This flavorful and satisfying chicken lentil soup layers in flavor every single step of the way. It’s also super flexible: use breasts or thighs, lemon or lime, use whatever brown or green lentils you have on hand, and skip the cilantro if you’re not into it. Think of it sort of like a cross between a tortilla soup and a lentil soup.
Jump to the recipe to hit the ground running, or read on for some tips for success.
What makes this chicken lentil soup so easy
- It’s a one-pot recipe.
- The ingredients are flexible.
- There isn’t much ingredient prep—slicing is so much easier than dicing, and the only slightly time consuming step is shredding the chicken.
Tips for success
1. Use almost any lentil variety (but pay attention to the cook time).
The only lentils I recommend against are split red lentils, which cook way too quickly for this dish. If you have red lentils, I highly recommend making a traditional shorbat adas (Middle Eastern red lentil soup). Otherwise, feel free to use whatever brown or green lentils you’ve got on hand.
Just pay attention to the cook time and adjust the recipe as necessary. This recipe assumes your lentils will take about 25 minutes to cook through. If your package instructions say yours will cook more quickly, adjust the recipe. Thighs will take about 25 minutes to finish simmering after browning. Breasts will take about 10 minutes to finish simmering after browning. Your goal is for everything to be done at the same time.
2. Taste and adjust seasoning as you go.
It’s very important to taste and adjust the seasoning as you go. We’re adding 1 pound of lentils and 2 pounds of chicken, which don’t contribute much flavor. We need to make sure we’re tasting the soup at various stages and adding more salt as needed, especially after cooking the lentils.
3. Careful with that extra virgin olive oil.
Make sure you control the heat so it doesn’t start smoking. Olive oil does not have a very high smoke point. Don’t worry so much about the chicken sticking to the pot—the more brown bits, the more flavor. Err on the side of lower instead of higher.
PrintChicken Lentil Soup
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 2 lb [905 g] boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- Salt
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 3 carrots, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed through a press or finely minced
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander seeds (optional)
- 1 lb [455 g] green or brown lentils, sorted and rinsed
- One 14.5 oz [410 g] can diced tomato
- 2 quarts [1.9 liters] chicken stock or broth
- 1/2 of 1 small bunch kale, stemmed and chopped
- 1/4 cup lemon or lime juice (1 big lemon or 2 medium limes)
- Cilantro (optional) + lemon or lime wedges for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Season your chicken to taste.
- Preheat a stockpot or dutch oven over medium-low heat for several minutes (be careful not to let it overheat—oil should not smoke). Once hot, add the oil, increase heat to medium-high, swirl to coat, and add the chicken. Let it sear on one side for about 3 minutes, flip, and let it sear on the other side. Work in batches until the chicken is golden brown and the bottom of the pan has some nice brown bits. Remove to a plate.
- Place the pot back over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and stir occasionally for about 10 minutes, until they soften and turn lightly golden. Scrape up the brown bits as you go.
- Add the garlic, turmeric, cumin, and coriander seeds (if using), and stir together for about 2 minutes.
- Add the lentils, diced tomato, and chicken stock/broth. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Once simmering, reduce heat to low to maintain a gentle simmer. Taste and adjust the seasoning. If you’re cooking thighs, add them back in now. Let the lentils simmer, uncovered for about 25 minutes total. If you’re cooking breasts, add them back in when the lentils have about 10 minutes left. Thighs are done when they fall apart easily, breast are done when they are juicy, opaque, and easy to shred. The lentils should be soft and fluffy.
- Top off with water or more stock/broth if it starts to look too thick.
- Shred the chicken with forks, add the kale, and remove from heat. Add the lemon or lime juice, serve with cilantro and more lemon or lime at the table.
Notes
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