Sopa de Lentejas- Mexican Lentil Soup

Sopa de Lentejas is a Mexican Lentil Soup with potatoes, cilantro, and a tomato based broth. It’s meatless and can be made vegan with vegetable broth.

Reader 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!” ★★★★★

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 as opposed to just the fideo noodles.

This recipe is how my Mother in law makes 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 vegetables if you like!

Ingredients for Mexican Lentil Soup

The ingredients for this Mexican Lentil Soup are simple and can be found at most grocery stores.

• Lentils
• Potato
• Tomatoes
• Onion
• Garlic
• Cilantro
• Chicken or vegetable broth

You don’t need to soak the lentils. However, you will need to wash and rinse the dried lentils and make sure there are no foreign pieces.

Soaking the lentils does cut down on cooking time, and I’ve heard it can make them easier to digest. But I cannot verify this.

This recipe uses 1 cup of lentils and they will double in size as they cook. On the recipe card you can adjust the serving size to make a larger batch of soup.

Tomato Based Mixture

This tomato based mixture is used in a variety of other recipes like Sopa de letras, Albondigas, and Mexican Rice.

Just place halved roma tomatoes, half of a small white onion, or quarter of a large onion, 1 garlic clove, and 1 cup of broth. Blend for 30 seconds or until smooth.

Give it a quick taste to see if any additional salt is needed.

How to make Sopa De Lentejas

This is a great soup to make for the week and have as a light meal or side dish.

Once the lentils are rinsed and sorted, place them in medium to large pot with a lid. Add 4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth, or you can use water and 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.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium and boil for 10 minutes.

While the lentils are boiling, peel and dice a large russet potato into even small pieces. Then make the tomato based sauce.

Add the potatoes, sauce, and a handful of whole cilantro to the boiling lentils. Continue cooking for 15 minutes or until the lentils and potatoes are soft. Keep in mind if the lentils are older, they will take longer to cook.

Can you Freeze Lentil Soup?

Absolutely! Portion out leftovers into freezer safe bags once the soup has cooled. I like to do 2 portions at a time and freeze up to 2-3 months.

To thaw, place in the refrigerator overnight, or place the frozen bag in cool water for 20 minutes. Then empty contents into a pot and simmer over medium heat until warm.

The lentils will expand after cooking, if the soup is too thick then add more water or broth, and additional salt if needed.

Serve with hot sauce for some spice, a squeeze of lime, or avocado slices.

More Mexican Soups: