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Cumin-Scented Wheat Berry-Lentil Soup
Cumin-Scented Wheat Berry-Lentil Soup
21 Reviews
From: EatingWell Magazine, March/April 2007
Freshly squeezed lemon juice adds a bright note to this toothsome and hearty winter soup, perfect for a weeknight supper with a hunk of crusty bread. It freezes beautifully—you can keep individual portions in the freezer for healthy weekday lunches. For homemade vegetable broth, see Roasted Vegetable Stock at eatingwell.com.
- By: Cheryl Sternman Rule EatingWell Recipe Contributor
Ingredients 6 servings
for serving adjustment
Serving size has been adjusted!
Original recipe yields 6 servings
Nutrition per serving may change if servings are adjusted.
- 1½ cups French green or brown lentils, sorted and rinsed (see Tip)
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 4 cups cold water
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 large carrots, finely chopped
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1½ cups Cooked Wheat Berries, (recipe follows)
- 1 bunch rainbow or red chard, large stems discarded, leaves roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- Associated Recipes:
- Cooked Wheat Berries
Preparation
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Active
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Ready In
- Combine lentils, broth and water in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently until the lentils are tender, but not mushy, 25 to 30 minutes (brown lentils take a little longer than green).
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add carrots, onion, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and cumin and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds more. Remove from the heat.
- When the lentils are tender, stir cooked wheat berries and chard into the pot. Cover and simmer until the chard has wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in the carrot mixture and lemon juice.
- Make Ahead Tip: Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month.
- Tips: French green lentils are firmer than brown lentils and cook more quickly. They can be found in natural-foods stores and some supermarkets.
- Wheat berries can be found in natural-foods markets and online at King Arthur Flour, (800) 827-6836, bakerscatalogue.com, and Bob's Red Mill, (800) 349-2173, bobsredmill.com
- Serving size: 1⅔ cups
- Per serving: 335 calories; 9 g fat(1 g sat); 12 g fiber; 52 g carbohydrates; 15 g protein; 15 mcg folate; 0 mg cholesterol; 6 g sugars; 7,585 IU vitamin A; 14 mg vitamin C; 73 mg calcium; 4 mg iron; 937 mg sodium; 633 mg potassium
- Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (152% daily value), Vitamin C (23% dv), Iron (22% dv)
- Carbohydrate Servings: 3½
- Exchanges: 3 Starch, 1 Vegetable, 1½ fat
Reviews 21
March 06, 2018
By: jackstng
This was absolutely delicious. Not a big cumin fan but I used it anyway and it fits perfectly , doesn't over power. I used Farro instead of wheat berries because I couldn't find it at the store I was at and wasn't prepared to continue looking anywhere else. It worked perfectly.
April 14, 2013
By: emcooks
tasty and healthy
This is very good and filling. Make sure that the lentils and wheatberries are cooked well. I doubled the cumin and added a tsp.of ground coriander.
Pros: easy to prepare, good vegetarian meal
Cons: needed to up the spices
November 19, 2012
By: EatingWell User
I will never sign on to this web site again..when I printed the recipe I got reams of unwanted information, at least 8 pages
Readers BEWARE
September 23, 2012
By: EatingWell User
This soup was delicious. Instead of using the broth, though, I used some soup I made with my VitaMix as the base (tomatoes, bell pepper, carrots, onions) and water to cook the lentils then followed the recipe to the letter. It was great!
November 13, 2011
By: EatingWell User
Flavorful?
I was very excited to try this recipe, I love cumin, I love wheat berries, I love lentils.. But for some reason, it didn't come out as flavorful as I would have expected. Added a lot more cumin, some cayenne pepper, more lemon juice and even some soy sauce in an attempt to crank up the flavor, but the soup was still bland. I'll be eating it all week because I made lot, but I won't cook it again.
Pros: Makes a lot, cheap
Cons: Lacking in flavor
August 15, 2011
By: Jelena
very tasty
Very tasty soup! I didn't have chard so I subed for green beans- turned out great. Next time I will add lemon juice incrementally as it drastically changed the flavor for me and was a bit too tart.
February 22, 2011
By: erinmurphy17
Very yummy and healthy.
I really enjoyed this soup. I'm a new fan of wheat berries, and wanted to eat more swiss chard. Big fan - just be sure to season this to your taste preference. I added a sprinkle of parmesean cheese when serving, and thought that was a perfect complement.
Pros: Easy make ahead tips.
Cons: A little bland - season to taste.
September 13, 2010
By: EatingWell User
Love this recipe. Hearty and full of flavor. It will be one of my go to recipes.
May 19, 2010
By: Lisa Miller
Excellent! I love cumin so much I doubled it and it still wasn't enough. Used spinach instead of chard. Simply delicious!
