Lentil and chicken soup is a high-protein, high-fibre meal in one pot: chicken breast poached right in the broth, dry green lentils, the usual carrot-celery-onion base, a can of diced tomatoes and a couple of handfuls of kale. Six large bowls come in at roughly 415 calories, 42 grams of protein and 9 grams of fibre each. It takes about 50 minutes, most of it simmering, and it reheats better than it tastes on day one.
Ingredients (six large bowls)
| Ingredient | Metric | Imperial |
|---|---|---|
| Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, whole | 700 g | about 1½ lb |
| Dry green or brown lentils, rinsed | 300 g | 1½ cups |
| Low-sodium chicken broth | 1.5 L | 6 cups |
| Diced tomatoes, with juice | 1 can (796 ml) | 1 can (28 oz) |
| Onions, diced | 200 g | 2 medium |
| Carrots, diced | 200 g | 3 medium |
| Celery, diced | 150 g | 3 stalks |
| Kale, stems removed, chopped | 100 g | 4 packed cups |
| Olive oil | 15 ml | 1 tbsp |
| Garlic, minced | 4 cloves | 4 cloves |
| Ground cumin, smoked paprika | 1 tsp each | 1 tsp each |
| Bay leaves | 2 | 2 |
| Lemon, salt, pepper | to finish | to finish |
You need a pot of at least 5.5 litres.
Method
- Heat the oil in the pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and celery with a pinch of salt and cook 8 minutes, until soft.
- Add the garlic, cumin and paprika and stir for 1 minute.
- Add the broth, tomatoes, lentils and bay leaves. Bring to a boil.
- Nestle the whole chicken breasts into the liquid so they’re submerged. Reduce to a gentle simmer, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and cook 20 to 25 minutes.
- Lift out the chicken. It should read 74°C (165°F) in the thickest part, the safe temperature for chicken listed by Health Canada. Shred it with two forks.
- Keep simmering the soup until the lentils are tender, another 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the kale and cook 3 minutes.
- Return the chicken, remove the bay leaves, and finish with the juice of half a lemon. Season to taste; with low-sodium broth you’ll likely need salt.
Poaching the chicken whole in the soup keeps it moist and saves a pan. Diced chicken added raw works too, but tends to turn stringy.
Nutrition per bowl (approximate)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for raw chicken breast, dry lentils, the vegetables, canned tomatoes and low-sodium broth, divided by six.
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Fibre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| about 415 | about 42 g | about 46 g | about 7 g | about 9 g |
The chicken supplies about 26 g of the protein per bowl and the lentils about 12 g. Lentils are why this soup holds you until dinner when a plain chicken noodle soup doesn’t.
Storing the pot
Cool the soup quickly: divide it into shallow containers rather than putting the whole hot pot in the fridge. Health Canada’s leftover guidance is to eat refrigerated leftovers within 2 to 3 days, so keep three bowls in the fridge and freeze the other three. A 750 ml container is one bowl. When reheating, add water or broth; the lentils will have drunk some of the liquid.
Variations
- Curry: replace the cumin and paprika with 2 tsp curry powder and finish with a splash of coconut milk instead of lemon.
- Italian: add a parmesan rind while simmering and use spinach instead of kale.
- Vegetarian: skip the chicken and use vegetable broth and a second can of lentils or chickpeas. Protein drops to roughly 20 g a bowl.
- Turkey: leftover roast turkey after Thanksgiving, shredded and stirred in at the end.
Soup as a winter weeknight plan
From November to March, a pot of soup on Sunday is one of the easiest ways to keep dinners on track when it’s dark at 5 p.m. and takeout feels earned. Our guide to staying on track through a Toronto winter covers the rest of the season. For a heartier freezer option, the high-protein chili is a good pair; for summer, the no-cook tuna and bean salad does the same job.
If you’d like a coach to build those rotations around your targets and check in on how they’re going, monthly 1:1 coaching covers it.
Questions people also ask
Do I need to soak lentils for soup?
No. Green, brown and red lentils cook straight from dry in 25 to 35 minutes. Rinse them and pick out any small stones; that's all the preparation they need.
Can I use red lentils instead of green?
Yes, but they break down completely and turn the soup thick and creamy rather than brothy. Cut the simmering time to about 20 minutes and add a little extra broth.
Does lentil soup freeze well?
Very well. Cool it, freeze in portions, and add a splash of water or broth when reheating, because lentils keep absorbing liquid in the freezer and the soup thickens.