Description
This stovetop or Instant Pot cooked low-calorie soup with vegetables and lentils has loads of veggies, fibre and protein-rich lentils and is made with no added oil or sugar. It’s naturally low in calories and full of nutrients and flavor. Perfect for healthy eating, Weight Watchers or fasting 5:2 diets, and it’s gluten-free and vegan-friendly. around 100 calories per serving in this healthy vegetable lentil soup.
Ingredients
2 cups diced white cabbage (about 200 grams)
2 cups diced spinach (English or baby)
1 cup diced carrot (1 large)
1 cup diced celery (1.5 stalks)
1 cup diced green beans (3 oz / 100 g)
1 1/2 diced zucchini (1 medium zucchini)
1 medium white potato, diced into cubes
1/2 yellow onion, diced finely
3 cloves of garlic, diced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tablespoon soy sauce or Tamari
1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
2 cubes of vegetable stock
1 can chopped tomatoes (about 14 oz)
1 can lentils (about 14 oz), drained
4 cups (1 litre) water
To finish:
1/4 cup chopped parsley or cilantro
Zest of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Instructions
- Wash and dice all the vegetables, onion and garlic. This will take you the longest but is well worth it!
- Once done, add all vegetables to the Instant Pot or a large saucepan if made on a stovetop. No oil or sauteeing is happening in this recipe as we want to keep the calories down!
- Now add all the herbs, spices, salt and pepper, crumbled stock cubes, soy sauce, drained lentils and chopped canned tomatoes. Follow with 1 litre of water (4 x 250 ml cups) and stir through well.
- Secure and lock the lid. Select Pressure Cook/Manual and adjust the time to 3 minutes on HIGH pressure. Yes, it’s that quick, however, it will take about 10-15 minutes to build up the pressure in the post due to all the food and liquid.
- Once the timer is done, leave on natural release for about 5 minutes. You could let it release by itself all the way. Otherwise, use the quick release and open the pot.
- Stir the soup and taste for salt. Stir in a little lemon zest and juice if you prefer a little more tang. Top with fresh chopped parsley and serve.
STOVETOP METHOD
- Follow the first couple of steps as above.
- Once everything is in the pot, place it on medium heat and cover it with a lid. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium-low and cook, covered, for 15 minutes, or until the potato is soft to bite.
- Once cooked, let it sit for a few minutes before finishing it with some lemon zest, lemon juice (if you like more tang) and fresh parsley. Feel free to season with more salt and pepper.
Notes
You can serve this soup as is or add croutons or grated cheese for extra calories.
Using dry lentils: You can use dry lentils but we recommend cooking them first in the Instant Pot. Rinse 1 cup of dry lentils and add to the Instant Pot with 3 cups of water and a few pinches of salt. Cook for 5 minutes on HIGH with quick release. Strain and then follow the recipe with pre-cooked lentils. They will be al dente but will cook further in the soup. The reason for pre-cooking lentils is that vegetables only did a short cooking time which would not be long enough for lentils if made altogether.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup (250 ml)
- Calories: 111
- Sugar: 5.8 g
- Sodium: 555.8 mg
- Fat: 0.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.5 g
- Fiber: 6.7 g
- Protein: 6.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: Healthy Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, Diet, Weight Watchers, 5:2 diet, vegetables, soup recipes