a keeper. If I made it I will link up to your website for recipe if that is ok. Thank you for stopping by. I following you through Google+.
- tbailey1712 says:
  
  January 16, 2013 at 6:17 pm
  
  Not a problem at all! Hope it works out great if you give it a run.
Ruth Guerrero says:

February 9, 2013 at 1:42 pm

Thanks for the recipe. Im ecuadorian (Ecuator is at north of Peru) and we have too "menestra de lentejas " but this is not a soup, it 's for eat like a second plate with white rice, fried beef and "patacones "... do you know what is this? (Like slices of fried green banano) . There is a lentil soup "sopa de lentejas ", this is of course with more liquid (water and milk) and normally is a first plate.
- tbailey1712 says:
  
  February 11, 2013 at 10:51 pm
  
  Hi Ruth - Just did some reading on patacones and they sound great. I can see how with beef and rice, you have a solid meal. It's always fun hearing about how dishes are prepared differently throughout Latin America. Much like the numerous ways one can make chili here in the US. Thanks for stopping by!
Sara S says:

May 1, 2013 at 6:24 pm

Did you use fresh or dried cilantro? Excited to try this recipe!
- tbailey1712 says:
  
  May 1, 2013 at 7:58 pm
  
  Hi Sara - I used fresh cilantro in the recipe. If you use dried, you'd naturally want to cut the amount. But I don't think you'll get the same result since the flavor profile of fresh cilantro is so much different (and brighter) than it's dried out counterpart.