Tomato Lentil Soup with Manzanilla Olives
This tomato lentil soup is easy to make and a super cozy vegetarian meal. The lentils are cooked in a rich broth with tomatoes, carrots, celery, garlic, and spices. The soup is finished with a little spinach, a splash of cream, and some delicious Manzanilla olives.
This post is sponsored by European Olives.
Tomato Lentil Soup
You're looking at one of our favorite vegetarian soup recipes.
The flavor is rich and dreamy, with a hint of smokiness from the paprika and an umami bite from the Manzanilla olives.
Tender lentils make this soup hearty enough to call dinner.
We usually like to serve soup with a slice of buttered bread on the side, but this one is so rich and filling that it makes a meal all on its own.
Why we love European olives
The Manzanilla olives we use in this recipe are stuffed with pimientos, buttery soft, and have the most beautiful, delicate flavor.
They're also incredibly versatile and we love snacking on them as much as we love cooking with them. It's a good thing they're so healthy!
Did you know that in Canada, one out of every two olives eaten comes from Spain, including these Manzanilla olives used in this tomato lentil soup recipe?
How to make tomato lentil soup
Making tomato lentil soup is very easy. You'll need to set aside about one hour, but most of that time is hands-off while you let the lentils cook.
- SautƩ minced onion, garlic, celery, and carrots until they begin to caramelize.
- Add the spices to the veggies and cook them for a moment to bring out their flavor.
- Add the lentils, stock, and canned diced tomatoes to the pot and simmer until the lentils are nice and soft.
- Now stir in a little cream, some spinach, and the best part, chopped Manzanilla olives.
Full instructions in the recipe card below.
How long does tomato lentil soup last?
This soup keeps well for at least 5 days in your fridge making it ideal for meal-prep.
Make a pot of tomato lentil soup tonight and enjoy the leftovers for lunch this week!
Does this soup recipe freeze well?
Yes, this tomato lentil soup can easily be frozen. Simply let it cool completely before transfrering it to a freezer-safe container.
It will keep well for up to three months in your freezer.
Note: it will thicken and the lentils will become extra soft. Simply add a little more stock when you reheat it.
More recipes using European olives
- Breakfast Strata with Hojiblanca Olives
- White Bean Dip with Hojiblanca Olives from Spain
- Spanish Chicken and Cauliflower Rice with Manzanilla Olives from Spain
- Easy Marinated Olives from Spain
- Stuffed Spanish Pork Chops with Gordal Olives
Popular vegetarian soup recipes
- Coconut Red Lentil Peanut Soup
- Carrot Soup with Coconut and Ginger
- Best Kale Minestrone Soup Recipe
- Cashew Cream of Mushroom Soup
Tomato Lentil Soup with Manzanilla Olives
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 carrots, minced
- 2 stalks celery, minced
- 2 teaspoons EACH: thyme, oregano, and smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon EACH: salt and pepper
- 1 cup brown lentils
- 6 cups vegetable stock, can use chicken stock
- 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 3 ounces chopped fresh spinach, or baby spinach leaves
- 1 cup chopped Manzanilla olives
- Ā½ cup cream, optional
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and let it cook until it softens, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, and celery to the pot and let them cook for about 5 minutes. Mix in the thyme, oregano, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.Ā2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 medium onion, 4 cloves garlic, 2 carrots, 2 stalks celery, 2 teaspoons EACH: thyme, oregano, and smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon EACH: salt and pepper
- Add the lentils, stock, and tomatoes to the pot and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until the lentils are soft.Ā
- Add the spinach, Manzanilla olives, and if using, the cream and stir until the spinach wilts.Ā3 ounces chopped fresh spinach, 1 cup chopped Manzanilla olives, Ā½ cup cream
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Made this for dinner. Really fancied a vegetarian, wholesome meal. Added a bit of cayenne pepper to add a bit of heat. It was delicious š.
I used chicken broth instead of vegetable and frozen spinach instead of fresh. I also added a slice of chilli pepper. I omitted cream and served it with sour cream on the side. Absolutely delicious! Every one in my family loved it. Will make it again.Ā
I liked reading the comments on this one as they gave me ideas for additions, of course I had my own which were chicken sausage and jarred red peppers, I forgot to put the cream in but will today with the left overs. Ā I used green salad olives stuffed with red peppers and it was very good, I want to use the ones called for, one of these days, to taste the difference. Ā I also topped it off with garlic bread crotons.
It’s a winner for sure!!!!
This soup is fantastic. I used frozen spinach because I happened to have some. I am sure that it would have been even better if I had added cream but I didn’t use any cream and it’s pretty delicious without it. I can’t wait to make this again.
Loved this soup. I replaced the cream with plain Greek yogurt.Ā
Rich and very tasty, one of my favorite soups in cold season.
The olives were unexpected and made this soup delicious! My husband doesn’t really like Manzanilla olives so I left them out and just sprinkled a few on top of his. He really enjoyed it and added more olives.
Thanks for sharing such a delicious, easy recipe. I will be adding to my favorite rotations.
I made this soup and it’s so delicious. I had to freeze some of it because I left town for the holidays. When I got back, I remembered the soup and had it for dinner a couple of nights. It was still really good. I’ll make it again this weekend for next week’s lunch…Yummie!
This soup is amazing.
Very good, added some cayenne pepper for heat but didnāt change anything else.
This is outstanding and the olives really add something different from most soups.Ā
More than yammy! Finally I found a great vegetable lentil soup! Thank you. I look forward to test your other recipes!
It’s more than clever, that you list the ingredients with their amounts below every steps of instructions.
I had kale in my garden, so I used it in place of spinach and I also used yellow lentils and oat cream.
Thank you very much for sharing this recipe!!!
This was SO good! Really delicious! Only two changes–unsweetened soymilk instead of cream, and capers instead of green olives. I love that you list the ingredients with their amounts below every step of the instructions (why don’t all recipes have this?!). And I especially appreciate the ability to flip a switch and not have my screen go dark while my hands are too full of onion and garlic to hit the track pad! Thank you!
Simply delicious! I had chard, so I used it in place of the spinach, and the chard stems in place of the celery. I also used coconut milk for the cream. Easy and flavorful. I also love how for each step of the recipe, the ingredients for that step are listed. This recipe is a keeper.
So yummy! Iām constitutionally incapable of exactly following a recipe so I made some changes. Mostly doubled everything but seasonings. Used immersion blender to purĆ©e about half the lentil mixture before adding double spinach, pint of cream and 1 cup olives. Absolutely delicious!!
I made this soup for dinner tonight and it was VERY good! Ā No substitutions, made exactly as written and my husband loved it. Needless to say it goes into my āthis oneās a keeperā file! Ā Thanks for sharing!
I have made this soup 2 or 3 times already and it is absolutely delicious! I like to add andouille sausage for some more protein and a kick and I love it!
Thank you for this amazing recipe.
Absolutely love this recipe. I make it several times a year. I omit the cream to save calories and I never miss it. Thank you!
Delicious!! Ā I love this recipe. Ā I added some red pepper flakes for a little heat and the kicker was about a TBSP of champagne vinegar added right at the end! Ā The vinegar really brightened up the flavor.
***I forgot to select five stars in my previous review. Please use this one with the five stars? Sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you for this great lentil soup recipe! It was a little salty for me, so I added a cup of water at the end, and it was still delicious. Next time, I think I will try omitting the salt during cooking. We can add salt at the table if necessary.