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This Chicken and Lentil Soup is a hearty meal packed with protein, fibre and veg, and the perfect comfort food for a cold day. This cosy broth cooks in 30 minutes using simple, storecupboard ingredients. Gluten and dairy free and perfect for batch cooking.
Notes On This Chicken and Lentil Soup Recipe
- Why choose this recipe? This cosy Chicken Soup with Lentils is so easy, it cooks in one pan and is bursting with goodness. A great way to add some extra fibre to your diet (which is extra important if you have coeliac disease as gluten free diets can be low in fibre, according to Coeliac UK).
- Quick and Easy: I use tinned lentils in this soup as a lot of dried lentils have ‘may contain’ warnings for gluten due to cross contamination. Using tinned lentils also makes it a lot quicker to make, as they’re already cooked.
- Top Tip: For an extra nourishing meal, make your own gluten free chicken stock or use a gluten free, ready-made chicken bone broth instead of stock.
- Batch Cooking: This is a great soup recipe for batch cooking – portion it up in the fridge as a meal prep option for lunch, or freeze to heat when needed.
- Love Chicken Soup? If you love this, be sure to try my Gluten Free Chicken Soup and my Peruvian Chicken Soup recipe too.
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Substitutions
There’s a recipe card below for this chicken and lentil soup recipe, which is already gluten and dairy free. But here are the main ingredients and ideas for any swaps.
- Vegetable Base: I use onion, carrots and celery as the base of this soup. You could easily chop and change this but this definitely gives the biggest flavours.
- Garlic: Always an essential in my recipes, use chopped garlic, fresh mince garlic cloves or garlic paste, depending on what you have.
- Chicken Breasts: Boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets definitely shred better – though you could use chicken thigh if you prefer.
- Chicken Stock: Either use homemade chicken stock, or gluten free stock pots/cans like Knorr, Kallo or Potts. I also love making this with chicken bone broth for extra goodness, such as Freja or Borough Broth, which are both gluten free.
- Herbs: I use a combination of dried sage, thyme and rosemary. Feel free to use fresh chopped herbs and omit any that you’re not keen on.
- Lentils: I use a tin of green lentils, drained, as this cuts the cooking time back and these are coeliac-safe. You can happily use tinned red lentils too. If you find dried lentils with no ‘may contain’ warning for gluten, just add the additional cooking time from the pack before adding the chicken to the pan. This could be up to 45 minutes.
- Spinach: Because I love to add some greenery! You could also add kale or any leafy green veg like chopped pak choi or spring greens.
How to Make Chicken and Lentil Soup
There’s a printable recipe card below with the method. But here are some step-by-step photos to show you how easy this gluten free chicken soup with lentils is to make:
Storing and Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Once cooked, this soup can be cooled and portioned into containers. Keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you’re using bone broth or homemade chicken stock it made go jelly-like in the fridge, but will turn to liquid again when reheated.
TO FREEZE: You can also freeze this chicken and lentil soup – I recommend doing this in portions so you can reheat what you need straight from frozen.
Variations
I love this lentil and chicken soup recipe as it is, and I always try have a portion handy in the freezer. But if you want to add some variations, you could try the following:
- Spicy: Add some chopped fresh red chilli in with the garlic for a spicy variation.
- Rice: Adding a pack of pre-cooked rice in with the lentils will bulk this out more.
- Orzo: You could add some gluten free orzo for the last 7-8 mins of cooking time for a chicken pasta soup variation.
- Creamy: Add a tin of coconut milk in with the broth for a creamier version of this soup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some FAQs about this easy chicken and lentil soup recipe. If you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!
Yes, you can! Much like my slow cooker chicken noodle soup, I would add everything apart from the lentils and spinach, then cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Remove and shred the chicken and add back to then crock pot with the lentils and spinach for 15 minutes until serving.
Lentils themselves in their natural state are gluten free – but often dried lentils become cross-contaminated with wheat-containing grains, making them unsuitable for people with coeliac disease. I use tinned lentils which are usually safe – but always double check the labels before consuming.
Chicken and Lentil Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
- 2 celery, finely chopped
- 4-5 tsp chopped garlic
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1000 ml chicken stock, or chicken bone broth
- 2 tsp dried sage
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 400 g tin green lentils, drained
- 80 g fresh spinach, chopped
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a large saucepan and place on a medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic and fry for 5-6 minutes, until softening. Add the dried herbs and fry for another 30 seconds.
- Nestle the whole chicken breasts into the veg, then pour over the hot chicken stock. Place a lid on the pan, bring to the boil then turn straight down to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the chicken breasts from the soup, and using two forks shred it. Add back into the soup along with the lentils and chopped spinach. Mix well and simmer for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if needed, then serve.
Notes
- Storage: This soup will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days or can be portioned up and frozen for easy meal prep.
- Reheating: Reheat this soup thoroughly in the microwave or on the hob before eating. Do not reheat more than once.
Nutrition
Serving Suggestions
This chicken and lentil soup is filling enough to enjoy on its own, but it also goes really well with the following sides:
- Gluten Free Bread: Lightly toast some gluten free sourdough or make your own gluten free bread to slice and dip or soft gluten free bread rolls for the side.
- Crusty Baguette: These homemade gluten free baguettes are perfect for dipping with their crunchy crust and soft interior.
- Croutons: I usually don’t have croutons on ‘brothy’ soups like this but if you have some gluten free croutons they would add a nice crunch.
More Gluten Free Soup Recipes
If you like this chicken and lentil soup recipe then make sure you check out these other gluten free soup recipes too…
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