This easy, immunity-boosting lentil, cabbage, and squash soup is the perfect dish to enjoy after a period of indulgence or when you’re feeling under the weather. It’s hearty, nourishing, and restorative!
If you celebrate, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! And if you don’t, I hope you still enjoyed some relaxing time off. The time period between December 23rd and December 27th is always a whirlwind since my birthday is on the 27th. It always feels like we get one event nicely wrapped up and then suddenly it’s time to make another special birthday supper and cake! I’m not complaining- I’m very grateful that I was at least able to celebrate with my parents since Ontario is in lockdown again- but needless to say, I have not had much time to sit down and publish any new blog posts in recent days!
After several days of enjoying hearty, indulgent fare, I thought a simple soup was in order! To me, it’s the ultimate restorative/reset meal. I actually developed this soup recipe to clean out the fridge a few weeks ago, and it was so tasty, I just had to share it with you guys. Cabbage, butternut squash, onions, garlic, and lentils form the base of this soup, which is lightly seasoned with paprika, dill, and thyme to really allow the flavours of the ingredients themselves to shine. It makes a terrific light meal when served with bread and cheese or bread and butter… or maybe even just crackers if you want a very small midday meal to tide you over between brunch and dinner.
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED
- Olive oil, onions, garlic, celery, sea salt, freshly ground pepper, cayenne, paprika, thyme, dill, cabbage, butternut squash, lentils, vegetable broth, and apple cider vinegar. For a heartier soup, you can also add orzo, pasta, or rice.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
- Warm the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent. Add the celery and cook for a couple minutes more.
- Add the ½ teaspoon of salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and thyme. Stir to incorporate before adding the cabbage, squash, and uncooked lentils.
- Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Loosely cover with the pot lid and turn down heat to medium-low. Simmer until the squash is very tender and the lentils are fully cooked and falling apart, 25-30 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the apple cider vinegar and fresh dill. Serve.
MORE FLAVOURFUL SOUP RECIPES
- African Peanut, Chickpea, and Sweet Potato Soup
- Southwestern White Bean, Quinoa, and Sweet Potato Soup
- Vegan Spinach Potato Soup (aka Green Goddess Soup)
PIN THIS FOR LATER:
I hope you love this lentil, cabbage, and squash soup! If you make it, let me know how you enjoyed it by leaving a comment and rating below the post. And if you share a photo to Instagram, tag it @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing what you’ve made.
Finally, stay tuned for a fun New Year’s Eve recipe that I’ll be posting on Wednesday. Til then, enjoy!
PrintLentil, Cabbage, and Squash Soup
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This easy, immunity-boosting lentil, cabbage, and squash soup is the perfect dish to enjoy after a period of indulgence or when you’re feeling under the weather. It’s hearty, nourishing, and restorative!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 5 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne or chili flakes
- 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 cups finely chopped green cabbage (from half of a medium head of cabbage)
- 3 heaping cups peeled and cubed butternut squash (½-inch cubes)
- 1 cup uncooked green or brown lentils
- 6–7 cups vegetable broth, or as needed
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnish
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Warm the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent. Add the celery and cook for a couple minutes more.
- Add the ½ teaspoon of salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and thyme. Stir to incorporate before adding the cabbage, squash, and uncooked lentils.
- Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Loosely cover with the pot lid and turn down heat to medium-low. Simmer until the squash is very tender and the lentils are fully cooked and falling apart, 25-30 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the apple cider vinegar and fresh dill. Taste and add more salt, if desired. Serve.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Soup
Keywords: healthy squash, lentil, cabbage soup
Sue
Happy belated birthday Allison. You are a prolific poster; glad you got a few days off! Thanks for your hard work and delicious recipes.
Allison
Thank you so much for the birthday wishes, Sue! Thank you for enjoying so many Up Beet Kitchen recipes this year and for all of your positive feedback. It means so much to me! I hope you had a great Christmas, and I wish you a happy new year!
Mary Lou
I made this for lunches this week and it is very comforting. I love that it has an unexpected kick from the cayenne and the fresh dill. Will be making this often from now on!
Allison
Hi Mary Lou, I’m so happy to hear it! Thanks so much for your lovely review!
David Meyer
My wife and I made this recipe last night and it is sneaky AWESOME. Admittedly, we were looking for a recipe to use some items up such as cabbage, squash, onion and this recipe really surprised us as to how good it really was! On the surface it looks pretty good…. but together, it was way above average for a veggie soup. It really is hearty and nourishing – and VERY tasty! Give it a try – you’ll be very surprised. We used dry dill (probably only 2t) and we only put in 2 – 3 t of the vinegar instead of 2T – start lower and add more to taste!! Loved the addition of lentils in this soup – really did add some lovely body and that smooth, “rich” texture. It’s now on our short list of veggie soup recipes
★★★★★
Allison
Hi David! I’m thrilled to hear how much you enjoyed this soup. Thanks so much for giving it a try!