Curried Lentil and Wild Rice Soup

When the weather turns cool, I gravitate to hot, homemade soup. This recipe is a staple in our house because of its delicious simplicity. It can be enjoyed as-is, or you can bump up the nutrition by adding chopped carrots and celery before cooking.

Wild rice (no relation to white or brown rice) has a fun chewy texture and my family loves the variety. Since it’s harvested by hand, it is more expensive that brown rice and can be difficult to find, so feel free to substitute long- or short-grain brown rice.

To make this soup even easier, you can put all the dry ingredients together in a container ahead of time. When you’re ready to make the soup, just dump the dry mix into the pot, add water, and cook.

I am an Instant Pot fan and have been using mine for several years. I love to be able to put everything into the pot, set it, and walk away while it cooks. If you aren’t yet an Instant Pot adopter, I’ve provided stove-top directions as well.

Be sure to check out this how-to video by plant-based chef-in-training Gaming Ewees.

Curried Lentil and Wild Rice Soup

Feel free to add in chopped vegetables when cooking. If wild rice is unavailable, substitute brown long grain rice and reduce cooking time by 5 minutes.

Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 55 min | Total Time: 1 hr

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 cups dry red lentils
³⁄₄ cup wild rice or brown long grain rice
Seasonings
¹⁄₄ cup dried onion flakes or 1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp dried parsley optional
1 tsp whole mineral salt
¹⁄₂ tsp garlic powder
¹⁄₂ tsp ground pepper
1 whole dried bay leaf
¹⁄₄ tsp kelp granules optional

Directions

FOR DRY MIX: In a clean, dry mason jar: layer 1/2 cup red lentils, 1/2 cup of wild rice, and spices into jar. Top with 1/2 cup red lentils and remaining 1/4 cup of wild rice. Place a bay leaf down the side of jar and close lid tightly.
STOVE TOP DIRECTIONS: Add mix to a large pot and stir in 7 cups of water. Bring mix to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 50 minutes or until rice is fully cooked. Remove bay leaf, stir, and serve.
INSTANT POT DIRECTIONS: Add mix to Instant Pot and stir in 6 1/2 cups of water. Set Manual for 25 minutes. When cooking has finished, let sit for 10 minutes, then release pressure manually. Remove bay leaf, stir, and serve.