Lentils are healthy, meaty-tasting, and cook to a luscious state of tenderness far faster than their leguminous cousins, beans. They’re perfect for making filling and flavorful vegetarian soups like this one, with aromatic vegetables (onion, celery, and carrot), plus tomato and spinach for an extra boost of flavor and vitamins. For a special meal, bake a batch of savory Zucchini Brown-Butter Cornbread and toss a perfect little Mixed Greens Salad to serve alongside.

Note: You can use any color lentils you like, but split red lentils and yellow lentils will cook much faster and may disintegrate into the soup. So depending on your texture preferences, you may want to stick with brown, green, black, or Puy lentils for this recipe.