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    Sopa de Lentejas (Mexican Lentil Soup)

    Mexican Lentil Soup, known as Sopa de Lentejas in its home country, is a hearty and filling soup loaded with veggies and warm seasonings.

    Along with Pozole Rojo and Caldo de Pollo, it’s one of our favorite Mexican soups.

    Red dutch oven full of Mexican lentil soup.

    What is Sopa de Lentejas

    Sopa de Lentejas is the Latin American version of lentil soup, and can be found from Mexico all the way down to Argentina and Chile.

    It starts with aromatic vegetables for a flavor base, and can also include other ingredients like meat (typically sausage), potatoes or greens.

    It is a hearty, nutritious, and budget friendly meal that can be enjoyed all year long, but is especially great in wintertime.

    White bowl with a serving of lentil soup.

    Ingredient Notes

    • Olive oil – For sautéing. You can also use other neutral cooking oils like canola or vegetable.
    • Fresh vegetables – Onion, carrots, celery, and bell peppers.
    • Garlic – I can’t cook without it.
    • Lentils – Today we’re using brown, but green work as well. Rinse and sort them before use, no need to soak.
    • Canned tomatoes – We used diced in this recipe.
    • Seasonings – Cumin, paprika, and oregano (use Mexican oregano if you have it on hand).
    • Broth – For a completely vegetarian soup, use vegetable. Otherwise, chicken broth gives a bit more punch of flavor.

    How to Make Mexican Lentil Soup

    Sauté the vegetables in a large soup pot or Dutch oven until soft.

    Vegetables sautéing in a dutch oven.

    Stir in lentils, diced tomatoes, cumin, paprika, and oregano. Cook for a minute or two.

    Uncooked lentils and vegetables in a dutch oven.

    Add in the chicken broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low, and cook until lentils are soft, about 25 minutes.

    A scoop of this soup being ladled out of the pot.

    Variations

    • If you wish to have some meat in your soup, brown up some ground beef (about 1 pound) or chorizo (8 ounces) at the beginning of the recipe.
    • Sometimes we like to add a green element at the end. Stir in some spinach or kale in the last few minutes for a nutritious boost.
    • To bulk it up, you can add in potatoes. I would recommend Yukon gold.

    Leftovers and Storage

    Split pea soup refrigerates well for 3-4 days. First, allow it to cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container for refrigeration.

    It can also be frozen for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container. Just thaw overnight in the fridge before using.

    Reheat the soup in a pan on stovetop over medium heat until heated through. Note that it will have thickened up, so you may wish to add some water to thin it out.

    Bowlful of lentil soup.

    If you try this Mexican lentil soup, please leave a star rating and comment, we love to hear from you.

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    Sopa de Lentejas, on our Gypsy Plate… enjoy!

    Bowl of Mexican lentil soup atop the Gypsy Plate.

    Try these other great soups!
    Portuguese Bean Soup
    Chicken Pastina Soup
    Finnish Salmon Soup
    Caldo de Res
    Harira
    Birria Ramen
    Yakamein
    Sancocho

    Featured image for Mexican lentil soup recipe.

    Sopa de Lentejas (Mexican Lentil Soup)

    Yield: 6-8 servings
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 35 minutes
    Total Time: 50 minutes

    Our Mexican Lentil Soup is a hearty and filling meatless dinner option. It's packed with veggies and perfectly seasoned.

    Ingredients

    • 2 Tbsp olive oil
    • 1 small onion, diced
    • 2 medium carrots, diced
    • 2 stalks celery, diced
    • 1 small green bell pepper, diced
    • 1 small red bell pepper, diced
    • 4 cloves garlic, minced
    • 2 cups dried lentils, rinsed and sorted
    • 14oz can diced tomatoes
    • 2 tsp cumin
    • 2 tsp paprika
    • 1 Tbsp oregano
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 7 cups vegetable or chicken broth

    Instructions

    1. Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium high heat. Add the diced onion, carrots, celery, and bell peppers. Sauté until they begin to soften, about 8-10 minutes.
    2. Stir in lentils, tomatoes, cumin, paprika, and oregano. Cook for a minute or two.
    3. Add broth and bay leaves, combine well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 25 minutes, or until lentils are soft.

    Notes

    1. Lentils do not require soaking.

    Nutrition Information
    Yield 8 Serving Size 1
    Amount Per Serving Calories 225Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 1mgSodium 247mgCarbohydrates 38gFiber 13gSugar 9gProtein 10g

    Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

    Did you make this recipe?

    Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

    Picture of Alpana, blogger and recipe developer at GypsyPlate

    Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.

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