Italian Lentil Soup

This Italian Lentil Soup recipe is quick and easy to make any night of the week!  It’s made with healthy ingredients and seasoned with classic Italian flavors. This is the best lentil Italian soup to make when you’re craving a rich and hearty bowl of goodness. 

This recipe for Italian lentil soup is hands-down the best lentil soup that I’ve ever had.   The simplicity of this soup requires no garnish, but I personally love to garnish it with croutes, fresh parsley, sautéed mushrooms and a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. It is SO good!!

This Italian Lentil Soup is my riff on the soup served at a local Italian restaurant (Garduno’s) that my family loves. They add mushrooms to their soup while it cooks, but we like to sauté them and add them on top as a garnish with homemade cheese croutés. But you can just toss the mushrooms in the soup like they do if you prefer. This recipe is a family favorite, and I make it often.  

Reader Comments

“We absolutely LOVED this soup! We will make it again and again as we are going to call this one of our all time favorite recipes.”

“This lentil soup was amazing! Thank you”

Recipe For Italian Lentil Soup – Ingredients

This Italian lentil soup recipe uses dried green lentils, fresh produce, canned tomatoes, Parmesan cheese and classic Italian seasoning.

• Dried Lentils. We prefer to use green lentils for this soup, because they hold their shape best, but you can use brown lentils if you can’t find green. 
• Aromatics. Garlic and onion adds a ton of flavor to this soup!
• Extra-virgin olive oil. We saute the aromatics with extra-virgin olive oil.
• Canned tomatoes. Canned crushed tomatoes adds a rich flavor to the broth for this soup.
• Vegetables. Celery (with some of the leaves), carrot and red potatoes add flavor and makes this soup more satisfying.
• Seasoning. For the seasoning, we use a delicious combination of fresh parsley and dried basil, oregano and dill to season this soup with.
• Broth. We use chicken broth for this soup, but you can also use vegetable broth if you prefer.
• Parmesan cheese. We add a 1-inch piece of Parmesan cheese to this soup while it cooks. As the soup simmers, the cheese melts into the broth giving this soup an even richer flavor.

Find printable recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Lentil Soup

This soup recipe comes together in about 45 minutes start-to-finish.

1. Saute vegetables. Sauté the onions, celery, carrots and garlic.
2. Wine. Pour in wine (optional)
3. Add broth and lentils. Add broth, water, tomatoes, potatoes and lentils.
4. Season. Add in dried basil, oregano and dill.
5. Parmesan cheese. Add a 1-inch piece of Parmesan cheese to the soup. 
6. Simmer. Cover the pot and simmer for approximately 40 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
7. Enjoy. Ladle this vegetarian lentil soup into bowls and garnish with sauteed mushrooms, cheese toasties, a drizzle of olive oil, chopped parsley and extra Parmesan cheese.

Storing Leftovers

Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator, If properly stored, leftover soup should last up to 5 days,

For the Croutes

If you want to garnish this soup with sauteed mushrooms and croutes, you’ll need a French baguette (sliced), extra-virgin olive oil and grated Parmesan cheese.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Place sliced pieces of baguette on baking sheet lined with foil.
3. Brush the baguette slices with olive oil on both sides and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the bread is toasted and slightly golden.

How to Saute Mushrooms

To saute mushrooms, you’ll need unsalted butter, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic and sliced or quartered mushrooms.

1. Heat olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Add the mushrooms and garlic to the pan. Using a wooden spoon or spatula make sure the mushrooms are in a single layer in the pan so they cook evenly.
3. Saute over low heat for about 5 minutes or until lightly browned and the mushrooms are tender.

More Lentil Soup Recipes

• Sausage Lentil Soup
• Lentil Rice Soup
• Mexican Vegetable Lentil Soup
• French Lentil Soup
• Vegan Lentil Soup
• Mexican Lentil Soup
• Red Lentil Soup

Continue to Content

Print

Yield: 6 servings

Italian Lentil Soup

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

This Italian Lentil Soup recipe is quick and easy to make any night of the week!  It's made with healthy ingredients and seasoned with classic Italian flavors. This is the best lentil Italian soup to make when you're craving a rich and hearty bowl of goodness. 

Ingredients

• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup white wine or sherry (optional)
• 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup dried green or brown lentils (rinsed and stones and debris discarded)
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 3 large stalks celery, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 3 small red potatoes, cut into small chunks
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Sea salt to taste

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large pot. Add the onions, celery and carrots and sauté for approximately 7 minutes until tender and the onions are golden in color.
2. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute.
3. Add the wine and let simmer for just a minute.
4. Add the chicken broth, water, and tomatoes, potatoes and lentils.
5. Add the parsley, basil, oregano, dill, and freshly ground black pepper.
6. Cover the pot and simmer for approximately 40 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
7. Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and garnish with cheese croutés and sautéed mushrooms.

Notes

For The Croutes

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 French baguette, sliced in 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick pieces
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Here's how to make them:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Place sliced pieces of baguette on baking sheet lined with foil.
3. Brush the baguette slices with olive oil on both sides and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the bread is toasted and slightly golden.

How to Saute Mushrooms

Here's what you'll need:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound mushrooms, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced

How to make them:

1. Heat olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Add the mushrooms and garlic to the pan. Using a wooden spoon or spatula make sure the mushrooms are in a single layer in the pan so they cook evenly.
3. Saute over low heat for about 5 minutes or until lightly browned and the mushrooms are tender.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 249Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 1168mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 6gSugar: 7gProtein: 8g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations.