How can so few ingredients result in such an amazing bowl of lentil soup? It’s almost mind-boggling. This filling crockpot or slow-cooker soup recipe, containing rotisserie chicken, carrots, lentils, and Herbes de Provence, is sure to be an instant recipe hit with your family. They’ll be delighted with its taste and you’ll absolutely adore how easy it is to make on a busy weeknight.
I can honestly say that herbs make all of the difference when cooking. The quality, amount, and freshness all can lead to whether or not a dish tastes meh or simply fantastic. When it comes to herbs you don’t have to spend a bloody fortune either. I personally, try and buy most of my herbs and seasonings from Penzeys. Going to their store is almost like going to the “Church of Seasoning.” Meaning that it’s a completely heavenly experience if you’re into that sort of thing and of course I am. Even B.O.B. Bob was pretty gosh darn impressed with the store when we visited it a few years ago. Between the two of us, we had no problem loading up a basket and were forced to install an additional wall-mounted spice rack upon arriving home. Unfortunately for me, but thankfully for my wall space, this specialty store is located in an area we don’t tend to get to very often, so for the most part, I just order online. They are always having amazing deals on shipping and free product giveaways, so be on the lookout.
Now, for this super simple and absolutely delicious soup. For quite some time, I’ve been meaning to buy a bottle of Herbes de Provence, however, every time I either placed an online order or went to my local market, I would completely forget. My brain tends to turn to mush when I enter a market, you’d be surprised how many times I have to go back and forth across the whole darn store because I forgot one thing or another. Anyway, for this soup, I made a special trip to my local market and spent about ten minutes in the spice aisle debating over which brand I should purchase. After carefully reading the labels on each bottle, I came to the realization that most American versions of Herbes de Provence do not actually contain lavender, which is primarily the ingredient in Herbes de Provence that makes it so special. Without it, you could easily make your own homemade version by using thyme, oregano, marjoram, savory, and rosemary. I’m not gonna lie, I kind of felt gypped.
Thankfully, there was one brand of Herbes de Provence that did contain lavender, and that’s the one I decided to buy for this French-inspired lentil and carrot soup. Not only did it contain lavender, but it also didn’t look like it had been through three world wars, puked up by a cat, ingested again, and then puked up once again by the same cat on the only rug in the house. Instead, its color was a bright vivid green from the herbs with bits of light purple lavender sprinkled in. No funky additives, salt, or preservatives. Sold. Now, there aren’t a lot of ingredients in this soup or pre-cooking involved, so for it to come out tasting so fantastic, I have to completely give all of the credit to those special herbs. While I might have had to spend a dollar or two extra for those little lavender flakes, the money spent was well worth it. This is a simple and comforting crockpot soup you simply must try, preferably with herbs that don’t look like they’ve been puked up by your cat and then scraped off of a rug.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 Cups Dried Green Lentils
- 5 Large Carrots, Peeled & Sliced
- 1 Large Shallot, Finely Diced
- 2 Teaspoons Herbes de Provence
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 6 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Stock
- 2 Cups Rotisserie Chicken, Finely Chopped
- 4 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
Directions:
- Place the lentils, carrots, shallot, herbs, pepper, and chicken stock in a large crockpot. Stir to combine.
- Cook for 8 hours on low heat or 4 hours on high heat.
- Add the chicken, cream, and salt. Stir to combine, cover, and allow to continue cooking for 5 minutes.
Suggestions:
- Using finely chopped rotisserie chicken in this recipe makes it perfect for a busy weeknight meal, however, you can use any kind of leftover chicken you have on hand, or none at all if you prefer to leave it out altogether.
- Remember to check the label when you are buying Herbes de Provence; some contain lavender and some don’t. I’ll leave it up to you which one you decide to purchase, however, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the one containing lavender.
- You may wish to add more or less salt to this soup.
Improvements:
- You can add more or less heavy cream to this soup or leave it out entirely. It’s all up to you and your own personal taste.
- Serve garnished with finely grated or shredded cheese.
- As always, I used Miss O’Hara, my 5-in-1 Crockpot Multi-Cooker, to make this French-inspired soup. If you are in need of a new crockpot, this is the one to get. It doesn’t cook everything you put in it down to utter mush.
- If you would like this soup to be creamier, purée half of it in a blender and then combine it with the remaining unblended half.
- CLICK HERE to see all of our many other soup, chili, stew, and chowder recipes.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 Cups Dried Green Lentils
- 5 Large Carrots, Peeled & Sliced
- 1 Large Shallot, Finely Diced
- 2 Teaspoons Herbes de Provence
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 6 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Stock
- 2 Cups Rotisserie Chicken, Finely Chopped
- 4 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
Directions:
- Place the lentils, carrots, shallot, herbs, pepper, and chicken stock in a large crockpot. Stir to combine.
- Cook for 8 hours on low heat or 4 hours on high heat.
- Add the chicken, cream, and salt. Stir to combine, cover, and allow to continue cooking for 5 minutes.
PIN THIS RECIPE
Don’t let this recipe slip away. How often do you find a recipe intriguing, yet forget where to find it when you finally get the hankering to make it? Instead of digging through old posts or wandering aimlessly around on the internet, why not Pin this recipe to Pinterest where you can find it when you eventually need it? Simply Pin the image above and you’ll have it when that time comes. You can follow us HERE on Pinterest or simply click HERE to find all of our pin-worthy recipes.
TASTE OF HOME FEATURED RECIPE
This “French Lentil and Carrot Soup” recipe has been featured in Taste of Home. CLICK HERE to see the recipe. This recipe was a Runner-Up in the Taste of Home “Slow Cooker Recipes from Around the World Contest” and was featured in the 2019 Taste of Home “Slow Cooker Recipes” Magazine.
This week, I’ll also be sharing this recipe on Kahakai Kitchen’s Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays.
Soup Saturday Swappers is a group of friends who get together on the third Saturday of each month to share their favorite soup and stew recipes based on a theme chosen by one of the members. To join Soup Saturday Swappers you can send an email to wendyklik1517@gmail.com. Visit our Pinterest board to find more great soup and stew recipes. Thank you to Sally from Bewitching Kitchen for hosting this month’s “French Soups” themed Soup Saturday Swappers.
