High-Protein Red Lentil Soup
The rare weight-loss meal that gets better on day two. Red lentils collapse into a thick, spoon-coating soup with no cream, no blender, and 22 grams of plant protein per bowl.
You need
- 1 large pot
- 1 wooden spoon
- 1 sharp knife
Ingredients
For 4 servings
- 300 g (1.5 cups) dry red lentils, rinsed
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced small
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 400 g (1 can) chopped tomatoes
- 1.2 l (5 cups) vegetable stock
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 100 g (3 cups) fresh spinach
- 4 tbsp greek yogurt, to serve
- to taste salt + black pepper
How to cook
Heat the olive oil in the pot over medium. Sweat the onion and carrot 5 minutes until soft, not browned.
Add the garlic, cumin and paprika. Stir 60 seconds until it smells like a spice shop.
Blooming the spices in oil before the liquid goes in is the difference between deep and flat. Don't skip the minute.
Add the lentils, tomatoes and stock. Bring to a boil, then drop to a simmer.
Simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally so the lentils don't stick as they thicken.
Red lentils break down on their own. When the spoon leaves a slow-closing trail, it's ready. No blender needed.
Stir in the spinach until it wilts, about 1 minute. Season hard with salt and pepper. Lentils drink salt.
Serve with a tablespoon of greek yogurt swirled on top and black pepper over it.
Why it fits a lose weight goal
- 380 kcal per big, thick bowl. Fiber from the lentils keeps it filling for hours, which is the real cut-mode win.
- 22 g protein with no meat. For a vegetarian bowl that costs about 1 franc per serving, that ratio is hard to beat.
- Makes 4 servings and freezes clean. Cook once, cover three future meals where you'd otherwise order in.
Cooking guides
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