Chicken Lentil Soup

Total Time Prep: 15 mins. Cook: 40 mins.
Yield 8 servings
Test Kitchen Approved
Cubed chicken breast keeps this chicken lentil soup recipe lean, but feel free to swap in chicken thighs for more flavor.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 cups chopped carrots
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup chopped leek
  • 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 3/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 5 cups chicken stock
  • 1 cup dried lentils, rinsed

Directions

  1. In a Dutch oven or stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add carrot, onion and leek, cook until tender, 7-10 minutes. Stir in chicken; cook until chicken is browned and no longer pink, 4-5 minutes.
  2. Add garlic, salt, cumin, thyme, pepper, smoked paprika and red pepper flakes; cook 1 minute longer. Add stock; bring to a simmer. Stir in lentils.
  3. Cook, covered, until lentils have softened, 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Nutrition Facts

1 serving: 265 calories, 5g fat (1g saturated fat), 63mg cholesterol, 843mg sodium, 23g carbohydrate (4g sugars, 4g fiber), 32g protein.

What do you do when you fall in love with a guy who's as attached to his mom's favorite soup as you are to yours? Why, you figure out a way to combine them, of course! The love of my life says his mom's lentil soup was beyond perfection. I feel the same way about my mom's chicken soup. And now our Sunday soup tradition is a melange of both, seamlessly blended into something totally new and totally us! —Jodi Taffel, Altadena, California
Recipe Creator

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