Comforting Italian Lentil Soup with Pasta
This comforting Italian lentil soup with pasta is ideal for when you’re low on groceries, but it makes a filling and satisfying meal anytime. This soup is also made with quick-cooking red lentils, which means you could be eating in about 30 minutes.
Recipe Mood: Quick and Comforting
Indulgence Level: Low
Effort Level: Easy
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We’ve all been there: We’re running low on pantry items but still want something hearty and satisfying for dinner. Or we just don’t want to spend much time in the kitchen. Either way, this comforting Italian lentil soup with pasta is made for those moments (as is this similar lentil soup).
This recipe doesn’t call for many ingredients. There are no carrots and celery, unless you want them, and it relies on pantry standbys like lentils, pasta, and tomato paste. It’s not, however, short on flavor.
Thanks to the red lentils, this soup also cooks quickly, and you can easily have it on the table in 30 minutes—or 25 if you prep ingredients faster than I do.
Why You’ll Love This Comforting Italian Lentil Soup with Pasta
Few ingredients: You don’t need a bounty of vegetables for this soup. Some onion and garlic form the base.
Inexpensive: Nowadays, few things are cheaper than lentils and pasta.
Freezes well: Double the recipe, and freeze some for another time.
Key Ingredients
- Tomato Paste: This gives the soup a nice color and deeper flavor.
- Red Lentils: They cook quickly and break down easily, giving the soup a nice texture.
- Bay Leaf: Many people ignore it, but the mighty bay leaf imparts a unique yet subtle flavor to soups.
See the recipe card below for more information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make This Recipe
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Pro Tips
Rinse lentils right before adding to the pot: Red lentils tend to clump if you let them sit after rinsing.
Variations & Substitutions
-Add one diced celery rib and one diced carrot to the onion and garlic.
-Replace the onion with a shallot.
-Use any small pasta you like, such as small pasta shells, elbows, or farfalline.
-Stir in some leafy spinach near the end for more color and nutrients.
-Use chicken broth or stock for a richer flavor, unless you want to keep it vegetarian.
-Use brown or green lentils instead. These lentils require more cooking time, so hold off on adding the pasta until the lentils have a few minutes left to cook fully. You may also need to add up to another cup of liquid. You can use water to make up the difference.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, and there’s not a lot of pasta in the soup, so it won’t absorb the liquid as much as other pasta soups might.
Yes, they taste milder and slightly sweeter than brown lentils.
They turn mushy because, unlike other lentils, their seed coat is removed.
Storage
Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Freezer: Freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
Reheat: Warm through in a pot on the stovetop or in a microwave-safe container in the microwave. If taking from the freezer, defrost in the refrigerator first before reheating.
More Soup Recipes
- Tuscan onion soup with poached egg
- Best recipe for mushroom and barley soup
- Lentil soup
- Nourishing barley lentil soup with fire roasted tomatoes
If you love this recipe, please take a moment to review it below. You could also tag me on Instagram (@forcarbssake) with a picture of your finished dish!
Comforting Italian Lentil Soup with Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup yellow onion peeled and minced
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 cup red lentils rinsed (Note 1)
- ⅓ cup ditalini pasta rounded cup
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Ground black pepper
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- Grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- Handful Italian flat-leaf parsley minced (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium-low to medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute for about 2 minutes until the onion becomes soft and translucent. Stir often so the onion and garlic don't darken too much.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring constantly, to cook out the raw tomato flavor.
- Pour in the broth, cover the pot, and raise the heat to high to bring the broth to a boil. Stir in the lentils and pasta along with the bay leaf, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cover the pot with a lid so that it's mostly covered, but not entirely.
- Simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the pasta is al dente and the soup has thickened. Remove bay leaf. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the Pecorino and parsley, if using. Enjoy!
So delicious. It’s also one of the easiest soups to make.