This satisfying red lentil soup uses just a few pantry ingredients, is vegan-friendly, and perfect for cold weather.

This year, I resolved to cook more meatless meals. One of the biggest hurdles to this has been my lifelong aversion to beans and lentils.

But as a recovering picky eater, I’m trying very hard to grow up and get over it. In my quest to like lentils, I’ve tried lentil casserole, lentil tacos, and a version of lentil sloppy joes that a friend promised I would like (alas, I didn’t).

Then I remembered a lentil soup I’d had years ago at a friend’s house and asked for the recipe.

At last! A lentil recipe I really, truly love. It’s also inexpensive, uses staples I can keep in my pantry, and requires only about ten minutes of hands-on prep. 

Make a batch of this soup and a loaf of bread and you’ve got two easy, hearty (and healthy) meals–perfect for cold weather.