Slow-Cooker Vegetable Lentil Soup

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 8

Total Time: 8 30

Servings: bowls

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Author: Heather Nicholds

This soup is a wonderful thing - easy, aromatic, healthy. There's a hearty mass amount of spinach stirred through a the end, to lighten up the vegetables. The great thing about making soup in the crock pot is that you can leave it to simmer all day on its own...

Ingredients

1 cup onion, diced
1 tsp olive oil
8 clove fresh garlic, minced
1 cup celery, chopped
2 cup carrots, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme, or fresh
1-2 tsp paprika, smoked if possible
pinch cayenne pepper
2 cup lentils, dry measure
4 cup vegetable broth, unsalted
4 cup water
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
2 bay leaf
pinch sea salt, to taste
pinch black pepper, to taste
2 cup spinach, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

Turn your crock pot or pressure cooker to brown/saute, or heat a large soup pot to medium-high, and saute the onion, garlic, celery, and carrots in olive oil for a few minutes, until softened.
Add the oregano, thyme, paprika, and cayenne, and toss to combine. Add the lentils, broth, water, diced tomatoes, bay leaf, and turn on high for 1-1 1/2 hours, then turn down to low for 7 hours. If you don't have a slow cooker, put in a regular pot and bring to a boil then turn down to simmer for about an hour.
When the lentils are fully softened and you're ready to serve, stir in the salt, pepper, spinach, and parsley, and let it wilt for a few minutes.

Notes

*Note: Leave the salt out until the lentils have cooked, otherwise they tend to not cook as thoroughly.

Nutrition