Our son loves a particular brand of canned bean & pasta soup but the sodium level alone (never mind the BPA issue) would give a grown-up a heart attack so I decided to make my own version loaded with tons of fiber.
Last week, I spied a bag of dried red lentils at Whole Foods and I thought ‘Hey, now that would add some fun color to the soup as well as fiber’.
I cooked the lentils and they ended up looking like regular split peas which actually works out for us since my son enjoys cabbage split pea soup too.
I am sure I could mess around with making this a one-pot wonder but I hesitated this time around as I know that lentil and pasta can soak up enough fluid to create a desert.
So, here is my lazy man’s version because I cooked the pasta and lentils separately and then combined them, tossed in the beans, heated and consumed.
Ingredients:
1 cup of cooked red lentils
1 cup of cooked ditalini pasta/noodles
1 15 oz can of organic/non-GMO cannellini or great northern beans, rinsed
2 cups of vegetable broth
Directions:
Combined all ingredients and heat over low heat until warm and serve.
Diane {Created by Diane} says
looks delicious and I had to pop on over and tell you that I love that fabric, I love it so much it was my daughters baby bedding oh 15 years ago and I never tired of it and have my couches covered in it and curtains and it’s warm and cozy just like this wonderful soup you have made 🙂
Hope you are having a great day!
Jane - MomGenerations.com says
I am sitting here in my dining room freezing my butt off right now – you don’t know how good this looks to me!!!
Jen @ Savory Simple says
What a wonderful soup!
Angela England says
Looks like a great winter soup that will really fill you up. Thanks for linking up at Tasty Tuesday!
Erika @ The Hopeless Housewife says
What a warm and hearty soup!
Jennifer says
Yes, I mixed the beans, lentils and pasta with the 2 cups of broth right before Dom and I were ready for lunch and then repeated for the kids for dinner. I do expect it would absorb liquid over night for sure Lydia.
Kammie @ Sensual Appeal says
The soup looks delicious. One of the few things I like about cold weather, the soups are so comforting without being fattening! Love the recipe.
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) says
I’m guessing this soup will soak up all of the liquid if it sits overnight? So the next day, you can add more liquid to make more soup, or add something else (fat-free cottage cheese) and bake it!
Jennifer says
It is also an easy way to introduce the kids to lentils as they may not notice if you don’t overload them in the recipe the first time around. 🙂
Jennifer says
HI Heather – you can always add water but this is a easy and healthier option. Make a batch of the lentils and pasta on a Sunday night and then combine to make some fun recipes, including this soup.
Shana D says
I have to try this.
Heather (Where's the Beach) says
Oh love this – super simple and so much healthier. What is up with the sodium in canned soups by the way??? Just insane.