The cream cheese enhances the quality of this loaf.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 45 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 cup lentils
- 1 ⅓ quarts water, divided
- ⅔ cup uncooked long grain white rice
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 3 tablespoons Italian bread crumbs
- salt, to taste
- ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 quart tomato sauce
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping
Instructions
- Place lentils in a pot with 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cook 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.
- Bring rice and 1 1/3 cup water to boil in a pot. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. In a bowl, combine the ground beef, beaten egg, garlic, 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, parsley, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper. Form ground beef mixture into 1 inch balls. Place meatballs in skillet and cook 5 minutes or until evenly brown.
- In a large pot, bring the tomato sauce and 4 cups water to a boil. Transfer the browned meatballs to the pot. Mix in cooked lentils and rice. Return to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese to serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 324 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 34 g |
| Cholesterol | 61 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Protein | 21 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Sodium | 787 mg |
| Sugars | 6 g |
| Fat | 12 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Instead of water I used beef bouillon. Results were fantastic though I ended up using about 1 cup of extra liquid for a thinner broth. Great taste and will make again!
I read the reviews and made this soup without the meatballs, just with ground beef and it turned out pretty good. Next time I won’t add as much tomato sauce and water since it was very soupy. The way it turned out wasn’t that bad, however, I was looking forward to a thick, hearty soup for New Years Day and this had too much liquid. I’ll make it again, but will cut back on the tomato sauce/water portion.
I made a double batch of the recipe and it filled a stock pot. I used venison instead of beef and a can of diced tomatoes in place of one can of crushed. It was delicious especially with the parsley and Parmasan chees.
This recipe has great potential. I would not recommend it as written. I sure wish I could see Kristin’s original recipe as she states in her review that recipe was ‘overhauled’ from her original version. I do believe where it calls for tomato sauce, it is supposed to be spaghetti (pasta) sauce – hence the lack of seasoning. I did use a quart of spaghetti sauce and the called for water, which unfortunately diluted the flavor, I ended up adding more Italian seasoning & some pepper flakes. (Instead of water broth would be better) This is really thick, even thicker re-heated the next day and very filling. (Lots of fiber) I am putting this recipe on the back burner and will play with it a bit more. It could be a great high protein, fairly low carb meal to have on hand. You could even omit the meatballs and make this a vegetarian meal.
I just ground up the meat with garlic and seasonings as suggested and did everything else as the recipe said. To make it healthier, I used lean ground turkey and brown rice instead of white rice. Seasoned with garlic, a pinch of curry, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and it was delicious. After cooking for 30 min it was thick and perfect. Next time I will try quinoa instead of rice as I wanted to try the original recipe first. My 2 year old and 6 year old LOVED it! Mom and kid approved! Easy to alter with whatever you have on hand, and can even make vegetarian.
Awesome soup! Tomato base makes it unlike other lentil soups and very hearty. Very good.
I used this recipe as a template and changed it up so that I could get rid of things that had been in my pantry for quite some time. I used two regular size jars of spaghetti sauce and a can of diced tomatoes that contained peppers and onions. Instead of putting only parsley in the meatballs, I split the measurement using half basil and half parsley and added garlic salt. It turned out great, and now I know what to do when I have lentils, rice,and ground beef on hand.
Prepared per the recipe, without changes. This soup was only okay for my family. Not sure I will make this again, as it was time consuming forming the meatballs & preparing the lentils & rice separately.
Make those meatballs really small otherwise they take over the flavors as you eat the soup but I thought this recipe was so satisfying and appealing to all while you get your protein from the lentils! YUMMO
Delicious! I made several changes – instead of making meatballs, took someone’s advice and sauteed ground beef with one chopped onion and 2 garlic cloves. Also added spices from another lentil recipe – 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1 tsp basil, 1/4 tsp curry powder. I also used this and that for tomato sauce 1 8oz can tomato sauce, 1 6oz can tomato paste, 2 cups spaghetti sauce. This is the lentil soup recipe I’ve been trying to find for about 4 years – Thanks!!!
This is so good and so easy. I will be making in often this winter.
Made a couple of changes…added extra seasoning as someone else had suggested and a package of dry onion soup mix to the water and tomato sauce. Makes a lot! Pretty good…a nice, hearty soup that goes well with a crusty loaf of bread.
4 stars as written, 5 stars with some adjustments I made. I didn’t have to let the rice cook for 20 minutes because it would have burned. I also didn’t have to drain the lentils, because after they simmered for 20 mins it was basically a mushy soup itself. I added a lot of dried basil, garlic salt, oregano and more parsley to both the meatballs and the soup itself. The soup was wonderful and hearty – but definitely needed the extra spices for flavor.
Fabulous recipe, absolutely scrumptious. I made it tonight for dinner and when I first made it, I thought it was going to be too runny. But after I simmered it for 30 mins – PERFECT. Thanks for sharing, this will be a favourite.
This was a terrific recipe for using up a lot of leftovers we had hanging around. I used some homemade meat sauce instead of the separate meatballs – and it turned out beautifully. Even our kids loved it. Beware, though – this makes a BIG pot!
FYI – This recipe was completely overhauled from my original version. Keep in mind that this dish should be thick enough to almost hold a spoon up in it. I hope this version still does my recipe justice.