Gluten Free Chicken Lentil Soup Recipe

This easy gluten free chicken lentil soup recipe is every bit filling as it is comforting and good for you! Loaded with nutrient dense lentils, chicken and tender sauted veggies.

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Table of Contents

• Why You’ll Love this Chicken Lentil Soup Recipe
• Is this Chicken Lentil Soup Recipe Gluten Free?
• Ingredients For Chicken Lentil Soup
• How to Prepare Lentil Soup Recipe
• Do Lentils Need to Be Soaked Before Cooking Soup
• Are Lentils a Carb or a Protein
• Is Lentil Soup a Superfood?
• What to Serve With Chicken Lentil Soup
• Nutrition in This Gluten Free Chicken Lentil Soup Recipe
• Common Questions and Answers
• Can You Make Chicken Lentil Soup In The Instant Pot?
• Is This Gluten Free Chicken Lentil Soup Recipe Keto Friendly?

Why You’ll Love this Chicken Lentil Soup Recipe

• It’s freezer friendly.
• It’s a 1 pot dish.
• No blending required.
• Prep is easy. 
• Makes a ton of soup with leftovers to freeze. 
• Filling and healthy it makes for a great one pot dinner that will satisfy the whole family. 
• It’s low in fat and yet high in carbs and protein.

Is this Chicken Lentil Soup Recipe Gluten Free?

Yes this chicken lentil soup is naturally gluten free! In fact, most chicken lentil soup recipes are gluten free because the ingredients commonly used to make chicken lentil soup are gluten free. These ingredients typically include chicken, lentils, chicken stock or broth, herbs, spices, garlic, vegetables and aromatics.

Keep in mind that this is a general statement.  Just because most recipes are gluten free doesn’t mean that all chicken lentil soup recipes are gluten free.  You should always check the ingredient list of pre-packaged chicken lentil soup.  And ask the chef for the ingredients in homemade chicken lentil soup.

This chicken lentil soup recipe is gluten free because none of the ingredients are wheat based or derived from wheat.  Wheat is the natural source of gluten.  

Gluten cannot be stripped from wheat by chemical process so as long as wheat is used in a product there will be traces of gluten in it.  Unless it’s distilled alcohol.

Ingredients For Chicken Lentil Soup

• Olive Oil
• Onion 
• Sea Salt 
• Garlic minced 
• Bay Leaf 
• Ketchup 
• Dried Oregano
• Carrots
• Celery 
• Chicken Cutlets
• Lentils 
• Chicken Stock
• Fresh Parsley
• Apple Cider Vinegar

How to Prepare Lentil Soup Recipe

• Step 1: Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add chopped onion and 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Saute the onions until they’re translucent (5 minutes). Next, add the garlic. Stir for one minute. Then add the celery, carrots, chicken, bay leaf and oregano. Saute, mixing occasionally for 10 minutes
• Step 2: Add the lentils, chicken stock and another teaspoon of sea salt. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 45 minutes with the lid slightly ajar. During the last five minutes of cooking, stir in the parsley.
• Step 3: Once the lentils are fully cooked, turn off the heat. Stir in apple cider vinegar and season with pepper.

Do Lentils Need to Be Soaked Before Cooking Soup

No you don’t have to soak lentils before cooking soup. However, it is recommended to soak the lentils because it will speed up their cooking time and make them easier to digest. I made this chicken lentil soup recipe without soaking the lentils and the lentils were nice and soft within 1 hour of cooking.

If you don’t want to soak lentils before cooking chicken lentil soup you can use red lentils. Red lentils cook the fastest out of all of the different varieties of lentils that you can use to make lentil soup.

Are Lentils a Carb or a Protein

In my humble opinion lentils are both a carb and a protein.  Lentils are naturally high in both carbohydrates and proteins which make them a concentrated source for both macro nutrients.  

As far as digestion goes lentils digest as a carbohydrate.  They’re a starchy plant-based legume so they slowly and are best combined with other starchy vegetables like potatoes and corn for optimal digestion.

Of all of the lentils out there, black lentils are the healthiest because they have the highest concentration of nutrients. 

Is Lentil Soup a Superfood?

Before we decide if lentil soup is a superfood or not, let’s take a look at the definition of a superfood first. 

According to Oxford languages a superfood is “a nutrient-rich food considered to be especially beneficial for health and well-being.”

This leads me to ask the following two questions. 

1. Are lentils nutrient dense?
2. Are lentils beneficial for health and overall well-being?

The answer to the first question is yes.  Lentils are very nutrient dense.  They have a high amount of carbs and protein. Just one cup of lentils has 39 grams of carbohydrates and almost 18 grams of protein.  On top of that, lentils are a great source of thiamine, niacin, B vitamins, iron, magnesium and more.  

Nutrient Content for 1 cup of lentils 

• Calories: 230
• Carbs: 39.9 grams
• Protein: 17.9 grams
• Fat: 0.8 grams
• Fiber: 15.6 grams
• Thiamine: 28% of the DV
• Niacin: 13% of the DV
• Vitamin B6: 21% of the DV
• Folate: 90% of the DV
• Pantothenic acid: 25% of the DV
• Iron: 37% of the DV
• Magnesium: 17% of the DV
• Phosphorus: 28% of the DV
• Potassium: 16% of the DV
• Zinc: 23% of the DV
• Copper: 55% of the DV
• Manganese: 43% of the DV

The second question, are lentils good for health and well-being.  Of course they are!  Lentils provide a huge portion of our daily recommended protein, carbohydrates and calories without providing any toxins or processed ingredients.  They are also low in fat making them a suitable food for those with heart disease.  

What to Serve With Chicken Lentil Soup

The tastiest thing to eat with a bowl of gluten free chicken lentil soup is a nice warm piece of gluten free crusty bread.  Other than that I think that chicken lentil soup should be eaten on it’s own.  Chicken lentil soup is so flavorful and filling that you really don’t need a salad, meat, or a side dish to compliment it. 

Nutrition in This Gluten Free Chicken Lentil Soup Recipe

Serving Size is 1 Cup of Chicken Lentil Soup

• Calories: 225kcal
• Carbohydrates: 24g
• Protein: 18g
• Fat: 6g
• Saturated Fat: 1g
• Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g
• Monounsaturated Fat: 3g
• Trans Fat: 0.004g
• Cholesterol: 28mg
• Sodium: 855mg
• Potassium: 642mg
• Fiber: 7g
• Sugar: 6g
• Vitamin A: 3191IU
• Vitamin C: 5mg
• Calcium: 44mg
• Iron: 2mg

Common Questions and Answers

How to Reheat Lentil Soup

Reheating chicken and lentil soup is as easy as 1, 2, 3.  If the soup is frozen, transfer it from the freezer to the fridge one day before you want to eat it. Within 24 hours the soup will defrost and then you can reheat it on the stovetop or the  microwave.

If you don’t have time to wait for the soup to thaw out in the fridge, that’s O.K! All you have to do is run the soup container under cold water for a minute.  This will loosen the frozen soup so that the chicken lentil soup can pop right out of the container and into the soup pot.

How to Reheat Chicken Lentil Soup On The Stovetop From Frozen

1. Take the frozen soup container and run it under cold water for 1-2 minutes. This will defrost the soup enough to allow you to pop it out of it’s container.
2. Dump the frozen block of soup into a small sauce pot. Place the soup pot on the stove with medium-low heat. Stir the soup every 2-3 minutes to prevent the soup from burning.
3. Once the soup is fully melted allow it to heat with the lid on for 3 minutes. Stir and enjoy!

How to Reheat Soup In The Microwave

1. Place the soup in a microwave safe bowl on top of a strong paper plate and place another paper plate on top of the bowl. You could also use a wet paper towel on top of the bowl. Then set the timer for 5 minutes.
2. Pause the microwave every 60 seconds and stir the soup.
3. Once the soup is fully thawed lift it out of the microwave from the bottom plate while wearing oven mittens. The bowl itself will be too hot to touch which is why you must place a plate below the bowl.

How Long Does This Chicken Lentil Soup Last in the Fridge?

This chicken lentil soup recipe will last in the fridge for up to five days. If you want it to last longer, you can freeze it for up to six months.

Can You Make Chicken and Lentil Soup Ahead of Time?

Yes, you can absolutely make chicken lentil soup ahead of time. I think that this soup always tastes better the next day because it gives the ingredients a chance to really infuse the broth with more flavor. If any of the lentils are still hard they will soften in the fridge over night.

Since the soup lasts for five days you can make it anywhere from 1 to 3 days in advance.

Tip: To make reheating easier make the soup on the stovetop and then store it inside the original pot in the fridge. When you’re ready to reheat pop the pot out of the fridge and place it directly on the stove top.

That way you save time transferring the soup to storage containers. And you don’t have to clean the pot twice!

Can You Make Chicken Lentil Soup In The Instant Pot?

Yes, you can save yourself some time by making chicken lentil soup in the instant pot. Use the instant pot the same way you would use a large dutch oven on the stove. Cook all of the vegetables and chicken in saute mode.

Follow the instructions on the recipe and once the chicken stock is in the soup set the instant pot to high for 10 minutes. Don’t open the pot right away after the cooking time is complete. Allow the steam to release for 20 minutes first.

Once you open the instant pot stir in the parsley and apple cider vinegar.

Is This Gluten Free Chicken Lentil Soup Recipe Keto Friendly?

Even though this lentil chicken soup recipe is gluten free it is not keto friendly or low carb.  Lentils are naturally high in carbohydrates.  Only one cup of lentils has 38 grams of carbs.  Since most keto diets only allow for 50 grams of net carbs per day, one bowl of keto soup would take up almost your entire daily recommended intake for carbohydrates.  

Keto diets are also high in fat.  Conversely, lentils are low in fat.  So not only will they make you go over your carb limit but they won’t help you hit your protein quota.  

If you’re looking for some keto friendly soup options here are some of my favorites. 

• Tomato soup
• Miso soup
• Keto cheddar and broccoli soup 
• Keto cauliflower soup

Here are homemade keto friendly soup recipes to try:

GF Chicken and Lentil Soup Google Web Story!