You'll love how easy it is to make this hearty and cozy lentil quinoa soup! This soup is inspired by Trader Joe's ancient grains soup and is filled with warming flavors and packed with protein and fiber from plant-based ingredients.
This lentil quinoa soup started as a copycat recipe for Trader Joe's lentil soup with ancient grains. And after making this recipes for 5+ years, I still like it better than the TJs version!
Just like Trader Joe's lentil soup, this lentil quinoa soup is the definition of hearty. It's filled with fiber and plant-based protein, made with warming spices, and is the perfect vehicle for toppings like cheddar cast iron biscuits or crackers.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Budget-friendly: Made with inexpensive pantry staples like brown lentils, carrots, and a blend of common spices.
- Great for meal prep: This recipe makes a lot of soup, so it's great for a week of meal prep. It also freezes well, and like most soup recipes, it tastes even better the next day!
- High-protein: One serving has 16 grams of plant-based protein thanks to the combination of lentils and quinoa
Main ingredients
Don't be intimidated by the long list of ingredients. Most of these are pantry staples or spices.
- Lentils: Choose dry brown lentils. Green lentils work but will take up to 45 minutes to cook. Red lentils will not work in this recipe (they are better for things like mixed vegetable curry, red lentil pasta sauce and even plant-based lentil patties).
- Quinoa adds depth and plant-based protein to the soup. I usually use white quinoa but any color will work.
- Mirepoix: This is just the carrots, yellow onions and celery sautéed in olive oil. White onion also works.
- The spices: There are a lot of spices in this recipe. Cumin, marjoram, nutmeg, paprika, onion powder, parsley, cayenne and bay leaf. It's what gives the soup such a warm profile. Oregano can be used in place of marjoram if needed.
- Parsley: I opt for fresh parsley because it works well as a garnish. You can use one teaspoon of dry parsley in place of fresh as needed.
- Vegetable broth: Choose a flavorful vegetable broth. These days I use mostly Better than Bouillon not chicken base or vegetable base. I mix it directly into the soup.
Step-by-step instructions
This recipe is made like any traditional soup recipe. It takes almost an hour to make because brown lentils can take 30+ minutes to cook, but most of the cooking time is inactive.
Maybe the inactive time is spent making vegan biscuits to serve with the soup?
- Heat a 6 quart Dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the diced onion, carrot and celery. Sprinkle with salt.
- Sauté the veggies until softened. Sprinkle in the tomato paste and minced garlic. Sauté another 1-2 minutes. Cooking tomato paste allows the flavor to deepen, which adds extra depth to the lentil soup.
- Add the spices. Bloom for 30 seconds, stirring to prevent burning. Blooming spices enhances their flavor- don't skip this step!
- Deglaze the pan with a drizzle of vegetable broth. Add the diced tomatoes, quinoa, lentils, remaining broth, and fresh parsley. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer over medium-low heat and cover. Simmer until the lentils are tender and fully cooked through.
Remove the bay leaves and add a squeeze of lemon juice before serving.
Cassidy's tips
- The lentils and quinoa soak up a lot of liquid while cooking. For a thinner soup, add an extra 1 cup vegetable broth or water at the end of cooking.
- Trader Joe's lentil soup: To make this a true "ancient grains" soup like the Trader Joe's kind, add in millet and amaranth. I don't add these because they aren't as easily accessible as lentils and quinoa, so they make this soup a little less budget-friendly.
- Salt: The Trader Joe's soup has a fair amount of salt, more than my version has. Adjust to taste!
- Toppings: Fresh chopped parsley, a wedge of lemon and freshly shredded Parmesan (or vegan parm) are all must-adds. I usually add crackers or a yeast roll too. Sour cream or cashew cream are all great additions.
- Extra veggies: You can make lentil quinoa soup extra fiber-rich by sautéing diced zucchini, mushrooms, etc. alongside the mirepoix.
Recipe FAQ
I haven't made lentil quinoa soup in the Instant Pot, but I do have a recipe for Instant Pot Lentil Soup which is very similar. Although I can't say for sure because I haven't tested it myself, you should be able to cook this soup in the Instant Pot in just 10 minutes on high pressure. Allow the pressure to release naturally.
I haven't tested out this soup in the slow cooker but I will update the recipe if I do. My guess is that it would work really well because I've had success with cooking lentils in this Slow Cooker Lentil Chili. I would love to hear if you try it out.
Storage tips
- Storage: Let the soup cool to room temp before transferring to the fridge. Refrigerate for 4-5 days.
- Reheating: Reheat individual servings in the microwave or return the entire soup pot to the stove. Reheat on the stove over medium-low to medium heat, stirring occasionally. If needed, add an extra splash of broth or water when reheating.
- Freezing: Let the soup cool to room temperature before transferring to individual or large freezer-safe containers. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to use, let thaw overnight in the fridge or defrost in the microwave.
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Hearty Lentil Quinoa Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 2 large whole carrots peeled and diced
- 2 ribs celery diced
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt adjust to taste
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4-5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon marjoram oregano also works
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional; makes it lightly spicy
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 6 ½ to 7 ½ cups vegetable broth see note #1
- 1 ½ cups dry brown lentils rinsed and sorted
- ½ cup dry quinoa rinsed
- 2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes with juices
- ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley plus more for serving
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice plus extra lemon wedges for serving
- grated Parmesan for serving
Instructions
- Heat a 6 quart Dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Once hot, drizzle in the oil. To the hot oil, add the diced onion, carrot and celery. Sprinkle with salt. Sauté the veggies until the onion is starting to turn golden, about 8-10 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and minced garlic. Sauté another 1-2 minutes, until the garlic is golden and aromatic.
- Add the spices (cumin, marjoram, paprika, onion powder, nutmeg, black pepper, optional cayenne). Bloom for 30 seconds, stirring to prevent burning.
- Deglaze the pan with a drizzle of vegetable broth. Add the diced tomatoes with juices, lentils, quinoa, remaining broth, fresh parsley, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and cover.
- Simmer, covered, until the lentils are tender and fully cooked through, 25-35 minutes. Remove the bay leaves.
- Taste for salt and pepper. Stir in 2 tablespoons lemon juice just before serving. Serve topped with freshly grated Parmesan, a lemon wedge, and additional freshly chopped parsley. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Brown lentils take about 30 minutes to cook, but may need longer to be super tender. French green lentils work but take upwards of 45 minutes to cook. Red/orange lentils do not work here.
- Vegetable broth: You can use 4 cups veg broth and 2 ½ cups water to cut back on salt. These days I use Better than Bouillon vegetable base or not chicken base instead of boxed broth, which allows for more control over flavor and saltiness. The nutrition facts were calculated using 7 cups of standard vegetable stock.
- Leftovers and reheating: Let the soup cool to room temp before transferring to the fridge. Refrigerate for 4-5 days. Reheat individual servings in the microwave or return the entire soup pot to the stove. Reheat on the stove over medium-low, stirring occasionally. You will likely need to add an extra splash of broth or water when reheating.
- Freezing instructions: Let the soup cool to room temperature before transferring to individual or large freezer safe containers. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to use, let thaw overnight in the fridge or defrost in the microwave.
Terry says
We loved this soup— it’s a keeper!
Stacey says
Easy, tasty and filling. Not exactly like TJ’s, but very good. It also makes so much that I got a little bored eating it after a couple of days, but a handful of shredded chicken gave it new life and extra protein.
Terry says
We got 8 servings out if it.
Elizabeth Ramey says
This soup was so delicious! My whole family loved it. I did have to cook my lentils longer but so yummy! I will definitely be putting this into our rotation. It may be even better than the Trader Joe's version.
Cassidy Reeser says
That's so great to hear! Thanks for the review 🙂