She would wash them over and over again to make sure these beans in that pouch were clean and perfect for her soup, then soak overnight.
Grandma always wanted to make sure all the impurities on them were gone.
Soaking is a must as well after sorting, to speed up the process she would preach to us kids.
This was a typical soup we had on New Year's preparing shortly after midnight.
The tradition started in ancient Rome giving dried lentils in a pouch as a gift shortly after midnight on New Year's Eve.
The Romans said lentils would bring good luck in Italy and prosperity when eaten on the New Year First Day.
We still carry on that tradition and are big soup lovers here besides lentils are an easy-to-make favorite along with many other of our Best Soup Recipes Here.
Traditionally lentils are a natural symbol for abundance, and have come to represent money and good fortune with it!
Grandma was also from Rome, and we learned early on back in the 1960s, how to prepare a lentil soup for the New Year for dinner.
This soup is easier and quicker to make now than what I remember using newer methods.
She also made the best Homemade Chicken Soup
If you would like a printable copy scroll all the way down to my recipe card and hit print.
Comforting Lentil Soup
If you grew up in the winter in Upstate Utica New York in an all Italian household, you will remember mom or grandma making this soup all winter long.
It was a staple in our home and I still love this delicious soup along with my family through the generations.
Back in the 1960s, this was considered a very economical meal to feed a large family, so we had it once a week.
Although I do not make it much living in Florida, those childhood memories or mom and grandma making this comforting soup will always be one of my finest memories in the kitchen.
Healthy
Lentil soup is a nutritional powerhouse.
It combines the nutrients, protein, good carbs and fiber in lentils with the antioxidant power of veggies, herbs, and spices.
Grandma also added a little good fat from the extra virgin olive oil rounds it out into a perfectly balanced meal.
Lentils are especially high in B vitamins and minerals like iron, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc.
As I said previously this soup is incredibly easy to make and really inexpensive, you can make a giant pot of soup that will feed many people for under ten dollars!
Recipe We Love
Pasta Fasoli
Escarole and Beans
Chilled Blueberry Soup
Best Soup Roundup
Ingredients You Will Need
- dried lentil
- chicken broth
- white wine
- extra virgin olive oil
- fresh parsley
- garlic cleaned
- garlic powder
- Optional: 1 cup diced tomatoes,1 sauteed diced onion. grated cheese for garnishing, hard-crusted Italian bread for dipping, crackers or croutons.
- 1 head of escarole cleaned and boiled making sure they are cooked through the drain, then chopped fine when cooled
- salt, pepper to taste
- carrots, celery
- (for meat flavoring, add ham bone or prosciutto while simmering.)Grandma would usually put bacon or ham in this for flavoring
Italian Lentil Soup
- 1 cup dried lentil washed and sorted soaked overnight in water with 1/2 teaspoon salt or do the whole package and freeze the rest.
- 4 cups chicken broth (I make my own click here)
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 sprigs of fresh parsley
- 3 cloves garlic cleaned
- 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
- Optional: 1 cup diced tomatoes,1 sauteed diced onion
- 1 head of escarole cleaned and boiled making sure they are cooked through drain, then chopped fine when cooled
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt, pepper to taste
- a handful of carrots, 2 stalks celery
- (for meat flavoring, add ham bone or prosciutto while simmering.)Grandma would usually put bacon or ham in this for flavoring
Directions:
Sort the lentils, then place dry lentils in water with salt and soak for at least 3 to 4 hours. Drain and rinse.Process in food processor garlic, celery, garlic, parsley ( grandma chopped by hand).
Put oil in a large soup pot, add the minced vegetables, carrots and tomatoes escarole, garlic powder, add salt and pepper to taste.
Add any meat if using (IE bacon, ham, Italian sliced sausage or even pepperoni slice).
Grandma used whatever we had, or sometimes all vegetarian.
When the carrots are cooked I take them out and puree them. Add back to the soup for flavor.
Add wine and broth and cover pot. Bring to boil, lower heat, add lentils. Simmer until lentil are cooked add more chicken broth if it gets too thick if you prefer a thinner soup. Soup is very thick, Serve with Italian Fresh grated cheese and crusty Italian bread.
Note Why Do We Soak Them?
It's interesting why lentils are soaked, here's the answer: it turns out lentils in general unsoaked are not good for digestion.
Apparently, the outer shell of lentils (and some beans) contains anti-nutrients that can interfere with digestion.
The solution is to soak them, thereby neutralizing the anti-nutrients.
Some Lentil History
The best-known lentil soup comes not from a manual of classic cuisine but from the biblical story of Jacob and Esau and is mentioned in the Bible: In Genesis 25:30-34, as Esau is prepared to give up his birthright for a pot of fragrant red lentil soup being cooked by his brother, Jacob.
In fact, lentils go back even further in history.
Originating in the Middle East, lentils are believed to be the first legume ever cultivated.
In Jewish tradition, lentil soup has been served at times of mourning; the roundness of the lentil represents a complete cycle of life.
Lastly, lentils are a superfood, they are high in protein, complex carbohydrates, and fiber.
In addition, they are rich in iron, potassium, and folate. They contain virtually no fat and are cholesterol-free.
Pin for later

Italian Lentil Soup
Yield: 8
prep time: 15 Mcook time: total time: 15 M
A super-rich lentil homemade soup that's full of health benefits.
Pure comfort food at its finest!
Pure comfort food at its finest!
ingredients:
- 1 cup dried lentil washed and sorted soaked overnight in water with 1/2 teaspoon salt or do the whole package in the crockpot overnight and freeze the rest.
- 4 cups chicken broth (I make my own click here)
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 sprigs of fresh parsley
- 3 cloves garlic cleaned
- 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
- Optional: 1 cup diced tomatoes,1 sauteed diced onion. grated cheese for garnishing, hard-crusted Italian bread for dipping, crackers or croutons.
- 1 head of escarole cleaned and boiled making sure they are cooked through drain, then chopped fine when cooled
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt, pepper to taste
- a handful of carrots, 2 stalks celery
- (for meat flavoring, add ham bone or prosciutto while simmering.)
- Grandma would usually put bacon or ham in this for flavoring
instructions:
How to cook Italian Lentil Soup
- Place fresh lentils in a crockpot filled to the top overnight with water on low around 6 hours or make to package instructions. Drain and rinse. Or just cook them to package instructions.
- Process in food processor garlic, celery, garlic, parsley ( grandma chopped by hand).
- Put oil in a large soup pot, add the minced vegetables, carrots and tomatoes escarole, garlic powder, add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add any meat if using (IE bacon, ham, Italian sliced sausage or even pepperoni slice).
- Grandma used whatever we had, or sometimes all vegetarian.
- When the carrots are cooked I take them out and puree them. Add back to the soup for flavor.
- Add wine and broth and cover pot.
- Bring to boil, lower heat, add lentils.
- Simmer until lentil are cooked add more chicken broth if gets too thick if you prefer a thinner soup.
- This takes around 1 hour or longer.
- Using a pressure cooker around 35 minutes.
- Slow cooker 8 to 10 hours on high.
- Soup is very thick, Serve with Italian Fresh grated cheese and crusty Italian bread.
Calories
229
229
Fat (grams)
19
19
Sat. Fat (grams)
11
11
Carbs (grams)
32
32
Fiber (grams)
19
19
Net carbs
18
18
Sugar (grams)
6
6
More Soup Recipes
Perfect Chicken Broth
Old Fashioned Chicken Soup
Chickpea Florentine Soup
Roasted Garlic and Potato Soup
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ham, Cabbage and Bean Soup
Crockpot Ham and Cabbage
Cioppino
Pin this Lentil Soup for Later
Disclosure: This recipe was originally shared in 2010. It was edited and re-published in 2019.
Soup is one of my favorite meals, in fact we are making a Southwest soup tonight.
ReplyDeleteYour lentil and escarole soup looks wonderful....getting out my soup spoon now!
This soup il delicious, one of my favorites. Great ;)
ReplyDeletePerfect. I love putting escarole into soup -and bring on those lentils! I'm warm already.
ReplyDeleteThere are no end to good lentil soups, and what a lovely earthy one this! We tend to use chard as escarole is not so common here (in Melbourne Australia!)
ReplyDelete@cajunchefRyan thank you :)
ReplyDelete@Frederica not too many love lentils its one of my favorites too
@Claudia thanks I know your soups are all fantastic as well!
@joy wow love to visit your world someday, so honored you appreciate this thank you! Funny I live in Melbourne Florida~ wow!!!
yum, such comfort in that bowl of soup ... this is another of your recipes I know I will like, thanks for posting it and keep them coming
ReplyDeleteLentils have always been a favorite of mine! Soup looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite foods is escarole. I love the taste of it, especially with beans. This soup looks so good and I know it would go great with your bread!
ReplyDeleteoh wow great soup and so healthy Rebecca
ReplyDeleteWhat a comforting bowl of yum! Totally delicious with that crusty hunk of bread for dunking.
ReplyDeleteI make a similar soup, what a great recipe!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful, delicious soup, what a great combination of ingredients!
ReplyDeleteClaudia, the soup looks so sumptious and I noticed that the beans are really soft & tender. Just perfect! Btw, how's life at your working place? Busy?
ReplyDeleteLentil soup with crusty bread...does it get any better than that? (Oh, and a nice glass of red wine.) I've never added escarole before but it looks like I should be doing that. This looks divine!
ReplyDeletei love the lentils soup,your is great!
ReplyDeleteThis is just the perfect thing to make for a one-pot meal: simple, healthy, delicious, and satisfying.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful, warming and healthy soup indeed!
ReplyDeleteI love making big batches of this kind of soup..it's even better the next day. And so healthy, too.
ReplyDeleteYou will never guess what my tomorrow post is. I'll give you a clue it's amazingly similar to yours. This sounds good.
ReplyDeleteWarming, flavourful and so delicious!
ReplyDeleteYour Lentil Soup looks so warm and comforting in this cold rainy weather. Hope you are having a great week and thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday!
ReplyDeleteMiz Helen