Easy Italian Lentil Kale Pasta Soup! Whether you’re looking for a quick weeknight dinner or a satisfying lunch option, this soup delivers on nourishing goodness.

Warming and  comforting, this Easy Italian Lentil Kale Pasta Soup has a delightful blend of wholesome ingredients that will nourish your body and soul. This oil-free, low-fat soup is perfect for health-conscious foodies seeking a light yet flavorful dish.

Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.

Hi there, Ameera here!

Packed with nutrients and bursting with flavor, this recipe is so delicious and sure to please.

You gotta give this one a try!

Tips for Success:

• Flavor Profile: This Easy Italian Lentil Kale Pasta Soup is low-fat with a lightly flavored Italian-style broth for those folks who enjoy a broth with a light flavor profile.
• Low-Fat Dish Expectations: This dish was designed to be low in fat. Because it is low in fat, you are not going to experience that endorphin rush associated with eating high-fat foods when eating this dish. It is very tasty for what it is, and that is a low-fat dish. We just want to make sure that our Readers recognize this when contemplating making this recipe. If you wish to make it more indulgent, feel free to add Vegan Parmesan Cheese to take it over the top.
• Lightly Flavored Broth: The soup broth is intentionally on the lighter side (mellow) for those individuals who cannot handle a lot of herbs/spices or are experiencing health conditions or receiving health treatments where they need mild flavors to settle their stomach. You can easily increase the herbs/spices to add more flavor.
• Lentils: We used canned lentils. Feel free to use dry lentils, but they will need to be cooked separately, then added to the soup later.
• Lentil Substitutions: Feel free to substitute the lentils with your favorite bean or leave them out completely and add extra pasta.
• Bowtie Pasta Substitutions: Feel free to substitute with your favorite medium-sized cut pasta. If using a short-cut pasta, use less cooked pasta.
• Pasta Substitutions: Feel free to add your favorite cooked grain (e.g. cooked rice) at the end. Start with ½ cup of cooked grain and build from there.
• Greens: Greens such as spinach and kale are natural spice/herb neutralizers.  A soup/stew can taste perfectly seasoned before adding the greens, then once the greens are added, the flavor mellows requiring more seasoning.
• Baking Soda: Baking soda is often used as a neutralizer for dishes that contain a lot of acidity, typically from tomatoes. We use it in this dish to remove some of the tomato acidity (from the petite diced tomatoes) without losing the tomatoey flavor. When you add it, the mixture may bubble up, then settle down as it neutralizes the acidity. If you prefer that tinny taste that is typically associated with canned tomatoes, feel free to leave it out or only add a pinch.
• Pasta Restaurant Style: This soup is best served restaurant style.  Most restaurants keep the cooked pasta separate from soup broths. The cooked pasta is spooned into individual bowls, then the hot soup broth is poured over top. This clever trick accomplishes several things. First it keeps the integrity of the pasta in great shape and doesn’t allow them to get mushy. It also preserves the soup broth. Pasta/Noodles are very thirsty, and they will suck up all the soup broth and you are left with a very thick soup-stew. If you keep the soup and pasta separate and refrigerate the leftovers, you may find the pasta gets stiff, sticky, and clumped together.  All you need to do is place some of the cold, refrigerated, cooked pasta into a colander and rinse with hot tap water, gently loosen them with your fingers. Shake well to remove the excess water and then serve with hot soup broth spooned over top.
• Gluten Free Pasta: If using a gluten-free pasta, it really tends to get mushy. That is why we suggest cooking the pasta separately and placing it in your soup bowl, then ladle the soup over top.  This is how most restaurants serve soups that have pasta in them. They keep the broth and pasta separated until ready to serve.
• Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.

Leftovers and Freezing:

Leftovers will generally keep 5 days in the refrigerator.  Store in a covered container.

This dish can be frozen.

Pantry Products:

• Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.
• Canned Lentils: We used Delallo Imported Italian Lentils.  They come in a 14 oz. can.  Most grocery stores carry them in the specialty aisles. If using dry lentils, select lentils that hold their shape after cooking like a brown lentil such as small brown lentils called Pardina lentils. Cook dry lentils separately, adjust time accordingly.  If cooking dry lentils, you want to end up with 1 2/3 cups of cooked
• Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs. 

Kitchen Equipment:

• Colander
• Large stock pot (for boiling the pasta)
• Large stock pot (for cooking the soup)

If you try this cozy dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.

Easy Italian Lentil Kale Pasta Soup

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 15 Minutes
• Cook Time: 20 Minutes
• Total Time: 35 Minutes
• Yield: 8.5 Cups 1x
• Category: Soup
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Italian Inspired
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

Warming and  comforting, this Easy Italian Lentil Kale Pasta Soup has a delightful blend of wholesome ingredients that will nourish your body and soul.

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Ingredients

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Base Ingredients:

• 1 large yellow onion, fine dice
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth *
• 2 cups water
• 2 – [ 14.5 oz. cans ] petite diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 2 – [ 15 oz. cans ] lentils, drained and rinsed *
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda * 

Spice/Herb Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano (+/-)
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil (+/-)
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley (+/-)
• Pinch dried crushed thyme leaves (+/-)
• ¼ teaspoon cumin (+/-)
• ½ teaspoon sweet paprika (+/-)
• ½ to 1 ¼ teaspoons sea salt (+/-) *
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)
• Pinch to ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

Other Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 cups cooked bowtie pasta (or other pasta) *
• 2 to 3 cups packed chopped baby kale (or baby spinach) 

Optional Toppings:

• Vegan Parmesan Cheese

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Instructions

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, drain through a colander/strainer and rinse well with cold water to remove all excess starches, set aside to drain.
2. Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients (except the crushed red pepper) in a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
3. In a large stock pot, add the diced onions; sauté over medium heat until they begin to soften, approximately 7 to 9 minutes.  Add a couple of tablespoons or so of water if they start to stick and/or to prevent burning.
4. Add the minced garlic, sauté for one minute.
5. Add all the remaining Base Ingredients (except the baking soda) and Spice/Herb mix, stir well to combine. Bring to a boil, then immediately lower to a simmer.
6. Add the baking soda, stir well. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the onions are perfectly tender.
7. Add the cooked bowtie pasta (see restaurant style serving option in Tips), chopped baby kale, and crushed red pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes.
8. Serve with freshly chopped parsley and/or Vegan Parmesan Cheese. Enjoy!

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Notes

*Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Servings: 4 to 5 (makes 8 ½ cups – soup base only – no pasta)

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