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Sopa de Lentejas (Mexican Lentil Soup) is one of my kiddo’s favorite dishes.
My son loves riding his bike, video games, and lentil soup. Yes, you read that right – lentils.
Who knew this little bean would ever compete with chicken nuggets?! Lol!
No one makes this soup better than my mom though. This is her recipe.
How to Make It
- Heat oil in a large stock pot.
- Saute the carrots for 2 minutes.
- Add the onions. Cook for 1 minute.
- Rinse the lentils and add to the pot.
Do lentils need to be soaked?
No. Lentils don’t need to soaked, but if you soak them, it reduces the cooking time in half.
Do you cook lentils before adding to soup?
This depends on the type of lentils you are using in the soup. Some dissolve when cooking, making a smoother soup.
Here, we are using Brown Lentils. These are the most common type of lentils and do not require cooking before adding to the soup.
Once cooked, you can make Mexican Lentil Tostadas or Lentil and Poblano Chile Tacos
- Add the garlic, salt, and bay leaf.
- Cook for 25 minutes.
You are looking for tender lentils. Not “snuggly soft” – easy-to-chew soft.
This recipe is 100% Mexican vegan. 100% Mexican vegetarian.
Great Idea! Swap out the water for vegetable broth.
Other ingredients you can add to the Soup:
- calabacitas or Italian zucchini
- celery
- green beans
- peas
For a little heat, try adding diced jalapeno.
More Mexican Vegetarian Soup recipes:
Pumpkin Chipotle Soup
Caldo de Verduras
Sopa de Fideo
Sopa de Habas
- Add the tomato sauce.
- Cook 10 minutes.
The tomato sauce will thicken the soup slightly. For an even thicker soup, add tomato paste and cook for 10 minutes.
This lentejas recipe (lentil recipe) is incredibly easy and very adaptable.
Some people will even add cloves or cinnamon to the soup.
Pro Tip:
For a more complete meal, you can also add chicken, fish, beef. All these ingredients would work here too.
More Mexican soup recipes:
Caldo de Res
Caldo de Pollo
Caldo de Camaron
Caldo de Albondigas
How Long Does It Last?
- In the fridge, the soup lasts 3-4 days.
- In the freezer, it can last up to 6 months in a sealable plastic bag.
Mexican Lentil Soup, or Sopa de Lentejas, is a warm taste of HOME.
Add a few slices of pickled jalapeños to this comforting and cozy bowl of goodness. Perfect on rainy days or Meatless Monday. Hope you enjoy!
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Mexican Lentil Soup, or Sopa de Lentejas
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 1/2 onion diced
- 1 lb. lentils
- 10 cups Water
- 1 garlic clove finely minced
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large stock pot.
- Saute the carrots for 2 minutes.
- Add the onions. Cook for 1 minute.
- Rinse the lentils and add to the pot.
- Add water, garlic, salt, and bay leaf.
- Cook for 25 minutes.
- Add tomato sauce.
- Cook for an additional 10 minutes, or until lentils are soft.
- Remove and discard the bay leaf.
- Serve and enjoy.
Video
Notes
- In the fridge, Sopa de Lentejas last 3-4 days.
- In the freezer, Mexican Lentil soup can last up to 6 months.
Nutrition
This post was updated on March 2, 2021. You might remember the previous picture.
Hola, Maggie!
I have included a couple of your recipes and linked back to your site in my latest post, a Day of the Dead recipe roundup. I hope you can take a look. 🙂
https://myheartofmexico.wordpress.com/2017/10/26/blissful-mexican-recipes-to-celebrate-day-of-the-dead/
-Fabiola
Gracias amiga. I’ll go and check it out. Thank you so much for all your support and social media love!
I was wondering, is it really 1 lbs of lentils? It just seems like a lot but I have not made the recipe yet! Thought it might suppose to be 1 cup?
It’s a lentil package of 16-ounces, or 1 lb.
Thank you so much! The soup was delicious! I’m making it again tonight! I did add some ground red pepper for some spice and a bit of ground cinnamon.
That’s awesome. Ground cinnamon sounds like a great addition. Enjoy!
How much water do I need to add?
The water should be about 2 inches above the lentils.
I love adding Kielbasa sausage to my Lentils. Family loves it!!
Thank you so much! The soup was delicious! I’m making it again tonight! I did add some ground red pepper for some spice and a bit of ground cinnamon.
https://porsell.com
Wonderful! I love it when people make my recipes.
That’s exactly the way a do it ! And at the end a throw same spinach leaves
Sound delicious the part of the spinach leaves!
Sounds like a great dish. Lentils are so delicious, that’s one of my family’s favorite.
Lentils are the best! Hope you try this recipe
I could use a bowl about this right about now. We’re getting snow so I could use the warm. It looks amazing!
And it tastes amazing! Hope you try it
I love soup and this one looks so good! I can’t wait to try it.
So glad you enjoyed this!
We are always looking for delicious vegetarian recipes. This looks perfect!
So glad you enjoyed this!
YUM! I LOVE lentil soup! I have it for lunch most days! I’ll have to make this variation of it!
Hope you try this recipe! It’s delicious
This soup looks and sounds so delicious. I would like to try this soup.
It’s amazing! Hope you try it
This looks really good. I haven’t actually had lentil soup before. I think I have lentil beans too, so I’ll have to try this.
It’s delicious. Hope you try it
My mom’s been into lentils lately ever since she had heart surgery. I think she would really love this soup!
I think so too! It’s delicious
Lentils are great in soup. I’ve not had any Mexican ones yet. I must try this!!
So glad you enjoyed this! Hope you try it
Good tip on cooking the brown lentil beforehand so they keep their shape. And for the record, I always like soup better than chicken nuggets. 😉
Glad it was useful!