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It’s Happy National Eat Your Vegetables Day, have you had yours? Some of the easiest ways to get those plant-based foods is with a smoothie, salad, or soup. But today – we’re making a bowl of incredibly healthy and easy lentil soup with kale and rice.

Not only is it healthy — it’s filling, tasty, and satisfying. Feel free to throw in some bread rolls or whatever other sides you want. There are no rules here. We’re just eating green and cheap.

Also, good news: this recipe has really affordable ingredients in it. I used just a few fresh ingredients, but everything else in this lentil soup comes from your typical household pantry.

Pro-tip: if you ever had a tough time finding pantry items at your local store, Amazon sells a bunch of seasonings and dry foods on their website. When I can’t find something, in particular, that’s the place I go to.

Easy Lentil Soup With Kale And Rice Recipe

Cooking Notes:

If you want to go oil-free, you can use a splash of water to replace the oil.
If you don’t have sweet onions, any onion will do.
I added leftover cooked rice. However, you’re welcome to use fresh.
If you want this soup soupier, just add more water and seasonings.
Some folks don’t dig kale stems in their stew (I do). Remove them if need be.
If you let the rice sit in the soup, it will soak up the water. Serve the rice when you serve the soup.
This makes about 4-6 servings.

Ingredients:

1 cup small green lentils
1 cup cooked rice
2 cups kale, washed + chopped
2 whole carrots, washed + chopped
½ sweet onion, chopped
½ bell pepper, washed + chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp dry basil
2 tsp red wine vinegar
5 ½ cups of water
1 tbsp oil (if you’re oil-free, just add a little bit of water instead to cook the veggie base)

Directions:

Prepare and chop all of your vegetables (kale, carrots, onion, and bell pepper).
In a large pot over medium heat, add the oil, chopped carrots, onions, and bell pepper.
Stir and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes.
Throw in the kale and cover pot. Cook down for 2 minutes.
Next, stir in the tomato paste and mix well. Let everything cook for 4 minutes.
Now it’s time to throw in your bay leaves, basil, garlic powder, chili powder, salt. Combine well.
Add the lentils, water, red wine vinegar. Stir to combine.
Bring everything to a boil. Then, lower temperature to a simmer.
Cook the soup for 30-35 minutes. Cover pot.
Serve with rice stirred in.