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Italian lentil soup, or zuppa di lenticchie soup, is a very tasty lentil minestrone boasting plenty of fresh vegetables in every mouthful. Suitable for any occasion, but especially tempting during the cooler months, Italian vegetable soup is hearty and warming, and perfect served with either croutons or crusty ciabatta for soaking up every last drop. This hearty lentil soup is a New Year’s Eve tradition and is sure to become one of your favorite Italian recipes!
Of all the delicious Italian vegetable soup recipes, Italian lentil soup is one of the best loved. Fresh vegetables combine with white wine, Italian seasoning, garlic, and homemade croutons, for a wonderful result.
You might also enjoy charro lentils, coconut lentil soup in a jar, Tuscan chicken orzo, or one of these lentil recipes.
Veggie and Lentil Soup Ingredients
To make healthy zuppa di lenticchie soup (lentil pea soup), you need either green lentils or brown lentils (yellow lentils), split peas, broth, wine, tomatoes, onion, carrots, celery, and kale.
The soup is seasoned with garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Optional garnishes include fresh herbs like basil, olive oil and croutons, which you can make with Italian style bread.
How to Make Italian Lentil Soup
The first thing to do is sauté the vegetables in oil for a few minutes, before adding the lentils, split peas and seasoning. Add a cup of wine and cook for 5 minutes more. This lentil dish starts with a soffritto which is a mixture of chopped vegetables sautéed in oil.
Now add the broth and simmer some more before adding halved cherry tomatoes and the kale. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Next you can prepare your croutons for the Italian lentil soup. You will need to cut bread into cubes. Drizzle oil over them and add some salt and Italian seasoning. Bake them until golden brown, keeping an eye on them so they don’t burn. Once they’re light golden, they’re perfect.
Once the lentils, as well as the veggies, are soft, you can serve the split pea lentil soup with croutons, as well as basil and/or a drizzle of olive oil (Italian of course!) if you like.
Italian New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day Tradition
A delicious Italian soup is a must for a traditional New Year’s Day or New Year’s Day menu in Italy. Since lentils are a symbol of luck, it is a tradition to ensure your new year is filled with good luck, blessings and good health. Since the coin-shaped legumes resemble roman coins, that is where the tradition got its start. Italian holidays center around food, so the last day of the year is no different with this delicious soup and comfort food.
A Closer Look at Lentils
Lentils are fibre-rich complex carbs which don’t have many calories or fat. They are high in protein, making them a good ingredient in vegetarian and vegan dishes, and they’re also gluten-free.
Lentils come in green, brown, red, and black. Green ones, also known as puy lentils, are crunchy and a little peppery. Brown ones are mild but overcooking can turn them to mush. Green or brown lentils work best in this split pea and lentil soup.
Red lentils, which are technically de-hulled brown Massor lentils, are typical in Indian and Middle Eastern recipes. And then you have black ones or white ones, which are de-hulled black ones.
For Italian lentil soup, choose green ones if you want a firm texture and nutty flavour, or brown ones if you prefer a softer texture and milder taste. You don’t have to soak them like you do with beans.
Italian Vegetable Soup Variations
As it stands, this is a vegetarian dish, but you can always throw in some chopped turkey or chicken breast for a protein boost. If you do want to keep it vegetarian though, make sure you’re using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. This will be a family favorite on the cold winter nights.
You can also change the texture, adding more broth for a more liquid result, or making it just as it is for more of a stew consistency.
Swap the croutons for crusty ciabatta bread you can serve on the side if you prefer. And feel free to change the vegetables used in it. Italian lentil soup can be a nice way of using up any veggies past their prime in the refrigerator. Just about any fresh vegetables from zucchini to mushrooms or butternut squash would work.
Feel free to omit the white wine from the veggie and lentil soup if you don’t want to use it. Wine does add a zesty zip to the flavour, but it’s optional here. For an extra flavour boost, feel free to add some parmesan cheese, unless you want to keep it vegetarian. You will find some recipes also include a bay leaf or bay leaves but I prefer without as shown here.
This tasty soup is sometimes served with cotechino which is a kind of boiled sausage that is common in northern Italy. For a more homestyle side, these biscuits with sour cream would be a nice addition.
Italian Lentil Soup FAQs
If you make the soup ahead, it will keep for up to five days, in an airtight container. Another option is freezing it for up to five months. If you want to make lentil minestrone in advance, don’t make or add the croutons just yet, else they are going to get soggy. Microwave safe containers are always a great option.
Italian Lentil Soup Recipe
Italian Lentil Soup – Zuppa Di Lenticchie
Ingredients
- 6 Ounces lentils, green or brown
- 4 Ounces split peas
- 6 Cups vegetable stock, or chicken stock
- 1 Cup white wine
- 1 Pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, large, chopped
- 2 Stalks celery, chopped
- 4 Cups kale, Tuscan, chopped
- 1 Teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- 1 Teaspoon black pepper
- ½ Teaspoon Italian seasoning
- olive oil
Optional garnishes:
- fresh basil
- olive oil
Croutons (Optional Garnish):
- 4 Slices italian bread, thick cut
- olive oil
- salt
- Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a soup pot, add the carrots, celery, onion, and a couple Tablespoons of olive oil. Mix together and saute over medium high heat until the vegetables begin to soften and gain some color.
- Add the lentils, split peas, and seasonings to the pot, stir well.
- Deglaze the pan with 1 cup of white wine. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add 6 cups of broth to the pot, stir, then cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- While the soup is simmering, slice the cherry tomatoes in half.
- After the soup has simmered for about 15 minutes, add the sliced cherry tomatoes. At this time if you prefer the kale to be tender add the chopped kale now, or if you prefer a crunchier kale you can add just before serving.
- Cover and let soup simmer for another 10 minutes.
- While the soup is simmering you can make the croutons, cut the bread into roughly 1” cubes. Spread the bread onto a baking sheet. Drizzle the bread with 2 to 3 Tablespoons of olive oil, season with ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning and salt to taste. Toss everything around to ensure even seasoning then bake in the preheated oven for approx 10 minutes or until just light golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- The soup is ready when the lentils and vegetables are all soft.
- Serve with fresh basil, a drizzle of olive oil, and the fresh croutons.
Nutrition
If the flavor combination of fresh vegetables, lentils and broth sounds tempting to you, I bet you’ll enjoy this Italian pea and lentil soup. It’s easy to make veggie and lentil soup at home and it’s a lovely, warming dish when the weather is cool. It is one of those wonderful recipes with everyday ingredients that you will make again and again for weeknight dinners. This is the best Italian lentil soup and I ate it several times hiking through northern Italy.
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
Really enjoyed this soup—it was fantastic!
Can’t get over with this soup recipe. It was so flavorful and hearty! ❤️
My family loved this! They’re asking for this recipe again.
Absolutely adored this recipe, it’s a new go-to favorite in our household!
A beautiful tasting soup and easy to make as well
i remember eating this when I was younger. so good