This plant-based French Lentil Soup is fragrant, rich, creamy, and satisfying. Made with mushrooms, its earthy nature will ground you with each warming spoonful.
If I were to ask you what your favorite meal of all time was, what would you say? I think back to the French lentil soup I had when my husband Hunter and I visited a vineyard in Saint-Émilion, France. It was the first time in my life where I spent the entire meal just talking about how good the dish was. The rich, earthy, buttery soup was a work of art. The lentils and vegetables weren't crunchy or mushy, but that perfect in-between that can be sometimes hard to achieve! This rather fanciful lentil soup was a perfect match for the dry Bordeaux paired with it.
Can you imagine a soup so good where you don't need anything to go with it? I'm talking soup without crusty bread, chili without crunchy chips, tomato soup without grilled cheese? While you'll always see me pairing a rustic loaf of bread with soup, I don't believe we had anything with our French lentil soup in Bordeaux, it was perfectly sufficient on its own...well, let's not forget the glass of wine, which was also the best we've ever had!
A Romantic Visit to Saint-Émilion, France
If you are curious where we visited, you must check out La Terrace Rouge in Saint-Émilion for lunch. Nearby is Château Jean Faure, a charming biodynamic Grand Cru vineyard where we enjoyed a pleasant solo tour that involved petting horses and sampling merlot jam. We also visited Château Pindefleurs where we had a very informative discussion on the challenges of becoming a Grand Cru Classe and how hard it can be to achieve this status. We are happy to see that Château Pindefleurs is now classified as Grand Cru since our visit a few years ago! If you make it to the region of Bordeaux, you must spend some time strolling through the romantic and quiet streets of Saint-Émilion.
Using French Lentils
When I have a dish that is as memorable as this one, I am always inspired to come home and recreate it to the best of my ability. I admit, as a vegan chef, I do not have a background in classic French cooking, but I do have immense respect for its rich history in shaping what food culture is today.
You can't make French lentil soup without Puy lentils (also known as French lentils). These peppery green lentils have sturdy texture, meaning they hold their shape even when cooked. Most importantly, they aren't going to make your soup mushy. If you can, use French lentils in this recipe!
If you need to substitute with regular green or brown lentils, keep an eye on your time. You may need to cook the soup for less time to prevent the texture getting too mushy.
Before cooking, you may want to quickly sift through the lentils with your hands, pulling out any leaves or stones that may have found their way into your bag. No soaking is required here. Simply place the lentils in a fine mesh strainer and rinse them before adding to your soup.
What You'll Need to Make French Lentil Soup
Begin with a good amount of olive oil to create a rich and flavorful base for the following ingredients. Cooking over medium heat, you'll start with salt, diced yellow onion, minced garlic, and chopped celery and carrots.
Once the vegetables are softened a bit, add the mushrooms, tomato paste, and dry red wine. Three essential components to achieving memorable flavor, the mushrooms add earthy flavor, the tomato paste helps to thicken the soup, and the dry red wine (I used a Bordeaux!) provides acidity and intense depth.
The mushrooms will soak up quite a bit of the wine. When the liquid starts to disappear, add the crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, and lentils. Give the soup a good stir, scraping down any bits that have stuck to the sides. Add the sprigs of rosemary, bay leaves, and black pepper to bring even more complexity to the soup, offering an extra layer of aroma and herbal flavor.
Let the soup simmer, partially covered for about 50 minutes. The lentils should be soft, yet maintain their firmness. You'll then partially blend the soup to give it a creamy texture. Stir in the high quality balsamic vinegar. Vinegar helps to brighten the dish and highlight each of the various flavors within the soup.
Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and microgreens if desired. Parsley is a bit peppery and bitter and contrasts nicely with the rich and creamy lentil soup. The microgreens won't add much in flavor, but they are highly saturated in beneficial nutrients—plus their bright green color looks beautiful on top of the brownish-red soup.
Serve with a warm and crusty loaf of bread. Does this one really need explaining? 😉
How to Store, Reheat and Freeze French Lentil Soup
Store the soup in an airtight container for up to four days. When reheating the soup, only heat up the portion that you plan to eat to help preserve the rest of the dish.
This recipe can be frozen for up to three months. When ready to enjoy, defrost in the fridge for twelve hours. Then, reheat the soup on the stove over medium heat until hot.
Did you make this recipe? I would love to see how you enjoyed it! What did you serve it with? Did you find the perfect wine pairing? 🙂 Tag me on Instagram so I can share!
Try this recipe with my Sourdough Garlic Bread!
📖 Recipe
French Lentil Soup with Mushrooms
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 3 celery stalks diced
- 2 carrots diced
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ cup dry red wine*
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 ¼ cup French lentils*
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 bay leaves dried
- ½ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar* high quality
- fresh parsley chopped, optional
- microgreens chopped, optional
Instructions
- Heat oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Once warm, add the onion and a ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, celery, and carrots, along with an additional ¼ teaspoon of salt. Cook until just starting to soften, about 7 minutes.
- When the vegetables have softened a bit, add the mushrooms, tomato paste, and wine. Cook (stirring occasionally) until the mushrooms start to soften and the wine soaks up. About 7 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, French lentils, rosemary sprigs, bay leaves, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to low (just above a simmer) and partially cover the pot with lid.
- Let the soup simmer until the lentils are tender, about 50 minutes. While the soup is cooking, use this time to warm up some bread, open a bottle of wine, clean up the dishes, or light some candles.
- When the lentils are tender, discard the rosemary and the bay leaves. Use a ladle to transfer roughly 2 cups of the soup to a blender to purée. Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender to partially purée some of the soup. Be careful not to blend too much here. You want to maintain the integrity of the lentils in the soup.
- Stir in the balsamic. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper if needed. When serving, garnish with chopped fresh parsley and microgreens if desired.
Notes
- You can swap the dry red wine for additional vegetable broth if you prefer.
- If you use regular green or brown lentils for this recipe, just be mindful of your cooking time to prevent the lentils from getting mushy. The soup will require less time than stated here.
- Ideally you would use an aged, high quality balsamic vinegar. This really makes all the difference in flavor!
