A traditional Lebanese soup, lentils, and vegetables are cooked with healthy greens in a lemony broth scented with warm cinnamon and cumin.
My six-year-old is a bit of a vegetarian these days and is a total soup fanatic. This high-protein, meatless Lebanese lentil soup recipe is one of his all-time favorites these days and it makes me so happy!
A recipe from my childhood, my mom made this traditional Syrian/Lentil lentil soup for us frequently growing up. Packed with plenty of bright lemon juice, warm cinnamon and fragrant cumin, this is one of those soups that tastes even better the next day or the day after that!
Ideal for freezing, gifting to a new mom or eating throughout the week for lunch, just one serving will leave your full and satisfied for hours (without that post-lunch crash.) We also love serving it for dinner with warm pita bread, hummus, and a Syrian salad.
Sprinkle with fresh parsley and a little extra lemon juice right before serving. Your spoon is waiting.
Lebanese Lentil Soup with Greens
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion (diced)
- 2 medium carrots (peeled and diced)
- 3 stalks celery (diced)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 cup brown lentils (uncooked)
- 4 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
- 4 cups water
- 1 lemon (juiced)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 cups spinach
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add in the onions, carrots and celery and cook until they become tender, about 6-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir in the garlic, cumin and cinnamon. Heat until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds. Add lentils to the pan and heat 1-2 minutes to slightly toast. Pour in the chicken broth, water and lemon juice then bring pot to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until lentils are tender, about 30-45 minutes.
- Right before serving, stir in the spinach and cook until bright green and wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with additional, salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste before serving warm.
Nutrition
Take a look at my Pinterest board for more Lebanese recipes!
Thank you for this recipe! While in college I worked in a Lebanese restaurant and have been aching for the lentil soup they served. I’ve tried a few recipes and this is the closest yet! It’s good as written, but for my tastes after my first batch I decided to reduce the cinnamon to one tsp and add a tsp of cardamom which was delicious. I might experiment with a 7-spice mix to get it exactly the way I remember.
Oh yay! So glad you enjoyed it and have found ways to make it to your liking.
So funny you should say that! I used to work next to a Lebanese restaurant during college and as often as I could afford I would buy their lentil soup. They knew I was a working girl (ahem! In retail) so always gave me a generous helping!
I made this soup last night. It was not one of my favorites. I am so glad that I try new recipes. I’m still eating it. I know it’s healthy and packed with good stuff.
I’m sorry you didnt enjoy it. Have you tried my other soups? https://thelemonbowl.com/soup/
AWESOME
Just made it, DELICIOUS ????
So glad you enjoyed it!!
Hi Amy – I am so sorry that should have said teaspoons. Please accept my heart felt apologies for the type-o. In the future, a great way to fix it would be to add more broth or water. Again, I am truly sorry for the human error! The recipe has been fixed.
what a lovely recipe, a nice change for me and happy to see it still packs a healthy dose of protein, thank you!
I hope you love it!
Oh my goodness! This soup looks so comforting. Thank you for sharing =)
I hope you love that Jett!
Oh I’m sure we will! Thanks again =)