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A really simple lentil and brown rice soup recipe that is very easy to whip up, and makes a deliciously hearty meal for a cold winter’s night. Gluten free and dairy free, it can easily be turned into a vegetarian meal to suit every one in the family.
TOTAL TIME INVESTMENT: 1 HOUR
Winter is soup weather in my book, and it is finally cold enough here to enjoy a big bowl of steaming hot soup for dinner. I’ve mentioned before that The Princess is not fond of soups, but will tolerate soup with bits, so this lentil and brown rice soup recipe is a great addition to my soup repertoire.
Soup is the ideal meal for busy families. Most soups can be made in advance, or better yet in the slow cooker, and will sit happily until dinner time. It is easy to either reheat individual portions or the whole pot, and all that is really needed to complete the meal is a good loaf of crusty bread.
And most soups freeze well, so make extra and stock the freezer for those days when everything just goes pear shaped. Make sure you check out my post on how to freeze soup, which is packed with loads of tips and tricks to enure your frozen soup is just as delicious as the day it was made after three months in the freezer.
I have also written a cheatsheet full of the most important tips which I have placed in my Resource Library. Grab the guide by clicking the link below or requesting the password to the library at the end of the post.
I know that lentils can be a polarising ingredient, which is why I think hiding them in something like this brown rice soup recipe is a great way to get them past the fussy eaters in the family. Although to give The Princess her dues, she will happily eat lentils without complaint. I suppose I should be happy for the small wins when it comes to feeding her.
Lentils come in such a huge variety of colours and sizes, and are a great way to add valuable fibre and nutrients to a meal without significant cost. When served correctly, lentils are happily embraced by vegetarians and meat eaters alike. Red lentils make a great soup, and I use the small green Puy lentils in salads, dips and even as a partial meat replacement in my shepherd’s pie. I’ll happily eat most lentils, except for those large brown flat lentils commonly sold in supermarkets. Those I avoid like the plague. I find them lacking in flavour, and hate the way they lose their shape when cooked, spilling their starchy insides everywhere.
Now if I could just get The Princess to love soup …
Table of contents
- Ingredient Substitutions for My Lentil and Brown Rice Soup Recipe
- Brown Rice Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
- Can you put uncooked rice in soup?
- Can you freeze soup with rice in it?
- How long does brown rice take to cook in soup?
- Do you have to cook rice before you put it in soup?
- Can you put uncooked rice in soup?
- A Few Tips For Success with this Lentil and Brown Rice Soup
- Other soup recipes you may like
- Other soup recipes you may like
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Ingredient Substitutions for My Lentil and Brown Rice Soup Recipe
Soup is quite a forgiving meal, so don’t be afraid to substitute in the ingredients you have on hand rather than buy the specific ingredients listed in the recipe. Try the following:
- Use any whole lentils you like in this recipe. I prefer the small green lentils (also sold as Puy or French lentils) as they hold their shape well during cooking, but you can use black lentils (also sold as Beluga lentils) or whole red lentils if you have them. Canned lentils can be used as a last resort, but if you wish to go this route, rinse the canned lentils and drain them well before tipping them into the soup when you add the greens at the end of the cooking time.
- The brown rice can be replaced with wild rice if desired.
- Replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock, and omit the bacon, to make the soup vegan/vegetarian.
- I use whatever greens I have in the garden (or the fridge) in this brown rice soup recipe. Finely shredded spinach, kale, mustard greens and even Asian greens work well in place of the silverbeet (Swiss chard).
- You can omit the tin of chopped tomatoes if you don’t have them, or stir in 2 tablespoons of tomato puree in place of the tomatoes.
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Brown Rice Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
Can you put uncooked rice in soup?
Uncooked rice can be put directly into the soup pot with the other soup ingredients. You will need to add a little extra liquid to the soup as the rice will absorb stock as it cooks. Adding brown rice or wild rice to the soup may also increase the cooking time of the recipe.
Can you freeze soup with rice in it?
Soup containing cooked rice can be frozen for up to three months. The soup will thicken on standing as the rice will continue to absorb liquid, so a little extra liquid may be added to the soup when reheating it.
How long does brown rice take to cook in soup?
Brown rice will take approximately 40 minutes to cook in soup. The cooking time of brown rice can be reduced by soaking the rice in water overnight prior to adding it to the soup.
Do you have to cook rice before you put it in soup?
No, it is not necessary to cook rice prior to adding it to the soup. Uncooked rice will cook in the soup liquid.
A Few Tips For Success with this Lentil and Brown Rice Soup
And a few finals tips to help you achieve true recipe success:
- Do not add the salt until the lentils are cooked. Adding the salt too early will toughen the lentils, creating an unpleasant texture in the soup.
- The lentils are cooked when they can be easily squished between your fingers. There should be no hard or gritty pieces in the cooked lentil. If there is just cook them a little longer and squish again.
- Make the soup ahead and reheat in a saucepan to serve. The soup will thicken on cooling, so add a splash of hot water or some extra stock when reheating to thin the soup out a little.
- This lentil and brown rice soup also freezes extremely well. Ladle the soup into freezer safe containers, and freeze for up to three months. Defrost the soup overnight in the fridge prior to serving.
- You can reduce the cooking time of the soup by soaking the brown rice overnight in cold water. Just before making the soup, rinse and drain the brown rice, and add it to the soup as instructed in the recipe. Soaking the rice may reduce the cooking time by up to 15 minutes.
- Serve with a loaf of crusty bread for the perfect hearty winter meal.
Other soup recipes you may like
Soup is one of my go-to easy meals in the winter months, and I have a number of soup recipes here on the blog. Why not try:
- Easy Minestrone Soup
- Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup
- Red Lentil and Smoky Bacon Soup
- Creamy Carrot Soup
- Cauliflower Cheese Soup
Enjoy!
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Lentil & Brown Rice Soup
A really simple lentil and brown rice soup recipe that is very easy to whip up, and makes a deliciously hearty meal for a cold winter’s night. Gluten free and dairy free, it can easily be turned into a vegetarian meal to suit every one in the family.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Australian
Keyword brown rice soup recipe, easy rice soup recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Inactive Simmering Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 4
Calories 593kcal
Author Tania @ The Cook’s Pyjamas
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons ghee
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- 4 streaky bacon rashers chopped (approx. 115g)
- 1 clove garlic thinly sliced
- 1 large carrot diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 150 g (2/3 cup) brown rice rinsed
- 140 g (2/3 cup) green lentils rinsed
- 400 ml (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes
- 1.5 L (6 cups) chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (3 generous sprigs)
- 75 g (2 cups) finely shredded silverbeet (swiss chard) leaves
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Melt the ghee in a large saucepan ( at least 2L capacity) over a medium heat.
Add the sliced onion to the pot, and saute for 5 minutes or until the onion has softened and is starting to colour.
Stir in the chopped bacon and cook for a further 3 minutes, or until the fat starts to run and the bacon begins to colour.
Add the carrot, celery and garlic, and saute for a further 2 minutes, or until you can smell the garlic aroma rising from the pot.
Pour in the chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, rice, lentils and herbs.
Season with black pepper but DO NOT add salt at this point.
Bring the contents of the pot to a boil.
Lower the heat under the pot to medium – low and simmer for approximately 40 minutes, or until the rice and lentils are tender.
Add the shredded silverbeet to the soup and simmer for a further 3 minutes, or until the greens have wilted and softened.
Season the soup with salt, and an extra grating of pepper.
Serve with crusty bread.
Notes
- Make this soup into a vegetarian meal by substituting vegetable stock for the chicken stock and omitting the bacon.
- This soup freezes well, but may thicken a bit on cooling. Just add additional water when you are reheating to thin it out.
- The lentils are cooked when they can be easily squished between your fingers. There should be no hard or gritty pieces in the cooked lentil. If there is just cook them a little longer and squish again.
- Use whatever greens on hand in the soup. Silver beet, spinach, kale, mustard greens and even finely shredded Asian greens all work well here.
- Serve the soup with crusty bread for a delicious hearty winter meal.
Update notes: This recipe was originally published on 24th May 2014. The text has been completely rewritten from the original post, nutritional information has been added to the recipe, and the photos have been completely replaced. It was updated on 13th February 2019 to add references to the post on freezing soup. A Table Of Contents was added on 4th June 2019.
