The Best Lentil Soup with Lentils Cooked in Chicken Broth
Protein packed, healthy, and delicious! Lentils cooked in chicken broth makes for a satisfying soup. This chicken lentil soup is a nourishing blend of earthy lentils and savory chicken.
I’ve always loved making homemade chicken soup using bone-in chicken breasts that slowly simmer away to create a nutritious chicken broth. I figured this method might also work for lentil soup, and it definitely does. This recipe is a keeper. It is on rotation at our house in the fall and winter months.
I can’t believe it now, but I didn’t know about lentil soup until I lived in Miami in college. I worked at a little independently owned Italian restaurant that served it. On the other hand, my husband grew up on the Equator and had lentil soup as a staple in his diet. He was a very picky eater and only ate French fries (among a handful of other things), but he loved lentil soup. With the lentils cooked in chicken broth, he would have at least gotten good nutrition from this meal, even if most of his diet was fast food.
I learned lentils are an ancient food that has been eaten for thousands of years. They are incredibly good for you and they taste great. I thought all this made it a major win and a no-brainer meal. Because of the high fiber content and low calories, this soup is even great for weight loss.
Since then, I’ve loved making variations of lentil soup. This one is my favorite recipe because the homemade broth adds a fresh richness to the overall flavor. Even though it takes a few extra steps to make the broth, the soup is slowly simmering away on the stovetop for the majority of the time.
Why You’ll Love Chicken Lentil Soup with Lentils Cooked in Chicken Broth
- It’s a cozy, warm, and comforting meal that is perfect for cold, rainy, or wintry weather
- The recipe has a few “set it and forget it” moments where the soup is just simmering away on the stove.
- It’s inexpensive-the most expensive ingredient will be your chicken.
- The soup has a double whammy of protein from the chicken and the lentils.
- It tastes even more fresh and rich by using homemade broth.
- It’s both healthy and delicious.
- It is filling enough to make an entire meal-just add bread or crackers.
- Lentils are full of fiber and are beneficial for healthy gut bacteria.
- The soup is naturally high in fiber, high in protein, and low in calories.
- In my opinion, the chicken is cooked just perfectly in this recipe.
Tell Me More About This Recipe
- Taste: A rich, earthy, fresh, hot soup. It tastes like a mix between traditional lentil soup and chicken soup.
- Texture: This soup has a lot of texture between the lentils and shredded chicken. There isn’t a ton of broth at the end of the recipe-the chicken and lentils make up most of the soup.
- Ease: Most of the time spent making this recipe is just letting the soup simmer on the stove. The most active parts include chopping veggies and shredding the chicken.
- Time: From start to finish, the recipe takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes. There is 1 hour and 30 minutes of simmering on the stove and 30 minutes of simply waiting for it to boil two separate times.
Tips
- The celery and onion don’t need to be chopped small for the first step. The vegetables add flavor to the broth, but we will toss them after simmering for an hour. Large pieces are the easiest to remove.
- The easiest way to remove the veggies from the broth is by using a mesh strainer with a large mixing bowl underneath (a ceramic bowl or one that is heat-proof). If you don’t have a mesh strainer, you could use a slotted spoon and pick out the pieces individually.
- While you don’t necessarily have to rinse the lentils and check for things such as little rocks, I always do. I’ve only found tiny stones once or twice, but I’m glad I checked every time I did.
- When deboning the chicken, I personally pick just the best quality pieces of breast meat. I’m not a fan of eating dark meat or fatty pieces, so I tailor the quality of chicken just to my liking. In the same way, so can you! Pick what you like best.
- If you lose too much liquid, you can add a little more water to the broth. I made this in the middle of a dry Midwest winter, and starting with 12 cups of water at the start of the recipe was the correct amount for me. I ended up with the perfect ratio of broth to lentils at the end of the recipe. I never covered the pot with a lid.
Ingredients for Chicken Lentil Soup with Lentils Cooked in Chicken Broth
- Celery – chopped in big pieces and just used to make the broth
- Carrots
- Yellow onions – one quartered to make the broth and one diced for the lentil soup itself
- Garlic
- Bay leaves
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Cumin
- Thyme – dried
- Water
- Olive oil
- Bone in chicken breasts
- Lentils – any color is okay to use, but green and brown are my favorite for soups
- Extras – I love adding Ritz crackers to my soup, but I know others in my family like it with homemade bread. You can add a little garnish to the soup before serving. Freshly chopped cilantro or parsley would both work well.
Tools You May Need
- 1-2 large pots or Dutch ovens
- Cutting board & knife
- Plate, fork, and knife (for shredding chicken)
- Mesh strainer
- Large mixing bowl that is ceramic or heat proof (or use the second large pot instead)
- Large slotted spoon (optional if not using mesh strainer for chicken broth step)
- Meat thermometer
How to Make Lentil Soup with Lentils Cooked in Chicken Broth
Place the celery, quartered onion, and chicken in a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Add the garlic, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Cover with 12 cups of water. Cook until boiling, then gently simmer for 1 hour. I like to start chopping the carrots and onion while I wait.
Once the chicken has simmered for an hour and has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees, carefully place the chicken on a plate to cool. Throw out the celery and quartered onion pieces by separating and pouring the broth through a mesh strainer. Set the broth aside in a bowl or pot for now.
Heat olive oil in a wiped clean large pot or Dutch oven. Add diced carrots and onions and cook 5-10 minutes or until onions are soft and translucent. The next step is the lentils cooked in chicken broth.
Add rinsed lentils, chicken broth, cumin, and thyme. Stir and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes until lentils are soft and almost cooked through. Shred the chicken while you wait. Be sure to discard bones, skin, fat, etc. Just keep the best quality meat.
Add the shredded chicken back to the pot. Cook for 10 minutes until chicken is hot and the lentils have reached your desired consistency. Serve with crackers or bread. Enjoy!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to rinse lentils before using them?
Yes, rinse the lentils before adding them to the soup. Use a mesh strainer and look for any impurities like small stones. It doesn’t happen often, but I have found small stones in my lentils before. I’m always glad I took that extra step to check when that happens.
Do you need to soak lentils for lentil soup?
No, you don’t need to soak them for this recipe.
Why is my lentil soup mushy?
If your lentils are mushy, they are overcooked. Keep an eye on them while the soup is cooking. You can even taste a spoonful of soup (just like tasting pasta!) to see if they’re ready.
What color lentils should I use for this recipe?
It doesn’t really matter what lentils you use-brown, red, or yellow will work just fine.
Are lentils good for you?
They are incredibly healthy for you! Lentils help your digestive system and support the good bacteria in your gut. They also help reduce inflammation.
Why won’t my lentils soften in the soup?
Perhaps the lentils are too old. If this isn’t the case, maybe they were cooked at too high of heat.
My soup is too watery. How can I thicken it?
Once I added the chicken back to the soup as the final step, my lentil soup was the perfect consistency. However, this can often be dependent on variables such as humidity. If your soup is too watery, you can always add 2-3 TBSP of flour to use as a thickening agent. Gently shake the flour on top and stir so as to avoid any clumps. You can also use cornstarch instead of flour if you’d like. If using cornstarch, dissolve it in a small amount of water before adding to the soup.
How do you keep lentils from sticking to the bottom of the pan?
While I did not have this problem while making the soup, there is an easy solution. You can just stir the soup and scrape the bottom of the pot with the spoon!
Can you freeze lentil soup?
Yes, you can easily freeze lentil soup. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then heat on stove or in microwave.
Chicken Lentil Soup with Homemade Chicken Broth
Ingredients
- 2-3 stalks celery, chopped in large pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
- 2 bone-in chicken breasts
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 TBSP table salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 12 cups water
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 2-3 large carrots, diced
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 pound lentils
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp thyme
Instructions
- Start making the homemade chicken broth by placing the bone-in chicken breasts, largely chopped celery, and quartered yellow onion into a large stockpot.
- Add 4 minced garlic cloves, 3 bay leaves, 1 TBSP salt, and 1 tsp black pepper. Cover with 12 cups of water. Cook the broth on medium high until boiling. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- After 1 hour, carefully take the hot chicken breasts out of the broth. Allow to cool on a plate.
- Discard the celery, onion, and bay leaves from the broth. You can do this using a large slotted spoon or by pouring the broth through a mesh strainer and into a large heat proof mixing bowl or a second large pot.
- Add 2 TBSP olive oil to a large stockpot (or store broth in a large bowl and wipe out original pot to use again). Heat olive oil over medium, then add the diced carrots and onion. Cook for 5-10 minutes until soft and onions are translucent.
- Meanwhile, check lentils for any impurities or small stones and rinse using mesh strainer. Add to pot with carrots and onions. Add chicken broth, 1 tsp cumin, and 1/2 tsp thyme. Stir and bring to a boil on medium high. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes until lentils are soft and almost cooked through.
- While the lentils cook, debone the chicken breasts. Discard bones, cartilage, and fat. Shred the meat into small bite sized pieces.
- After 30 minutes simmering, add the chicken back to the pot and cook for 10 minutes more until lentils are cooked through and chicken is hot. Serve with warm toasted bread or crackers. Enjoy!