This thick, porridge-like red lentil and quinoa soup with potatoes and vegetables is a true discovery for anyone who loves rich, warming textures. It is a complete and satisfying lunch for a vegetarian menu, delivering a bowl packed with plant-based protein and slow-digesting carbs. As it cooks, the red lentils almost completely dissolve to create a delicate creamy base, while the quinoa retains a slight chew to add interesting structure. Because it contains no animal ingredients, this recipe is perfect for vegan diets or fasting periods, keeping you full for hours thanks to the high nutritional value of the legumes and grains.
Healthy and hearty red lentil and quinoa soup garnished with crushed peanuts and fresh herbs.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons quinoa
- 4 tablespoons red lentils
- 2 small potatoes
- 2 tablespoons blanched peanuts
- A few sprigs of celery or parsley
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and black pepper to taste
How to Make Lentil and Quinoa Soup
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Finely chop the celery stalks and leaves, and mince the garlic clove. Toss the chopped vegetables into the pan and gently heat. For a deeper flavor, try adding a bit of finely chopped cilantro (roots, stems, and leaves).
First, sauté the minced celery and garlic in olive oil to build a flavorful base.
Peel two small potatoes and cut them into 1/2-inch (1 cm) cubes. Add the diced potatoes to the saucepan and sauté over low heat with the garlic and celery for 5 minutes.
Add the diced potatoes and sauté along with the celery and garlic for 5 minutes.
Stir in the quinoa. Mix it with the sautéed vegetables so the grains absorb the oil. Quinoa can sometimes be bitter and is often rinsed before cooking. However, you won’t notice any bitterness from just two tablespoons in a pot of soup, so you can skip the extra step.
Stir in the quinoa and mix thoroughly so the grains absorb the oil and the vegetable aromas.
Add the red lentils. While green lentils take longer to cook and require soaking, red lentils cook quickly and don’t need to be soaked—just pour them right into the pot.
Red lentils cook quickly and don't require soaking, so add them directly to the pot.
Pour in 600 ml (about 2.5 cups) of hot water or vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then season with salt to taste. Making vegetable broth is easy: simmer chopped onions, garlic, grated carrots, parsley and celery roots, vegetable trimmings, a bay leaf, and black peppercorns in water over low heat for an hour, then strain. Using a homemade broth makes your soup richer and much more flavorful.
Pour hot water or flavorful broth over the ingredients and bring to a boil.
While the soup is simmering, place the blanched peanuts in a blender and pulse until they form coarse crumbs. Don’t grind them into a paste; we want to add a varied texture to the soup.
Pulse the blanched peanuts into coarse crumbs to give the soup an interesting texture.
Simmer for 20 minutes after it comes to a boil. Cover the saucepan with a lid to prevent the moisture from evaporating.
Simmer the soup covered for about 20 minutes until all the ingredients are fully cooked.
Stir the ground peanuts into the saucepan 5 minutes before the soup is done. Reserve a small amount of the peanut crumbs for garnish.
Add the ground peanuts 5 minutes before the soup is done to provide thickness and a unique flavor.
Ladle the thick soup into bowls. Sprinkle with the reserved peanut crumbs and season with freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and garnish with finely chopped fresh parsley. Serve warm or piping hot. Enjoy!
Sprinkle the finished soup with the remaining peanuts, season with pepper, and drizzle with olive oil before serving.
This recipe was inspired by Turkish mashkhurda. While traditional mashkhurda combines mung beans and rice, swapping them for lentils and quinoa makes this soup more modern and easier to prepare. Serve the dish with a generous squeeze of lemon juice—the acidity perfectly balances the earthy taste of the lentils and the nutty notes of the peanuts. Whole grain croutons or a warm flatbread make excellent sides. If you want to experiment with aromas, try adding a pinch of cumin or smoked paprika to the vegetables while sautéing. This will give the soup a distinctive Middle Eastern character. You can store any leftovers in the fridge for up to two days; the soup will thicken even more, so add a couple of tablespoons of hot water or vegetable broth when reheating to restore the desired consistency.
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