Lentil soup with kale. Easy and slow-cooker or crock-pot friendly. Do we really need to say anything else?

This lentil soup with kale is a slow cooker superhero. It’s nutritious, satiating, comforting as hell, and, best of all, you probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry. No need to thank us–just remember us when you’re saying grace and put in a good word for us.–Angie Zoobkoff
Lentil Soup with Kale
Special Equipment: Slow cooker with a minimum 4-quart (3.8 liter) capacity
Ingredients
- 2 quarts store-bought or homemade vegetable stock (1.9 liters)
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (30 ml)
- 2 shallots, minced (about 3 ounces/85 grams)
- 1 large carrot, finely diced (about 1 1/4 cups/150 grams)
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced (about 3/4 cup/115 grams)
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme (about 5 grams)
- 1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika (7 grams)
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds (5 grams), toasted and ground
- 1 pound green lentils (454 grams)
- Kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ounce/28 grams) or olive oil
- 4 cups stemmed curly leaf kale (about 5 ounces/140 grams), chopped into about 1/2-inch (12-mm) pieces
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (3 grams)
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (15 ml)
- Sour cream (optional), for serving
- Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, for serving
Directions
- 1. In a 4-quart or larger slow cooker set on high, pour in the vegetable stock, cover, and heat until warm, about 15 minutes.
- 2. In a medium sauté pan set over medium heat, warm the olive oil until it begins to shimmer, about 2 minutes. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the carrot and celery and cook until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes longer. Add the thyme, paprika, and coriander, stir well, and transfer the mixture to the slow cooker.
- 3. Rinse the lentils in a fine-mesh sieve under cold running water. Add them to the slow cooker. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt or to taste, cover with the slow cooker lid, and cook on the high setting until the lentils are tender and the flavors have melded, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
- 4. Remove the thyme sprigs. Use an immersion blender to quickly and partially blitz the soup a bit to make it a little smoother and bring it together. (Alternatively, using a ladle to transfer 1 cup of the soup to a blender, let it cool slightly, and purée it. Then return the purée to the slow cooker.)
- 5. In a large skillet set over medium-high heat, melt the butter. When the butter bubbles and froths, add the kale and cook, stirring until it has wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt and add the kale to the soup. Stir in the lemon zest and sherry vinegar and season to taste with salt. To serve, garnish each bowl with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of parsley.
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Joel Jenkins
This lentil soup with kale is a pretty easy soup to make and is incredibly flavorful. I think the amount of time it takes in the slow cooker really benefits the flavor profile. My broth wasn't even remotely warm after 15 minutes in the slow cooker but I don't feel like that mattered in the end. We had some nice kale at the farmers market. It is important to emphasize the cut on the kale, otherwise, I think the pieces would be hard to eat if they were any larger.