Orange and Lentil Soup

I thought this was tasty but my husband, who's a big lentil soup fan, loved it. I sauteed the onion in a little olive oil instead of butter (as it's healthier). When the onion was softened, I added some minced garlic, which I briefly sauteed, before adding the rest of the ingredients. I also diced the carrot instaed of shredding it & used only 1/4 tsp. thyme, due to family preference. I added all the broth at the same time & didn't bother blending the ingredients at the end. A little texture from the lentils & veggies was fine with us. I would suggest that if you go to the trouble of making this that you double the recipe so you can take some to lunch or freeze it for another time.

This was wonderful! I used vegetarian chicken seasoning instead of chicken broth, and skipped the celery and bay leaf. My family loved it - the only problem was I would say this made about two servings, not four - by the time the kids and I were done, my husband got about three bites. Also, I had to keep adding extra water as it cooked. But overall, it was a winner!

Amazing soup. Seems gourmet, but its so simple to make. Guests loved it, as did kids. I added garlic, and sautéed it with the onion as others suggested.

My Husband and I just loved this soup! One of the best I ever ate, with a wonderful fine flavor! I followed the recipe exactly as written but did add some diced cooked chicken to it. I served it with fresh backed Corn Bread - absolutely Yummy!

Very good soup. I cooked all the broth with the lentils, instead of adding some at the end. I also only blended halh the soup, so there were chunks in the soup. Nice refreshing flavor. Great the way it was, I also added some cream to my bowl of soup and it was good too.

Exceptional. The best lentil soup I've tasted, bar-none. The orange leaves a pleasant after taste and the spices are just right. Please post more of this woman's recipes. I would love a good recipe for scones. Thanks again, Hannah.

I have never cared much for lentils but I have been trying. I had two cups of them to use up so I made a triple batch. I can tell already that it won't last long because "tasting" it when it was done ended up meaning I ate two full bowls. :) I used white pepper and added all of the liquid before it was done cooking becuase the lentils had absorbed so much. I also sauteed the celery 'til it was soft to make sure I could puree it enough to sneak it past my kids. Any crunchy bits, no matter how small, could give away my secret plan to get veggies into their bodies. I really like it. I don't use thyme much in cooking and was not going to bother buying more when I ran out but I used the rest for this soup and thyme is already on my grocery list. I will have to make more of this.

This is the best lentil soup ever!!!! Even my husband, who needs meat for every meal, ate all of this soup, and wanted more. I recommend making a double batch. Thanks, Nick

Very good soup. My picky husband ,my 2 1/2 years old and 14 months old loved it. I sauteed the onion/celery/carotte together, used vegetable stock, fresh thyme and herbes de Provence and did not blend the soup at the end and it was perfect. No leftovers

This soup had wonderful flavor -- I did triple the recipe more or less for a family of four and had just a little leftover (not that I'm complaining) I do think that blending the soup adds to it making a nice creamy texture and adding the extra broth at the end helps it not become too thick.

Wonderful flavor and so easy to make, perfect for a weeknight.

This is awsesome! I used Better than Boulin to make my chicken stock. I used a little more than half a Tablespoon for six cups of water (the given ratio is too salty for me). Increasing the water amount did not make this recipe too liquidy either. Yum yum yum!

This made a very healthy, tasty, filling, low-calorie lunch today. I was afraid the orange flavor would be predominant, but it wasn't. I used my cheap immersion blender, but next time, I will use a regular blender or food processor so it will be smoother. It made about 3.5 cups of soup, so I might double it next time so I can freeze it in individual portions.

I thought this was a decent soup. It felt like I was missing something, but I did enjoy it. Thank you for sharing.

My whole family loved this soup. My 5-year-old who initially said, "I hate lentils!" asked if he could have some for lunch the next day. The flavor is wonderful, a welcome change from my usual curry or cumin seasoning. It's a keeper!

This soup was great! It is hearty and flavorful without being too spicy or thick. I don't like most Lentil dishes, but I'm keeping this one.

I love this soup!! So simple but delicious and unexpected. I didn't puree the soup as we like it chunky but otherwise I followed it exactly. Healthy too!

Not the best thing to do with lentils. It was ok, I ate it, but I was the only one in the house who would. To me it seemed to be lacking in dimension with the spices, but I can't put my finger on what would perk it up...nutmeg, allspice, saffron? My daughter & husband didn't like the orange flavor, said it was just weird. I followed the recipe as written, except I only had vegetable stock on hand. (which I've never had a problem subbing for in other recipes.) I also tossed in a clove of fresh garlic with the onions. I don't think I'll bother trying it again with chicken stock.

I thought this soup could use a bit more flavor. It tasted alright and was certainly easy to make; it just lacked depth somehow. I might try adding more juice or maybe some chicken next time. One thing I did appreciate was that the affordable ingredients made this a nice economical recipe.

I only have one day of the week to cook so I aimed to triple the recipe. Ended up using an entire bag of Trader Joe's split red lentils, maybe 8 cups of chicken broth, 4 carrots, 4 celery stalks, 3 large onions, enough butter (4 Tbl?) about 1 teaspoon of thyme. One cup of orange juice was enough for brightness and acidity. Of course added garlic and also simmered with 2 strips of cooked thick-cut bacon and maybe 3 bay leafs. Salt and pepper at every stage. My family enjoys chunky soups and stews, so no need to puree. Actually my first time going in the lentil direction and I'd say it was a success!

This is now one of my favorite soup recipes. I/we love lentil soup, but were rather tired of traditional seasonings (cumin in particular) so when I came across this new twist, I was intrigued. I noted the heads-up from other reviewers and doubled the 4-servings except for the thyme, which I did not double (and it turned out to be just right for us). I added diced, cooked chicken to ours and subbed mango juice for half the total volume of orange juice. We ate it all & liked it so much that I made it again the next day with Mayocoba Beans instead of lentils and used Chicken Apple Sausage for a meat element. Loved that, too. This is a very versatile recipe, suitable for many variations of dried beans as long as the broth base is chicken (or maybe vegetable) so as not to potentially clash with the citrus (which is not distinctly discernible as a dominant flavor). It's that 'je ne sais quoi' subtlety which makes this soup a winner.

I doubled this recipe and used fresh thyme, which I added at the end, nice taste, but still missing something. Maybe cream? Not sure if that would curdle with the OJ. Next time I'll add minced garlic with the onions.

Every time I make this for a group of people, I get lots of requests for the recipe. This is just wonderful tasting and pretty healthy too!

I was looking for a way to incorporate lentils into my family's diet- and I found it. This recipe is awesome as is, I wouldn't change a thing. I used fresh-squeezed orange juice, I just love the nice twist the orange juice adds to the flavor. This is a keeper!

Excellent quick soup! Didn't have any carrot so doubled the celery and threw in all the leaves and everything! Pureed it all up and it was so nice. Used fresh squeezed orange juice and threw in the pulp as well. No one guessed it had orange juice in it! Very creamy and filling!

I really enjoyed this soup. I followed the recipe, except for the celery since I don't care for it. It has a pleasant and unique taste.

Easy and so delicious, I made it a couple of time already and always turned great.

Lovely! Great comfort food and very healthy!

Our 15-month-old son loved this soup. My husband also really liked this, and he's not a big lentil fan. It has a nice creamy texture and a very smooth taste. Double it though, as others suggest. The base recipe only serves four as a first course.

I pureed only 1/2 and added a can of drained diced tomatoes to the soup as well. I was a little afraid of the interaction w/ the orange juice but it turned out great. Left it warming in the crock pot all day made the house smell good. I might throw in some small chick peas next time.

I really liked this recipe, it was unusual and lovely. I skipped the celery and used vegetarian chicken stock.

I only had 1/2 cup of chicken broth, so used it, 1/4 cup lemon juice and 2 1/4 cups water. Very refreshing soup! Wonderful recipe!

My daughter made this for dinner tonight and it was great. She made a mistake and added chopped ginger instead of chopped garlic. I keep both in the fridge. Well we ended up with both. We also added a can of chicken at the end right before blending Mmmm. I loved it with the ginger . Will make it often, make sure you double or triple the batch.

i have to say, my husband and i liked this for about half a bowl each. due to the lentils, it was just a little too grainy for our tastes. i would normally give it two or three stars, HOWEVER, my one year old ate an entire bowl and ALL of the leftover over the next few days. i was thrilled to find something so good for him that he loved! this is the best way yet for him to get veggies, fiber, and some protein! thanks!

I've never cooked with lentils before...and this is WONDERFUL! So tastey! Will definitely put it in my recipe box and make again.

The taste came out wonderful, but I think the recipe needs a little tweaking, which I did: I sauteed garlic and the celery with the onions, and added 1 1/2 tbsp herbes de provence and pepper. I didn't have any bay leaves or carrots, but I added just one chopped tomato for flavor. I also took reviewers' advice and reduced the liquid...but it still came out much more runny than lentil soup I'm used to. But, the flavor was wonderful, and I will definitely make it again! Yum!

This soup is absolutely delicious! I have always had an aversion to lentils since childhood, but knowing they are healthy, I tried this recipe and was amazed at the flavor. It has it all - high nutrition, low calorie, easy preparation and awesome taste! This recipe is a keeper.

This is awesome! The orange juice does not make this a sweet and orangy tasting soup. It is just fabulous. At first, we just used regular lentils, because we didn't know red lentils were something different. This made the soup take forever to cook. The brown lentils are much thicker I suppose. We used red lentils last time and it cooked up just as the recipe said and was much smoother.

This soup has a very nice flavor. I used orange-peach-mango blend for the orange juice.

wonderful and so easy! Made it for a potluck and everyone loved it. I will definitely make it again.

So good! My kids ate it too. I used green lentils instead of red.

Very GOOD and easy to make. I tried this soup at a local coffee shop with some hesitation because I had no idea what it would actually taste like. It has a marvelous blend of flavors. I asked the owner for the recipe and she told me it came from here. I've made it a couple of times now and find I do like the texture better when I puree it rather then using my immersion blender.

This was the best lentil soup I have ever tried! And easy too. I will definitely make this again!

Delicious! I substituted vegetable broth and olive oil to make it vegan. Great flavors.

I am CRAZY for this soup! I make two batches at a time, then portion and freeze. At about 200 calories and 10 grams of fiber per serving, this soup is tasty and satisfying. It's nice to be able to pop one in the microwave for a healthy, quick lunch. I run the onions though the food processor. I use baby carrots which I think makes it a little sweeter. I've tried both red and regular lentils, but I don't really taste a difference. I plan to try French Green Lentils next.

This soup is the best! I always make at least a double, if not triple recipe. I have added spinach or kale to it and it is wonderful. I substitute veggie broth and evoo for a perfect vegan meal. Thanks

My 1-year-old is a picky eater, but I thought I would try this and see how it went. He loves it! I didn't even have to puree the soup. Made it vegan using olive oil and water with added garlic powder and turmeric to make up for the lack of stock. Also left out the celery (just my preference).

Excellent.

Double this when you make it! Lentil soup is my favorite food and this is one of the best and most unique soups I have made. I did add garlic as in some of the other reviews and doubled the the thyme as a personal preference. Absolutely delicious!!! This will become a staple in my house.

This is the BEST red lentil soup that I have ever made. The orange juice melds all the flavors together perfectly. For optimum flavor replace the 1 tsp of dried thyme with 1 Tbl. FRESH thyme.

This was perfect. The flavor was quite different from other lentil soups I've had and was a very pleasant surprise. I made this just to use up some leftover red lentils I'd used in another recipe, so I'm pleased to have accidentally found a keeper! My husband, a devout meat-eater, enjoyed this very much (although he did add some crumbled bacon to his portion, which was actually a really nice addition). My 9 month-old son ate his portion enthusiastically, too. I had to give this 5 stars for the ease of preparation, too. Anything that can be made in one pot in 40 minutes, with only about ten minutes of that 40 requiring me to actually be in the kitchen, is a real winner in my book.

This was a very tasty soup. Would definitely make it again. Will make a double batch next time. I didn't bother to shred the carrot, just diced it and tossed it in. When everything was cooked I used an immersion blender and it came out silky smooth. Yummy !!!

Definitely a keeper for me! I'll be testing my guests to see if they can guess the secret ingredient, "orange".

Excellent soup, easy to make. maybe requires extra seasoning and herbs for that little extra!

What an unusual take on lentils! It was delicious. I made it just like the recipe and enjoyed it very much.

Great combination - I was a little concerned that it would have too much of an orange flavor but the recipe calls for the perfect amount. Easily vegetarian or vegan...

Don't mess about, use double quantities, but 1200 ml stock should be enough. I add 2 teaspoons cumin powder while frying the red onions, then use 700 ml of good quality vegetable stock to cook the ingredients & add a small quantity of sea salt near the end of cooking. remove bay leaves before liquidising then adjust seasoning & add more stock to taste. I haven't tried it with garlic but this is superb.

I liked it a lot. The flavor was great. I'm knocking it down a star because my daughter didn't like the flavor at all, and she's not a picky eater, and she loves lentils.

Just what I was looking for--a soup recipe that is a little different! I've made it twice, both times substituting 3 pealed clementines, blended in the Vitamix, for the orange juice. The second time I used rosemary as the only spice/herb. Both ways are great. I've recently started Weight Watchers and find it so helpful to have a delicious soup ready. thank you!

It's wonderful. I used vidalia onion, no garlic and golden juice blend as I didn't have any orange. Also splurge for fresh thyme with this one. It's worth it!

Tasted great! I added garlic and didn't blend everything, just half. I should have added all chicken broth while lentils cooked (dried out fast), then added the rest of the carton of broth.

Whoah, Nellie, this soup was much better than I expected! I used coconut oil, since I had the Costco vat of it, instead of butter. I then used a large sweet onion and I skipped the celery, because I am a kitchen mucker who just peruses my current food supply and takes off on a nightly dinner adventure, and I am sans celery. I didn't puree the soup. I prefer the bit of chunkiness of carrots and onion bits, and it was soft, tasty, and pure comfort. It didn't even need salt to be perfectly delicious. Thank you for my new lentil recipe!

My kids couldn't get past the creaminess. My husband said it was, "just okay." I personally kind of liked it. Tired of so many things with lentils made with curry or cumin, so this was an nice change of pace in my opinion. If I were cooking just for myself, I would make it again, but not for my family.

Easy, healthy, inexpensive, tasty. I made it with "regular" (green) lentils and it was still good, although the color was less appetizing. Makes a small portion--perhaps 2-3 cups.

Tripple or quadruple the recipe, I prefer to skip on the puree. This soup is tasty and very healty, and it is not hard to make from basic ingredients in a kitchen. I keep red lentils on hand, so this soup will never be far away again. Thank you!!

This is one of the best soups ever! I will double the recipe in the future because everyone wanted seconds. I was unable to find red lentils anywhere. I tried four large food chains to no avail. But the soup was delicious with the green lentils.

This is was interesting! Hubby liked it, I thought it had an interesting flavor. I think it cooked have cooked a little longer as the celery was still quite crunchy. I added a little salt, some more thyme, and a splash of half and half. I doubled the recipe to make leftovers for the week, and we still only got 4 servings out of it.

I used orange zest instead of orange juice: delicious!

Yummy! Even my picky eaters cleaned their bowls. I did not notice a strong orange flavor at all. The soup definitely had a light, fresh taste but still filled us up. I served this with homemade wheat bread and a tomato/mozarella salad. We all have very happy tummys. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!

Everyone raves about this recipe when I bring it somewhere. Always asking for the recipe. Quick, easy and delish!

Wow, what a delicious and unusual soup! I didn't change this recipe at all, but next time will make more of it :)

This is my favorite soup. I have four soup recipes that I always make but this is my favorite.

Thought the soup was a bit thin - so second time around I added another 1/3 cup of lentils....it was great!

this dish was delicious! i added all the liquid as well and just used an emersion blender. i also added a clove of garlic with the onion.

I really liked this recipe. Easy and tastes as if it were harder to make! My family enjoyed this soup even though two of them are not red lentil fans. I used less celery and it still turned out fine.

This is an excellent soup to serve either as a quick lunch or a complete dinner. I pretty much followed the directions but to give it more substance, I added sliced carrots and about a cup of green peas. The flavor has depth and the texture is velvety. The second time I made it, I did not bother to puree and it tasted just as good.

I love this super easy delicious soup. I've made it twice.

I have been meaning to write a review for this recipe for quite awhile. I have made this soup many times and it is always a favorite. I usually add extra carrots and make it in a crockpot. Another yummy variation is to add barley and skip the blending at the end. Works fine with veggie broth.

Soo tasty. I loves it.

After adding salt it was tasty and very simple to make I will probably make it again. Also I only blended half of the soup and mixed it with the unblended portion for texture.