Frugal & Simple: Slow Cooker Sprouted Lentil Soup
Sundays are always such a busy day. After a restful Sabbath we are recharged, ready to clean up after a day of rest, and ready to work on projects together as a family.
That leaves little time for cooking.
This soup evolved out of a need for a simple Sunday dinner. It is a one pot meal, full of protein and heartiness. It is flexible, depending on what you have lying around. It can be vegetarian, or you can switch up the meats to suit your preference.
Sprouting the lentils adds another dimension of nutrition to this dish. Not only does it lower their carbohydrate count and increase their nutrients, but it makes them more digestible.
Which makes for a more pleasant Monday :).
Slow Cooker Sprouted Lentil Soup
Recipe Notes: Play with this recipe, depending on what you have on hand. I regularly use dehydrated carrots, onions, and celery for an even easier meal preparation. Note that the cooking time may vary depending on your slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 2 cups green lentils, sprouted or soaked overnight
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 celery stalks, diced
- 1 cup cooked, diced ham or a few strips of bacon
- 4-6 cups chicken stock or water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
- sea salt and plenty of black pepper to taste
Directions
- For sprouting instructions see this post. Note that you will need to start the sprouting process a few days ahead of time. I like to start sprouts about once a week and then use them when I need them. They keep for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.
- Combine all ingredients EXCEPT crushed tomatoes in slow cooker. (The acidity of the tomatoes tend to make the lentils toughen). Cook on high four to six hours or until lentils are tender.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, salt and plenty of black pepper to taste. Cook an additional 30 minutes or up to two hours.
- Remove the bay leaves and serve alongside a salad or bread if you like.
This looks like such a filling Sunday meal with plenty of fiber. A very comforting way to start the week.
Looks great! I don’t have a slow cooker, can I cook this on the stove instead? Just double the chicken stock/water and simmer for a while?
Thanks!
Maria
Maria – Absolutely. I convert recipes back and forth all of the time. Simmer it covered and stir it every once and a while. Slow cookers are nice because the heat surrounds the pot so you don’t scorch things on the bottom. The stove top makes it necessary to stir, though.
YUM! This is so simple–lentils kind of intimidate me (anything Mom didn’t make intimidates me), so I tend to try to over-work things and make them complicated. Thanks so much for the “why” to not add tomatoes from the start. I think I’m going to go sprout some lentils now!
Dani – Great! I hope it turns out well for you.
We eat a lot of lentils at our house. Your photos are beautiful. I really need to work on mine.
Is it 2 cups of dry lentils, or 2 cups after they have been sprouted or soaked? I’m always confused about this, unless the recipe is explicit. Sometimes I get it wrong and end up with a VERY lentil-intensive soup, since they increase so much in size when sprouting!
Meghan – 2 cups of DRIED lentils, which you will then soak or sprout into about 7-8 cups 🙂
I made a butter bean and lentil soup last night for dinner and have almost a quart jar of soaked lentils left over. I am new to beans and lentils and still getting use to how much to soak, they expand so much. I decided last night to sprout the rest of the lentils and by this morning the sprouts already were showing (they had already soaked for 2 days). I can’t believe how easy and fun soaking and sprouting is. I then realized that I have NO idea what to do with sprouted lentils, but then found this recipe. I LOVE bacon and now that I don’t feel quilty eating it I am very excited to make this for dinner. I think I’ll change it up and just sprinkle bacon on the top of the soup for a little crunch. And I have found that sprouted sunflower seeds are great to sprinkle on soup to add a wonderful freshness. Thanks 😉
This is almost exactly my curried sprouted lentil soup! Just add curry powder and garlic. Do you still use a slow cooker, or would this be a dutch oven recipe now?
I linked to this recipe in my March Real Food Monthly Meal Plan. I’m just starting to use sprouted foods and this looks like a good recipe to start with.