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a brothy chicken lentil soup with intact brown lentils, small chicken pieces, carrot cubes and celery in a plain bowl
Melissa Hart

Chicken Lentil Soup

Brown lentils keep their shape long enough to share a pot with chicken thighs, while red lentils would break down into a much thicker soup. Toast the cumin and coriander with the vegetables, then finish with lemon so the earthy grains taste rounded and bright instead of needing more salt to wake them up.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 2 carrots peeled and diced
  • 1 celery rib diced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 3/4 cup dried brown lentils rinsed and picked over
  • 7 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 3/4 tsp fine salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Method
 

  1. Heat oil in a large pot and cook onion, carrots and celery for 6 minutes. Add garlic, cumin and coriander and stir for 30 seconds.
  2. Add lentils, broth and bay leaf. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
  3. Stir in chicken, salt and pepper and simmer partly covered for 20 to 25 minutes more until the lentils are tender and the chicken reaches 165°F.
  4. Remove the bay leaf and stir in lemon juice off the heat.
  5. Let stand for 5 minutes, stir from the bottom and serve with the lentils and chicken evenly distributed.