This chicken lentil soup makes a hearty, delicious dinner. It’s made with wholesome, affordable ingredients and makes a great weeknight meal.
In this lentil recipe, chicken thighs are cooked with onions, carrots, celery, garlic and spices until the lentils are tender and the broth is rich and flavorful. Then the chicken is shredded and the soup is finished with the shredded chicken and fresh greens. It’s a fantastic lentil soup that will please the whole family.
This site contains affiliate links to products. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 pound Chicken Thighs, skinless, boneless
- 1 teaspoon Salt, plus extra to season the lentils at the end
- 1 Medium Onion, finely diced
- 1 Large Carrot, peeled and cut into rounds
- 1 Celery Rib, finely diced
- 2-3 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 12 ounce Package of Lentils, sorted, rinsed and drained
- 8 cups Chicken Broth
- 5-6 ounces Fresh Kale, Chard, Spinach or a combination of greens – washed
Prep work
Prep is quick and easy with this lentil soup. We’ll start by sorting the lentils. Don’t skip this step! I frequently find small rocks in lentils. More so than any other bean, so pick through them thoroughly. Here’s an image of a stone I found, not in this batch, but I wanted to illustrate the importance of sorting.
- Sort the lentils by placing them on a sheet pan or on a clean, flat surface. Pick through them and remove any foreign objects, such as tiny rocks, twigs, misshaped beans, etc.
- Rinse the lentils with cold water and drain.
- Season the chicken thighs on both sides with the salt.
- Dice the onions, celery and cut the carrots into rounds or half rounds. They’re going in the pot at the same time, so keep them in the same bowl. I like using nesting bowls to organize all my ingredients. They make prep work a snap!
- Next, mince the garlic, measure out the tomato paste, oregano and chicken broth.
- Wash the greens if not using a prepackaged, washed variety and that’s it, the prep work is done!
Brown the chicken
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the chicken. Cook for 4-5 minutes, turn cook another 4-5 minutes to brown on both sides.
Take the pot off the heat while you work with the chicken so that the bits on the bottom of the pot don’t burn, and the oil doesn’t overheat. Do not wash.
Remove the chicken from the pot and place them on a pan or plate. Keep the chicken warm by covering loosely with a piece of aluminum foil, and/or place the pan in the oven or microwave to keep away from drafts.
Don’t worry that the chicken is not cooked through, it will finish cooking in the lentil soup.
Start the soup
Place the pot back over medium heat and add the onions, carrots and celery. Gently cook the vegetables for 3 minutes, while stirring frequently.
Next, add the garlic, tomato paste, oregano and black pepper to the pot. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring almost constantly.
Add the chicken broth, lentils and the reserved chicken thighs (including any juices collected in the pan) to the pot. Stir well. Raise the heat to high and bring the broth to a boil. It will take about 5-6 minutes for the liquid to come to a boil.
Lower the heat to medium when the broth is at a full boil. Cover the pot and cook the lentils for approximately 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
At this point the chicken should be completely cooked through and the lentils should be close to al dente. Now, some people like their lentils a little firmer than others. At this stage, they will have a bite in the middle.
Taste the lentils to see if they have almost reached the desired tenderness. If they are still a bit hard for your taste, continue cooking them for 10-15 more minutes and taste again.
Lower the heat and stir more often as the lentils thicken, they could start sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Shred the chicken and add the greens
Lower the heat on the soup to medium-low to low. Keep it at a simmer. Use tongs to remove the chicken from the pot and place them on a cutting board or platter.
Add the greens to the soup. Give everything a good stir until they wilt and fit comfortably in the pot. Cover the soup and continue cooking.
Shred the chicken using two forks and add it back to the soup.
Continue cooking 2-3 minutes until the chicken is heated through (or until the lentils reach the desired consistency). Stir often to prevent the lentils from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Taste the lentils and add salt if needed. As a reference, didn’t add any extra salt to ours.
Cook’s Note: It’s best to wait until the end to add any salt to this lentil soup. The chicken is seasoned with 1 teaspoon, plus chicken broth and tomato paste both contain a good amount of salt already. We can always add if needed.
Serve the chicken lentil soup alone, with white rice or a generous piece of crusty bread, if desired.
Lentils are great beans; they’re super nutritious, they don’t require soaking, and cook up pretty quickly (by bean standards anyway). Incorporate more lentils into your dinner rotation with one of these delicious recipes:
- Lentil Sausage Soup
- Bacon and Lentil Soup
- Italian Sausage Lentil Soup
- Lentil Chorizo Soup
- Lentil Potato Soup
- Lentil Chili
Chicken Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 pound Chicken Thighs skinless, boneless
- 1 teaspoon Salt plus extra to season the lentils at the end
- 1 Medium Onion finely diced
- 1 Large Carrot peeled and cut into rounds
- 1 Celery Rib finely diced
- 2-3 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 12 ounce Package of Lentils sorted, rinsed and drained
- 8 cups Chicken Broth
- 5-6 ounces Fresh Kale Chard, Spinach or a combination of greens – washed
Instructions
- Sort the lentils and remove any foreign objects, such as tiny rocks, twigs, misshaped beans, etc. Rinse the lentils with cold water and drain.
- Season the chicken thighs on both sides with the salt.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the chicken. Cook for 4-5 minutes. Turn and cook another 4-5 minutes to brown on both sides.
- Take the pot off the heat. Remove the chicken from the pot and place them on a pan or plate, keep warm. Don’t worry that the chicken is not cooked through, it will finish cooking in the lentil soup.
- Place the pot back over medium heat and add the onions carrots and celery. Gently cook the vegetables for 3 minutes, while stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic, tomato paste, oregano and black pepper to the pot. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring almost constantly.
- Add the chicken broth, lentils and the reserved chicken thighs (including any juices collected in the pan) back to the pot. Stir well.
- Raise the heat to high and bring the broth to a boil.
- Lower the heat to medium when the broth is at a full boil. Cover the pot and cook the lentils for approximately 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Taste the lentils to see if they have almost reached the desired tenderness. If they are still a bit hard for your taste, continue cooking them for 10-15 more minutes and taste again. Stir more often as they thicken.
Shred the chicken and add the greens
- Lower the heat to medium-low (to low). Remove the chicken from the pot and place them on a cutting board or platter.
- Add the greens to the soup. Give everything a good stir until they wilt and fit comfortably in the pot. Cover the soup and continue cooking.
- Shred the chicken and add it back to the soup.
- Continue cooking 2-3 minutes until the chicken is heated through (or until the lentils reach the desired consistency). Stir often to prevent the lentils from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Taste the lentils and add salt if needed. As a reference, didn’t add any extra salt to ours.
- Serve the chicken lentil soup alone, with white rice or with a generous piece of crusty bread, if desired.
Kelly
Totally delicious. I just made this. I will definitely be keeping this recipe.
Elizabeth
That’s great to hear, happy you enjoyed it.
Lori
I’m a flight attendant and made this recipe and brought it to work. I had passengers asking me what it was and how great it smelled. The only thing I added was a little red pepper for some heat. Thanks for the great recipe!
Elizabeth
Hi Lori,
Thank you, I’m happy you enjoyed it.
Juanita Fitzgibbons
Can a whole chicken be used instead of thighs?
Elizabeth
Hi Juanita,
You can use one pound of chicken pieces (drums, thighs, breast) not a whole chicken. If they have bones remove them after the chicken is cooked while you are shredding it. You may have to adjust the liquid and/or cooking time if using bone in chicken. Personally, I would remove the chicken skin to avoid too much grease and changing the texture and appearance of the soup. Hope this helps.
Mags
Eli, that soup is delicious! Super easy to follow along. Thank you so much!
Elizabeth
Hi Mags, Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it. It’s one of my favorites!
Margaret
Elizabeth,
Thank you for the recipe. It was a great recipe to take care of my Sunday night chicken dinner leftovers. Gave us something to be thankful on a cold January Monday night.
Elizabeth
Hi Margaret, so happy you enjoyed it!
Rosemary
An you freeze this soup?
Elizabeth
Hi. Yes you can freeze this soup. Cool the soup completely and place it in an airtight container that is suitable for the freezer. Leave an inch or two of space in the container to allow for expansion. Freeze up to 2-3 months. Defrost and heat the soup in the microwave or in a saucepan over gentle heat on the stove. You may need to use a few tablespoons of chicken broth to loosen the soup as it reheats.
Elizabeth
This is so delicious! Made it on a snowy day. Could not get out to go to the store, so used ingredients on hand. Chicken breasts instead of thighs. Frozen spinach, shredded carrots. Delicious!!
Edna Brown
Excellent recipe and so easy. I used rotisserie chicken, extra carrot and celery. Husband and I loved it!
Elizabeth
Hi Edna,
Thank you for your kind comment, I’m really happy you both enjoyed it!
Grace
Could you make this in a crock pot? If so how long to cook everything?
Elizabeth
Hi Grace,
I’ve never made it in a crock pot, sorry.
Sarah
I made this soup last night, and my boyfriend and I loved it! I added another carrot and celery rib to the recipe but kept everything else the same. My boyfriend was really excited to get some dark meat with the chicken thighs–I guess I tend to cook with a lot of chicken breast!
How long would you say leftovers will keep?
Elizabeth
Hi Sarah,
I’m glad you both enjoyed it. I love chicken thighs because they add so much flavor!
Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container(s) for 3 to 4 days. Thanks for stopping by.
Tamia Green
This recipe was delicious! I used corn instead of celery since I didn’t have celery and it still came out great.
Elizabeth
Hi Tamia,
Thank you, I’m really glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by!
Andi
Second week in a row I am making this for myself. It lasted me a whole week. I am obsessed, I am indebted, I thank you. It is DELISH. I’ve tweaked it some but not much at all (I’ve had the not tweaked version last time and it’s perfect as is) and I have to say, I cannot wait to make this for my mum, sisters and my honey. Thank you truly. Where else can one find your stuff?
Elizabeth
Hi Andi,
Thank you for your kind comment. I’m so happy you enjoyed it!