This Healing Turmeric Lentil & Farro Soup will warm you through. It’s packed with fresh veggies, red lentils and hearty farro!
Right after I had my oldest daughter Zoe I hit a wall. I was EXHAUSTED. I wasn’t one of those people who loved the newborn phase. I wish I did…but I was just so tired. We ended up hiring some help for a couple of weeks. This angel swooped into my house, got Zoe to sleep, and she took care of me too. She made me nap, helped me with feeding, swaddling, bathing…all the new stuff. And she made me this Healing Turmeric Lentil & Farro Soup. I can’t even begin to tell you how this soup saved me. I was drowning, and I think this soup brought me back. It’s just perfect.
Watch how to make it
Ingredients in Healing Turmeric Lentil & Farro Soup
I’ve changed this recipe up a bit to give it my own twist, but it’s packed with good-for-you, feel good foods. This is perfect to make for your family on a day when you need a pick me up, but it’s also just right if you have a friend or neighbor who needs some love and healing. Look at this ingredient list and you’ll just feel the warmth!
- Onion
- Zucchini
- Carrots
- From the spice cabinet: salt, pepper, turmeric, and cumin
- Veggie broth
- Quick cook farro (I love the 10-minute farro from Trader Joe’s for this recipe)
- Red lentils
- Kale or spinach (you know how much I love Lacinato kale!)
- A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
(For tips on the best kind of pots & pans to use, check out this post on the best types of cookware for your kitchen!)
The Home Cook’s Guide to Salt
Learn about the basics of salt, plus the best salt for cooking (hint: it’s Kosher salt!) with this easy-to-understand guide to salt for home cooks.
I had to top this perfect soup with garlic toasted breadcrumbs because they are everything! I promise you won’t regret making a batch. You could also serve it with Comfort Corn Bread with Whipped Honey Butter or a Classic Caesar Salad with Homemade Dressing.
More Comforting Soup Recipes
- Instant Pot Loaded Veggie Coconut Soup
- Healthier Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Coconut Lime White Chicken Chili
- Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Soup
- Seafood & Potato Stew
Food photography by Ashley Cuoco
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Healing Turmeric Lentil and Farro Soup
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Healing Turmeric Lentil & Farro Soup will warm you through. It’s packed with fresh veggies, red lentils and hearty farro!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, grated (about 1 cup)
- 1 small zucchini, grated (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 5 cups vegetable broth, (or chicken broth)
- ½ cup quick cook farro
- ½ cup red lentils
- 1 cup chopped kale or spinach
- Fresh lemon juice
For the garlic breadcrumbs
- 6–8 slices of french baguette, (cubed)
- 1 clove garlic
- Olive oil
- Salt
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a medium sized pot over medium/high heat. Add the onion, zucchini and carrots and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, turmeric, and cumin and cook for 2-3 more minutes. You should start to smell the spices toasting.
- Stir in the broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling add the farro and lentils and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes or until lentils and farro are cooked through.
- Meanwhile, make the breadcrumbs. Add the bread and garlic into a food processor. Pulse until the bread is in small crumbs. Pour onto a baking sheet and toss with a little bit of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Bake for 5-7 minutes, or until golden brown.
- In the last couple of minutes of the soup cooking, add the chopped kale and stir until wilted then squeeze some fresh lemon juice and stir. Serve immediately and top with the toasted breadcrumbs.
Comments
Kris Whit
Seriously so good! I only had baby carrots so I didn’t shred them, just cut them thin. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly and luckily already had all the ingredients on hand. Can’t wait to make it again!
Curious if you’ve tried to freeze this because I’d love to make a giant batch to keep on hand through the colder months. Thanks!
★★★★★
Laney Schwartz
Yes, you can absolutely freeze this soup!! What a treat to have on hand!
Tricia craig
I want to make this on the stove but we are renovating our kitchen. I only have the Instapot and ovens to work with. Can I do this in the instant pot on sauté? Or should I wait till my cooktop arrives?
Laney Schwartz
I think that should be just fine!
Jan alban
Love this recipe! I used leftover cooked green lentils and farro. So this recipe came together quick! I didn’t have zucchini so I left it out. Surprisingly the soup turned out delicious!
★★★★★
Laney Schwartz
Glad it still turned out for you!
Melanie
Super simple and super delicious. I’ve never grated onions and veggies before and it added a nice texture. The lemon really adds a pop.
★★★★★
Laney Schwartz
Yes, love the texture of it too!
LaQuetha
This soup is very delicious. I have been a bit under the weather and this was perfect. I will definitely be making this soup again. Thanks for a great recipe.
★★★★★
Laney Schwartz
You’re so welcome and feel better soon!!
Julie
Laney,
This soup is SO delicious!!! I have a newborn at home and it was THE perfect postpartum dish – full of flavor and healthy ingredients. I doubled it so we had leftovers (which were still yummy two days later). Even our pickiest eaters in the house enjoyed it! Thank you so much! Excited to try your tumeric garlic rice this week🙌
★★★★★
Laney Schwartz
Thank you Julie!!! SO happy you love it as much as we do!
Julie
Deeeee-licious! Thank you so much for this recipe! Bright, flavorful, yummy!
★★★★★
Laney Schwartz
You are so welcome!!
Monica Hatton
Plan on making this soup, what is the nutritional info, please?
★★★★
Susan
This soup was outstanding! I can’t figure out why more people have not tried it! I did add 2 cloves of garlic to the other veggies while they were sautéing and increased the broth to 6 cups. Served it with warm Naan bread and added vegan sausage slices to each bowl that I sautéed in a pan. Don’t skip the bread crumbs and lemon in each bowl. Restaurant quality!
★★★★★
Laney Schwartz
Thank you Susan!! Warm Naan sounds amazing with it!!
Jen Confusione
This is the soup we make when the weather starts to turn, when someone starts feeling yucky or when we just want to feel the goodness filling up our bodies. I double the veggies, use my own chicken stock and sometimes forget the kale, but it is always delicious! I am a texture person, so the breadcrumbs are a huge win for me…or is it the garlic & olive oil combo…hmmmm- either way, a delightful topping! Have been making a few years now. Thank you!
★★★★★
Laney Schwartz
I love this, Jen! Thank you for sharing and leaving a review!
Jesse
I am definitely going to try this soup. Turmeric is widely used in Ayurveda (Ancient Indian Medication). I have learnt few recipes that are enriched with therapeutical herbs and spices from iahas.com but this one looks really tasty and healthy.
Laney Schwartz
I hope you love it!
Karen
Simply delicious!
★★★★★
Irina
I haven’t tried the breadcrumbs but the soup is so easy and so good!!!
Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
Cindy
I’ve made this off and on for years and thought I sent you a review. Well, this is a wonderful, bowlful of goodness!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
Life is but a Dish
I’m so happy you love it Cindy!
Bree
This recipe is now in my regular rotation!
★★★★★
Tara
We make this recipe as part of our monthly rotation. It has such a deep flavor (especially if you make your own broth) and is so comforting. My kiddos love it and it fills up the adult tummies as well.
★★★★★
Danielle
Just made this. You’re right. It’s magic. Swapped farrow for wild rice because I couldn’t find any. And spinach for kale. This is going to be on my family’s favorites list!!
Life is but a Dish
hooray!
Liz Hardeman-Fikes
My hubby and I have made this numerous times and have been blown away by its deliciousness!! Seriously hearty, filling, and flavorful! It’s perfect as is, but we like to do a hybrid of grating and chopping the veggies for more of a chunky texture that we like.
★★★★★
Diane
Excellent. Subbed barley for the Farro because it’s what I had. And maybe sprinkled a little Parmesan on top of it all. Don’t skip the bread crumbs! It had so much depth of flavor, and was healthy to top it off!
★★★★★
Nancy hogan
Coming off Chemo & daughter suggested this soup. This is 5th day having it, find it very comforting!
Life is but a Dish
I’m so happy to hear this ?
Desiree
Amazing even without zucchini or bread crumbs !!
★★★★★
Beth Pollack
My husband has been under the weather for a few days so I was looking for a soup to make for him. He LOVED it, as did my son! If will definitely add this to my rotation! Thanks again for a great recipe!
★★★★★
Life is but a Dish
it’s perfect for the Beth!
Ellie Borzilleri
How many calories is one serving? I absolutely love this soup, I just want to be able to log it into my FitBit
★★★★★
Life is but a Dish
I’m not sure. You would have to enter in the ingredients.
Sc
Can you use green Lentils I stead of red?
Life is but a Dish
Yes, it will just take longer to cook
Alyse
Made this Sunday for my step dad who had open heart surgery.. it now reigns as my favorite LIBAD recipe! My husband laughs, because this is the 3rd day in a row I’ve had it for breakfast!!! Followed the recipe with the exception of cutting cumin in 1/2 and adding ground coriander. Family does not live cumin.
Thank you for sharing ❤️
★★★★★
Life is but a Dish
This made my day! I’m so glad you love it!!
Shannon
Planning some post delivery meals and this one sounds amazing! Do you think it would freeze well (before adding the kale)or would the lentils/ Farro get too mushy?
Life is but a Dish
I think you can totally freeze it!
Ellen
I just made this soup tonight. Quck, easy and so incredibly delicious. Flavorful and satisfying, I can not wait to have some with my daughter tomorrow. Thank you for sharing this fantastic recipe.
★★★★★
Life is but a Dish
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! One of my favorites!
Sheri Sellars
I am a nurse and home alone sick today, feeling quite sorry for myself, I might add. I wanted something nourishing and anti-inflammatory that would not take too much effort, since I am not feeling well, and I stumbled on this recipe on Pinterest. It is perfect! I didn’t bother grating the onion or carrots, just sliced them up since I like a chunky soup. I had everything on hand except zucchini, so I just skipped that part. I stumbled into an interesting add – my husband makes artisan bread and I had a couple pieces of toast on the counter that nobody ate this morning, so used that with some home made ciabatta for the bread crumbs. Turns out the toast had a touch of cinnamon in it. The flavors actually meld beautifully into a lovely Middle Eastern flavor palate. Thanks for this lovely soup. It is indeed a hug in a bowl.
★★★★★
Life is but a Dish
I’m SO happy to hear this story, and sorry you were home sick. But this soup really does heal all! So glad you enjoyed it. xo
Mallory
I made this tonight for myself and my husband and man I loved it. I especially love the lemon juice. That lemon flavor made it seriously difficult for me to stop talking more and more spoonfuls of it after I already had two bowls! Two thumbs up!
★★★★★
Life is but a Dish
So glad you enjoyed it!
B
I made this soup yesterday and my guests and I loved it. Could you please proved nutritional info? I sm specifically interested in calories, fiber and protein. I found your recipe in my weekly emails from Full Plate Living. They highly recommended it and they were right.
Thank you,
B
★★★★★
Life is but a Dish
SO glad you enjoyed it! Unfortunately I don’t include nutritional info, but you’re welcome to input the ingredients in an online calculator. 🙂
Polly
This soup was well received on my table tonight and hopefully will help to keep my cold at bay. The lentils are creamy and thicken well, and the farro was perfectly chewy, very satisfying. It was a little too salty for our low sodium palates with the broth and the added salt so next time I’ll cut that down. Thanks for this!
Life is but a Dish
SO glad you enjoyed!
shannon coley
i am a novice cook and i made this soup and WOW!!!!
i followed it exactly. Easy Peasy. I wasn’t even sure I liked tumeric or farro.
I do! U will! Make it!!!!
★★★★★
Life is but a Dish
I love this so much!!!! I’m so happy you enjoyed it Shannon!
joan kramer
I made this soup today in the Instant Pot with a few variations, and it was by far the best soup I’ve ever had! With no zucchini available, i used a very large onion. First I sauteed the veggies and spices then added broth and used manual setting for 20 min. After a natural release, i took out the immersion blender to thicken the soup (while leaving some carrot chunks). what a winner!
Life is but a Dish
Omg I love this so much!! I can’t wait to try this version!
My Ray of Hope
This was so yummy. My kids (ages 3, 11, 14) ate it up and asked for more. It wa rich, lemony, and filling. Thank you!
★★★★★
Life is but a Dish
Yay!! Love that!!
Kara
I made this tonight for a perfect cozy Cape Cod Halloween meal, I’ve sampled and I’m having trouble waiting for dinner!
Yum, thank you!
Life is but a Dish
Oh that makes me so happy! I’m so glad you enjoy it. Sounds so cozy and perfect!
Pam
Just made this – so delish. Reminds me of a soup my grandmother used to make. So comforting. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Life is but a Dish
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Emma Atkinson
I love this soup, I made it with Quinoa as I couldn’t find any Farro in my local supermarket but it was really tasty, thanks for the recipe.
Life is but a Dish
Oh I love that swap! So glad you liked it!
Kate H
I knew the instant I read this one that it would be a winner and a keeper. I was so convinced I made a triple batch right away (vegie caveat: I didn’t want the onion to overpower the other flavors, so for my batch I used 3c zucchini, 3c carrots, and 1-1/2c onion ). This recipe is fantastic!
I used regular farro and put it on to cook (with vegetable broth) in a separate pan while I was getting the rest of the soup ready, then added it with the red lentils per the recipe instructions, worked perfectly.
Life is but a Dish
Im so happy you loved this! It’s one of my all time faves!
Cecilia
My husband is a diabetic so he has to have proten what suggestion I was thinking kalabasa in it, what do u think? Sounds delish.
Life is but a Dish
Absolutely! I’ve also had people add shrimp and it’s great
Patricia Sucietto
I’m getting ready to make a double batch of this and I’m so excited. But I’m a novice cook and I’m not sure what oven temp to toast breadcrumbs. Please help!
Cindy Tanner
Outstanding! Followed your recipe to the letter. I will be making this soup on a regular basis. So delicious and healthy. Thanks for the great recipe!
Life is but a Dish
I’m so glad! It’s one of my favorites as well!
Vina
So I don’t have the quick cook farro on hand. How much longer would you cook the soup with just the regular farro?
Life is but a Dish
I think regular farro takes about 30-40 minutes? So might need to simmer about that long until it’s cooked through.
JoDi
This soup is so good! I used quinoa instead of farro since it’s what I had, and I used about 4 cups of chopped kale just because I love it, and it was delish! Thanks for the great recipe. I’ll be taking this to work for lunch all week. Yum!
Life is but a Dish
Oh yay!! Love the substitutions you made also! So happy you loved it 🙂
Lindsay Jarrett
This is my favorite easy and quick soup! So warming, and the spices make such a yummy broth.
Since I’m a sucker for cheese, I love putting a little feta on top instead of breadcrumbs. A little salty goodness.
Life is but a Dish
Sounds delish!! SO glad you love it.
Lois
How to adapt recipe for instant pot and using sprouted lentils.
Patricia da Costa
Busy day running the kids to violin and softball. Came home and quickly made this delicious soup! Just what we needed at the end of busy day. Everybody loved it. The kids are taking the left overs (I doubled the recipe) for lunch tomorrow.
Life is but a Dish
I’m SO happy everyone loved it!! Yes, doubling is the way to go!!
Natalie Mines
My family loved this soup. I loved that it had zucchini in it and my son, who hates zucchini, had no clue! But gave it a thumbs up.
Life is but a Dish
I’m so glad you and your family loved it! It’s hands down my favorite feel good soup of all time!
Lisa Rose
I made this soup today as my tummy hasn’t been that great the last few days and oh.em.gee! Was it exactly as you described…a hug in a bowl???? My daughter who is. Very picky eater had 2 servings lol The only change was thT I made my breadcrumbs with what I had ok hand: 3 slices of spelt bread, cubed, smashed 2 garlic cloves, a little Evoo and ghee and threw it all in a gallon size ziploc bag, shook it up and baked at 450 until golden brown. I’ll be eating this again today and will make it again for sure! thank you so much for sharing!
Life is but a Dish
I’m SO happy you liked this soup! Isn’t it just the best!?! Love your variation with the bread crumbs too 🙂