Mexican Lentil Soup is a simple soup of lentils, potatoes, and cilantro in a tomato based broth.
Post updated on March 2020 with an updated video.
Similar to Fideo, Sopa de lentejas is an easy and affordable soup to make.
However with lentils you will get more fiber, protein, and iron.
This recipe is how my Mother in law make Lentejas, but there's quite a few variations that also add diced veggies like carrots and zucchini. She only adds potato but you can definitely add other veggies if you like!
How to Cook Dried Lentils
Unlike dried beans, you don't need to soak lentils, and they will cook in about 20 minutes of boiling.
You will need to wash and rinse them well, and make sure there are no foreign pieces.
Then place the washed lentils into a soup pot with 4 cups of Chicken Broth or Vegetable Broth for Vegan. Alternatively, you can use water and chicken or vegetable bouillon.
It's important to use a good quality broth for flavor. This is where all the seasoning will come from. In the video below I use Chicken bone broth for even more immune boosting properties.
Can you Freeze Lentil Soup?
Yes! My mother in law actually does this often. She make a large batch and saves small portions in zip top bags. This method makes it easy to defrost small portions for when you need a healthy bowl of comfort.
Allow the soup to cool completely, I prefer to let it cool in the fridge for a few hours, then portion into freezer friendly bags or containers.
To thaw, place in the refrigerator overnight, or place the frozen bag or container in cool water for 20 minutes. Then Reheat in a pot over low heat.
The lentils will expand after cooking, if the soup is too thick then add more water or broth, and additional salt if needed.
Here are 3 other recipes that use the same tomato base mixture for Lentejas:
Watch the full YouTube video on How to Make Sopa de Lentejas:
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Sopa de Lentejas - Mexican Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Dried Green Lentils Washed well
- 4 Cups Chicken Broth or Vegetable Stock for Vegan You can also use water with chicken bouillon.
- 2 Roma Tomatoes Halved
- 1 Cup Broth or Water If using water then add a little bouillon.
- ½ White Onion Cut into quarters
- 1 Garlic Clove
- 1 Large Russet Potato Peeled and Diced to even small chunks
- Handful of cilantro with stems Add the cilantro in whole, and remove at the end or you can leave it in.
- Salt and Pepper to taste The amount of salt needed will depend on the broth or bouillon you used. Taste when the soup is done and add if needed.
Instructions
- Rinse dried lentils well and place in a medium pot with a lid and 4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth. Or you can use water and bouillon. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium and boil for 10 minutes.
- While lentils are cooking place Tomatoes, Onion, Garlic, and 1 cup of water or broth in a blender. Blend till smooth.
- After 10 minutes of the lentils simmering, add the pureed tomato sauce, the diced potatoes, and whole cilantro. Bring the heat back to a low boil, cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Check the lentils, If they are still hard then place the lid back on and continue to simmer. Once the lentils are soft the soup is done. Taste for seasoning and see if additional salt is needed.
- Serve the lentil soup with more cilantro on top, squeeze of lime, queso freso, or diced avocado.
Notes
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Marcella Symington says
Perfect for this cold weekend! Thank you, and have a good one!!
Renee says
Yes! Isn't this weather a nice change?! Hope you have a great weekend as well, Marci!
Tisha says
Do you have to put the tomatoes etc in the blender ?
Renee says
Hi Tisha, yes place Tomatoes, Onion, Garlic, and 1/4 cup water in a blender. Blend till smooth. Enjoy!
Maria sullivan says
Omg! This soup is so easy to make and it tasts amazing
Renee says
Thanks so much Maria!
MSG says
Easy recipe to follow and so delicious! I added three times the garlic because you can never have too much garlic and increased the amount of potato. Seasoned to taste with salt as recommended! My husband loved it. Although it’s Summer for us in California right now and soup might sound too hot, I was excited to try this recipe and perfect it for Winter time. Glad I did! And to know that I can freeze it, that’s a plus!! Thanks much for sharing your recipe!
Renee says
More Garlic is never a bad thing! 😉 So glad you enjoyed the recipe, yes this soup is perfect for winter, but I still enjoy it in the Summer too! Thank you for the review and rating!
Morgan says
Very tasty! I have never had lentils before So I wasn’t confident about working with them but they are very easy. I didn’t have the best broth on hand so I used a good bit of salt and onion powder for more flavor. Threw in cucumber and carrots since I really like veggies. The cilantro is a MUST, the soup smelled so good and I couldn’t wait to eat it while it was cooking! The queso fresco makes it a little bit heartier, but I would also be really happy with the soup without cheese. I was really impressed!!
Renee says
Thank you Morgan for the review and rating! I'm so glad you enjoyed the soup and lentils for the first time!!