This is super easy and satisfyingly good. It rings just like tomato soup but also has protein and fiber. It is great to make in the summer with fresh ripe tomatoes and the slow cooker doesn’t make your kitchen hot. In a winter version, you could use use a 15-ounce can of tomatoes to start, and finish with chopped cherry or grape tomatoes, which tend to be better than other varieties out of season.

I serve it usually with grilled cheese, fresh sourdough focaccia, or as a side to anything, like the leftovers shown below.

This is slightly adjusted from a New York Times recipe. They say it makes 4 to 6 servings.

Slow Cooker Red Lentil Soup (Recipe)

1 pound 12 ounces tomatoes, roughly chopped, divided
1 ½ cups red lentils, rinsed
4 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
1 large basil sprig plus 1 cup roughly chopped basil
¼ cup tomato paste (or one of my pucks see here)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Freshly ground black pepper
Juice of half a lemon
¾ cup heavy cream

In a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker, combine 5 cups water, about 1 pound of the tomatoes along with any juices, the lentils, garlic, basil sprig, tomato paste, olive oil, salt, sugar, oregano and several generous grinds of black pepper. Cook on high for 4 hours.

Remove and discard the basil sprig. Whisk the soup vigorously to help the tomatoes and lentils fall apart and become smooth.

Stir in the remaining tomatoes and chopped basil, plus the lemon juice and the cream. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or pepper if necessary. The soup will thicken as it cools, so add more water as necessary for the texture you like.

Yum! Enjoy!