This lemony lentil soup with potatoes is hearty and cozy, yet bright with fresh dill and lemon! It's a nourishing one-pot dinner made with simple pantry staples, ready in 30 minutes.
I'm a soup person at heart, even when seasons change from winter to spring! But I start to crave more brightness than some of the heavier winter soups like turkey sweet potato chili.
This lemony lentil soup with potatoes hits exactly that right note: hearty from French green lentils and potatoes, yet light and bright from the fresh lemon squeezes and plenty of fresh dill (you can reduce the dill if you want... I like A LOT).
As a seasonal eater of 10 years, I turn to this recipe most in late winter and spring when tender spinach and dill start to pop up from the finally thawed ground where I live in Wisconsin. But it's perfect for anytime you need a simple weeknight dinner: a one-pot recipe that's made with pantry staples. In just 30 minutes, you'll be cozied up to steaming bowls drizzled with olive oil, and hopefully dunked with the best bread you can find.
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Key Ingredients
- French green lentils - These are the best lentils for this lentil soup recipe because they hold their shape beautifully! The soup will have nice texture and chew, without mushy lentils.
- Potatoes - Red or gold are both great, but if you can find potatoes locally, use what's available. New potatoes are a favorite come late spring!
- Lemon & dill - These are essential to making this lentil soup a level up from just any old lentil soup! Lemon is acidic and brightens your entire bowl, while dill freshens everything up.
If you're into lighter soups for spring, you'll also love this spring minestrone with potatoes! It's packed with plants, nourishment, and seasonal veggies.
Substitutions
- Spinach - Feel free to substitute kale, collards or chard to adapt with the seasons or what's available.
- Water - You can use water instead of broth. In fact, this makes the flavors of the soup ingredients shine through even more! Note that you'll need more salt.
- Canned tomatoes - Use either canned diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes. The crushed tomatoes will blend more into the broth, whereas with diced tomatoes you'll find tomato chunks throughout. Both are lovely!
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Step 1: Sauté the onion, celery, and carrot in olive oil until soft, about 7-8 minutes.
- Step 2: Add the tomatoes, potatoes, lentils, broth, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat until soup gently bubbles. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Step 3: Stir in the spinach and dill, then turn off the heat. The heat of the soup will help break the leaves down nicely.
- Step 4: Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the top, then ladle into bowls and serve! You can't go wrong with a generous drizzle of olive oil on top and fresh bread for dipping.
How to Make This Seasonal
Eating seasonally means eating ingredients as close to harvest as possible, which means sourcing ingredients locally when possible. Carrots, spinach, and dill can grow in cooler places in spring (like the midwest, where I live!). As we transition to summer, you'll be able to find most of these at your local farmers, CSA, or in your own backyard.
Eating locally grown vegetables helps you connect with who grew your food, not to mention it reduced carbon emissions from food transport and is more fresh, nutrient-dense, and cost effective. Check out my seasonal produce guides for more info on what's in season and when!
Do You Need to Soak Lentils Before Making Soup?
You don't need to soak lentils before making soup, especially with French green lentils, which are ready in about 20 minutes.
That said, some cooks choose to soak lentils to help make lentils a bit easier to digest. I honestly don't usually do this, mostly because I don't plan ahead as often as I'd like! It's totally optional.
Serving Recommendations
Whether you enjoy this lentil soup with potatoes as a side or a main dish, these pairings go really well!
Made this lemony lentil soup with potatoes and dill? I'd love to hear how it turned out! Leave a ⭐️ rating and comment below, and follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and my newsletter for more everyday seasonal recipes.
Print📖 Recipe
Lemony Lentil Soup with Potatoes and Dill - One Pot Dinner
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 bowls 1x
Description
This lemony lentil soup with potatoes is hearty, cozy, and brightened with fresh dill and lemon. A nourishing one-pot dinner made with simply pantry staples, perfect for weeknight dinners!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small-medium yellow onion, diced
- 3-4 large carrots, diced
- 1-2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 cups diced yellow or red potatoes
- 1 15-ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes
- 1 cup French green lentils
- 5 cups broth or water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups fresh spinach, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh dill
- Juice from 1-2 fresh lemons
- More olive oil for serving
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Instructions
- Sauté aromatics. In a large soup pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Reduce to medium-low and add onion, celery, and carrots. Sauté until soft, about 7-8 minutes.
- Add ingredients & simmer. Add the lentils, tomatoes, potatoes, broth, salt, and pepper. Bring the soup to a bowl, then reduce heat until the soup is at a gentle simmer - lightly bubbling but not an aggressive boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add spinach & dill. Remove the lid from your soup pot and add spinach and fresh dill. Stir it in, and the soup heat will break it down. Turn off the heat.
- Finish with lemon and serve. Squeeze fresh lemon juice into the soup pot, and serve steaming hot in bowls drizzled with olive oil and more fresh lemon wedges on the side.
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
- Storage & freezing instructions. Once the soup has cooled, store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw (if frozen) and reheat on the stovetop.
- Potato chunk size. Make these more of a medium dice than a super small or large one. That way, their cook time aligns with the lentils so they don't get too mushy, or make for awkwardly huge bites.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 384
- Sugar: 13.4 g
- Sodium: 1310.7 mg
- Fat: 8.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 67 g
- Fiber: 10.8 g
- Protein: 16.7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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