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Carrot and Lentil Soup with Garlic Bread Bites

A creamy plant-based meal that's packed with nutrients and flavour. The delicious garlic bread bites add texture that takes this soup to the next level. You need to try this!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: plant-based
Servings: 6
Author: Ashlen Leonard

Ingredients

  • 4 cups carrots, peeled and chopped about 4 large carrots
  • 1 medium head cauliflower about 5-6 cups
  • 1 540 ml can lentils drained and rinsed
  • 3 cups vegetable stock or broth
  • 1 400 ml can lite coconut milk about 1 ⅔ cups
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • ½ medium yellow onion chopped
  • 1 tbsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp each of salt and pepper

Garlic Bread Bites

  • 4 slices whole grain bread
  • ¼ cup salted butter
  • ½ tbsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp dried parsley

Instructions

  • Heat a large pot over medium heat and add olive oil to coat the bottom. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until they become fragrant.
  • Add the carrots and cauliflower and cook for 4-5 minutes or until they begin to soften.
  • Add the vegetable broth and coconut milk and bring this to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the carrots and cauliflower are cooked through.
  • Drain and rinse the canned lentils and then add them to the soup.
  • Add the curry powder, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir so it's well combined and let it cook for an additional 5 minutes.
  • Turn off the butner and remove the pot from the heat. Use an immersion blender, food processor high-speed blender to blend the soup until it's smooth and creamy. If using the high-speed blender, make sure to leave a small gap in the lid so steam can be released while blending.
  • Season with salt and pepper, top with the garlic bread bites and enjoy!

Garlic Bread Bites

  • Preheat the oven to 400℉.
  • Prepare the garlic butter: in a small dish, mix the softened butter, garlic powder and dried parsley. Stir until it's well combined.
  • Butter both sides of each slice of bread. Place the pieces of bread on a baking sheet, spreading them out so they don't touch.
  • Bake for 3-5 minutes on each side.
  • Let them cool for 5 minutes and then cut them into bite sized pieces and sprinkle them on top of the soup before enjoying!

Notes

Substitutions and add-ins

  • Other beans
    • You are welcome to use another soft bean like navy beans or other types of white beans instead of lentils.
  • Chicken or beef broth
    • You can absolutely use another type of broth if this is what you have available. This will just result in a soup that’s no longer vegetarian or vegan.
  • Full fat coconut milk
    • You can use a full fat product coconut milk instead of lite coconut milk.
  • Butter 
    • This can be used in place of olive oil.
  • Sweet potato
    • If you would like to add a bit of sweetness, texture and more starch to the soup, feel free to swap half of the carrots for the same amount of peeled and chopped sweet potato.
  • Tomato paste
    • Adding a tablespoon of tomato paste will enhance the acidity and add a layer of depth to this soup.
 
For the garlic bread bites:
  • White bread instead of whole grain bread
  • Gluten free bread
    • Keep an eye on the toast in the oven because it may cook quicker than regular bread.
  • Minced garlic instead of garlic powder
    • Make sure the garlic is very finely minced and spread out evenly on the bread so you don’t have pockets of bread that are overpowering or with no garlic at all.
  • Unsalted butter
    • If you prefer to use unsalted butter, just add a sprinkle of salt on top of the buttered bread prior to baking it.
 

Dietary considerations

  • This soup is already vegetarian, vegan, dairy free and nut free. No adjustments needed.
  • To make the entire dish gluten free, opt for gluten free bread to make the garlic bread bites or omit them altogether.
  • To make the dish completely vegan and dairy free, use plant-based butter to make the garlic butter for the garlic bread bites instead of regular butter.