Chard Lentil Soup, Lebanese-Style

This is my favorite soup, it is the most delicious soup ever! My mom neighbor used to make this for me all the time and I always wondered how it is made. Now I have found this recipe. It is tried and true, easy and very hearty, thank you for sharing this!

I cooked the recipe as noted. However, I also placed less lemon juice in, approximately 1/4 cup. I also added cumin to taste. When the soup was placed in the dishes, I also served the soup with graded parmesan cheese. A really good and healthy soup!

Literally one of my favorite soup ever. We make it every few weeks. I can't believe how much flavor this soup has. Take a chance on this!! You'll love it. We make the exactly as the recipe is written.

I didn't have everything necessary, but wanted to use my orange chard before I lost it. I cut the recipe in half, added two heaping cups of chard, used 1/2 cup of elbows in place of potatoes, juice of one lemon and about 1 tsp of garlic. It came out wonderful! Would try it again according to recipe. Love the lemon in it.

little too much lemon and I will add cumin next time but delicious!!!!!

Awesome recipe!

Instead of chard you can use spinach and cilantro

Pretty good. Next time, go light on the potatoes. I only used 1/4 cup lemon juice.

Very delicious, easy to make & super healthy. I put a little less lemon juice and lemon zest instead. Reminds me a bit of greek avolomeno soup. Glad to have a new chard recipe!

Wow! So good. Do not add cumin. Decrease the lemon to 3/4 cup. Has a great lemony flavor.

This soup was really great! I was surprised by how much flavor it had based on the ingredients, but it really delivered. The lemon juice really pulled it together. Will definitely make it again

A very delicious and easy to prepare soup that doesn't take too long to make. I did add cumin and pepper and used 3/4 cup of lemon juice instead of 1 cup. I will definitely make this again but may try it with even less lemon juice.

A really hearty and flavorful soup. I added some vegetable bouillon, cumin, and smoked paprika, but really the lemon flavor is so dominant that I couldn't really taste those extra spices. But I love lemon flavor, so for me using the full cup of lemon juice worked. I may use less potato next time or dice them smaller, but this is a nice and easy soup.

I didn't make any changes to this recipe. It was delicious! I could eat it every day. My husband liked it too- full of flavor- and normally he won't eat lentils.

I used mixed lentils and I alway like a bit of spice in my soups so I added some chilli

Terrific soup! I added a bit of cumin and ran a little short on the lemon but it was still like the lemony, garlic-y lentil soup I grew up eating.

Very mediocre. Overcooked kale, and lemon garlic not a great soup flavor. I only used a few tablespoons lemon juice. Might make again but would use broth, more spices, less lemon. Rice or

We liked this! I'd cut back slightly on the lemon juice and salt next time, based on my family's preference.

I added a chopped onion stirred it in olive oil then went through the above directions.

I have made this exactly as written and it is superb! I froze beet greens this year as well as chard. I decided to use the beet greens and it is delicious! All the elders we cook for love this recipe. Thanks

1/2 cup of lemon is plenty, be careful there. With lemon on the table, nobody used more. I did toss in two chopped celery sticks and two carrots. Two cups less water also helped. It works!

The Most delicious soup I have ever made! I will definitely be making this again.

I used orange lentil and half of the oil + half of the lemon juice+ half of the salt. It was great. Simple and yummy! Will make it again.

Unfortunately, even though this soup had so many good reviews, and I enjoyed the substance of it (lentils, chard, etc.), the broth was not a favourite of our family. My children especially. For all of us, the problem was the lemon flavour - even though we reduced the lemon to 1/2 cup. In the end, in order to use the leftovers, I had to add more than 2 cups of beef broth and I think that beef broth or veg. broth would have been a better choice of broth for my family. I don't agree that the potatoes should be reduced. The amount was fine.

Followed recipe as written. Only addition was red pepper flakes at end. Delicious way to use lemon and chard!

Way too much lemon! I would start off with 1/4 cup and adjust to taste.

Very good but too much lemon, in my opinion. One cup is about four lemons worth of juice. I suggest starting with one and adding more according to taste. Also suggest using a quality olive oil—it adds a ton of flavor.

Awful. I followed the recipe exactly and it was terribly salty.

This is one of my favourite soups. I add cilantro with the lemon and garlic and I use 2 bunches of red Swiss chard and more water to start with. I also don’t add that much lemon. Prob only 1 lemon (add slowly, taste it to make sure) and then each person can add more to their bowl if they prefer it to have more lemon.

I used mixed lentils and I alway like a bit of spice in my soups so I added some chilli

Really good! I kind of over-shot on the Swiss chard amount, but that doesn’t seem to be hurting anything.

Good recipe! Great for fall. I used more lentils than 1 cup, omitted the potatoes, and used half Swiss chard and half spinach. I really liked it having alot of garlic but it needs something more. Next time will use a broth instead of just water. I will make this again!

I substituted kale for the chard, and it turned out A-OK. The seasonings suggested in this recipe are good.

Not our families favorite, probably won't make again.

Loved the flavors, better after a day to two, but be careful, it smells up the house.

This is one of my favorite meals and I've made this soup at least 4 times so far. Following the recipe exactly, I do agree with some other reviewers that the lemon can be a bit much (though this can depend on the lemon) so I've done anywhere from 3/4 cup to 1 cup. I also think 4 potatoes is a bit much, so last time I made it I only used one GIANT potato (hard to know what is meant by "large" in the recipe) and I think it was just enough. So make it as it is or give it some tweaks; I think it's delicious!

Came out great! I halved the recipe and added some cumin. Per my wife "this is really awesome!!" Will make again.

Love this recipe! I made this soup so many times I am no longer afraid to experiment with it. I substitute Swiss chard with kale, collard greens or even bok choy. I also used differed beans instead of lentils and the soup always ends up great. It is a blend of greens, legumes, potatoes, lemon and garlic that makes the soup taste delicious. It is also very fast and easy to make!

Shockingly delicious. Tastes so much better thank you'd think by looking at it. The lemon really brightens it. I used waxy potatoes, which I recommend because they hold their shape well in soups. I also added some yellow summer squash, which was a good mix. Cooked this down longer so that the lentils started to break down and the soup thickened up a bit. This freezes extremely well, and I never want to be without some of it on hand.

This was very good but I would definitely put less lemon next time. About 1/2 the amount. I also used less than 1/2 the oil and it was definitely enough. Same thing for the potatoes...about 3 vs. 4. I like things lemony but the full amount was overwhelming to me. Overall though, this was a great soup with the above changes for my taste. Easy and pretty quick to make. Healthy too. Thanks for the recipe.

Absolutely obsession-inducing! Don't be fooled by the simple ingredients... until you add the lemon, garlic and olive oil the soup smells like compost but then, oh wonder, it becomes the most amazing thing ever! I ate the entire recipe in two days, no joke. I crave it now. Off to buy more chard.

The lemon added a terrific zest and tang to the broth. My husband and I simply loved it!!!!!

I make this often! usually adding extra garlic and a pinch of rosemary, sometimes a celery stick.

One of the easiest soups to make. I followed the recipe as is. I’ve made it 3 times in the last month. Delicious, tasty and simple.

This recipe was SO GOOD. I tried it because I happened to have chard on hand and because my family likes the lemon-garlic sauce that goes on Shwarma - the ingredients in this reminded me of that. I am SO glad that used the full cup of lemon. I thought it was going to be too much, but it was perfect. Strong lemon-y flavor, but not overpowering. I also had only orange lentils and two potatoes so I used what I had. I did add some cumin because I wanted a little more flavor, but I don't really know that it added anything. It was just yummy. Like another review said, this recipe is worth the risk.

I've made this recipe several times. I love it as it is but over time I've also made my own tweaks: This recipe is just as good with kale if chard isn't available. I add about 1/4 cup of short grain rice at the same time as I put in the potatoes. When stirring in the carrots, I also add 1 bay leaf, 1tsp ground cumin, 1tsp ground culantro, 1/2tsp fresh ground black pepper, 1/2tsp ground tumeric and 1/4tsp cayenne pepper. At the end of cooking, right after turning off the soup, I stir in about 1/2 cup minced cilantro.

I had my doubts about using water instead of broth, but I tried this as written. I found it incredibly bland, even after adding more olive oil and salt than I would usually . I am salvaging this by scooping out the veggies and serving as a side dish.

Don’t know if I did something wrong but I didn’t like it. Too lemony and no real flavor Maybe because water instead of broth was used?

I cut the lemon to 3/4 cup and it was still very lemony delicious. I added a diced onion, sautéed. Keeper recipe!

Reduced the potatoes just for fit and increased the chard just because I love it and the soup was still fantastic. And without onions! I'm amazed. Thanks.