Chicken Lentil Soup is an easy homemade soup recipe for a weeknight dinner. Our chicken and lentil soup recipe is made with chicken thighs and filled with fresh vegetables and lentils.
Our lentil chicken soup is so easy to make you can even whip it up quickly on a busy weeknight after work.
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Homemade Chicken Lentil Soup
The seasons are changing and there's a cold front moving in.
It's time for homemade soup!
Hello soup season, we're so happy you have arrived!
Lentil Chicken Soup, made with chicken thighs, fresh vegetables and lentils is an updated version of the classic homemade chicken soup!
Making chicken soup with chicken thighs adds a deep rich depth of flavor to your soup.
Serve bowlfuls of chicken soup with lentils with a wedge salad and some crusty bread and you'll be all set!
Making a hearty meal with a comforting soup doesn't get much easier than that!
Your family will love this updated version of the classic comfort food, homemade chicken soup!
Hearty lentils add texture and flavor but if you're not a fan of lentils, you can make this delicious soup with mini pasta, egg noodles, or even white rice or brown rice, in place of the lentils!
Time to warm up with a bowl of Chicken Lentil Soup, guaranteed to be your new favorite homemade chicken soup from scratch!
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How to make chicken lentil soup
Scroll down for the full recipe instructions and ingredient amounts in the recipe card below
- Season your chicken thighs then brown on both sides in heated oil in a saucepot
- Add carrots, onion and celery and saute until just tender
- Add chicken broth to the saucepot and bring to a boil
- Stir in your lentils and cook until tender
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken thighs, shred the tender chicken meat, discarding bones, and return the shredded chicken to saucepot along with fresh dill
Swirls Of Flavor Recipe Tips
- This soup can be made ahead and reheated
- Add cauliflower florettes
- Stir in a tablespoon or two of tomato paste for added flavor
- No time to cook the chicken? Just stir in shredded rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken
- Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for a hint of heat
Substitutions
- Use boneless skinless chicken breasts in place of the chicken thighs
- Substitute dried marjoram (my favorite!) for the dried basil
- Substitute fresh parsley for the fresh dill
- You can use green lentils or brown lentils instead of the red lentils
Storage
- Store any leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Soup will stay fresh for3-4 days.
- As always, I find it helpful to visit the FDA website for food storage guidelines
Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients to make this flavorful chicken lentil soup recipe:
- skinless bone-in chicken thighs
- dried basil
- garlic powder
- kosher salt
- pepper
- olive oil
- carrots
- onion
- celery
- chicken broth
- red lentils
- fresh dill
Chicken Soup Recipes
- Creamy Chicken Soup
- Avocado Lime Chicken Soup
- Chicken Orzo Soup
- Hearty Chipotle Chicken Soup from Bowl Me Over
- Spicy Asian Chicken Soup from Grumpy's Honeybunch
Homemade Soup Recipes
With a chill in the air, you'll be thankful for a pot of simmering homemade soup on the stovetop. Give these chicken soup recipes from scratch a try, you'll be happy you did!
The fresh clean flavors of garlic, fresh ginger and lime and the buttery creaminess of chunks of avocados come together to create Avocado Lime Chicken Soup, a new comfort soup favorite!
Chicken Tortilla Soup may have a long list of ingredients with some fresh vegetables but most are canned and already in your pantry, making it a quick and easy dump-dump recipe on a busy weeknight. Just saute an onion and red bell pepper with some seasonings, add the remaining (mostly) canned ingredients, garnish with the fried tortilla strips, sour cream and cilantro!
White Bean and Escarole Soup is a versatile recipe that can be either vegetarian, when prepared as is, or can be turned into a hearty chicken soup when replacing vegetable broth with chicken broth and adding shredded rotisserie chicken!
Chicken Lentil Soup Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 skinless bone-in chicken thighs (12 ounces)
- 1/2 teasoon dried basil
- 1/4 teasoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teasoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teasoon pepper
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped, 1 cup
- 1 onion, chopped, 1 cup
- 1 celery stalk, chopped, 1/2 cup
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup red lentils
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
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Instructions
- Season chicken on both sides with basil, garlic powder, kosher salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in saucepot over medium-high heat then brown chicken on both sides and reserve.
- Add carrots, onion and celery and cook until tender-crisp, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes.
- Return chicken pieces and add broth to saucepot and bring to a boil.
- Stir in lentils and cook until lentils are tender and chicken is cooked through, 12-15 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove chicken pieces. Shred chicken and discard bones.
- Stir in shredded chicken and fresh dill.
Hello,
Chicken Lentil Soup.
Thank you for this great recipe! Look forward to making this soup again.
The other recipes on your site all look delicious; can’t wait to try these as well.
Hi Yol, Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm so happy you enjoyed my Chicken Lentil Soup. It's one of my favorite recipes too! Savor The Moments, Gwynn
Dear Gwynn,
Today I made your Chicken Lentil Soup recipe again. This recipe is now my go to.
Thank you for this site and all your hard work in creating these recipes.
Yol
I'm confused by your addition of dill. That's a herb I associate with fish. Wouldn't tarragon be a better choice?
Chicken soup with dill is a classic combination. I’m sure this soup would taste delicious with tarragon but, in my opinion, tarragon is a less popular herb and can also be somewhat polarizing. But the beauty of cooking a recipe is that you have the option to make flavor substitutions. Happy cooking!
It was delicious! Thank you!
I'm so happy that you enjoyed this recipe. It's one of my favorites!
Just made your chicken lentil soup. I doubled the recipe. Absolutely delicious. Thanks
So happy to hear this! Happy cooking!
This was a delicious soup, my husband absolutely loved it and so did I.
Thank you for posting this for us all to devour!
Hi Ash, I'm so happy that you both enjoyed this recipe. It's one of my personal favorites too! Happy Cooking!