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Lentejas, or Mexican lentil soup, is an easy and affordable meal that doesn’t skimp on flavor. Made with lentils, carrots, potatoes, and staple Mexican spices, this soup is full of nutrients and great for an everyday comforting dinner!
What Are Lentejas?
Lentejas, or lentil soup, is a traditional Mexican soup made from brown or green lentils and is packed with veggies like carrots, onions, potatoes, cilantro, and plenty of spices.
Lentils are an affordable and versatile ingredient, making this traditional recipe so popular. Plus, it’s full of nutrients and naturally vegetarian!
Lentejas Ingredients
- Lentils: I recommend using brown or green lentils for this recipe for their taste and texture. Red lentils tend to get too mushy.
- Roma tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, garlic: These ingredients make up the blended sauce that adds more depth and flavor than only adding broth.
- Carrots and potatoes: Adds color, flavor, and texture to the soup.
- Seasonings: I used a simple blend of kosher salt, black pepper, and Mexican oregano.
- Broth and chicken bouillon: You can use chicken or vegetable broth. For extra flavor, I also added some chicken bouillon, but that’s optional.
- Olive oil: For cooking the carrots. You can use olive oil, avocado oil, or whatever neutral oil you prefer.
- Cilantro: I added cilantro for extra flavor, but you can omit it if you prefer.
How to Make Lentejas
- Start by cooking the carrots in a large Dutch oven with olive oil over medium-high heat.
- While the carrots are cooking, make the tomato mixture by blending tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, garlic, and seasonings until smooth.
- Add the blended tomato mixture, broth, chicken bouillon, dry lentils, potato, and cilantro to the pot. Stir to combine and raise the heat to high.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for about 30 minutes until the lentils are soft and tender.
- Remove the pot from the heat and discard the cilantro sprigs before serving.
Helpful Tips
- While the soup is cooking, occasionally check the texture of the lentils to make sure they don’t overcook and get too mushy.
- Dice your potatoes into small cubes so they cook at the same rate as the lentils.
- Add ingredients like cooked and chopped bacon, bell peppers, or a squeeze of fresh lime for even more flavor!
Recommended Tools
- Dutch oven. One of my most used kitchen tools. So versatile and great for one-pot recipes.
- Heat-resistant silicone spatulas. Great to use for everyday cooking and won’t melt under high heat, plus super easy to clean!
Serving Suggestions
A bowl of lentejas pairs beautifully with many Mexican sides and some select toppings. Here are a few suggestions:
- Serve with a side of tortilla chips, bolillo bread, or warm flour tortillas.
- Top with queso fresco, cotija cheese, or some sliced avocado.
Storing and Reheating
To store, place in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To reheat, pour the soup into a medium pot over high heat until warmed through. The lentils will have absorbed some liquid, so you may need to add more broth or water.
Lentejas (Mexican Lentil Soup)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 medium carrots, diced
- 2 Roma tomatoes, halved
- ½ medium onion (white or yellow)
- 1 jalapeño pepper (optional)
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- 5 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
- ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon (about 1 small cube, optional)
- 1 cup dry lentils, rinsed and cleaned
- 1 large russet potato, diced
- 12 cilantro sprigs
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the carrots are cooking, add the tomatoes, onion, jalapeño (if using), garlic, salt, black pepper, and Mexican oregano to a large blender. Blend for 2 minutes until completely smooth.
- Add the blended tomato mixture, broth, chicken bouillon, dry lentils, potato, and cilantro to the pot. Stir to combine and raise the heat to high.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 28 to 30 minutes until the lentils are soft and tender.
- Remove the pot from the heat and discard the cilantro sprigs before serving.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made a fantastic lentil soup! I must say I made my own changes, additions, and it was one of the best soups I have ever made, agreed by my family.
Using Isabel’s recipe as solid start, here’s my take:
* I doubled the initial recipe here (cook once, eat twice, right?), though used more tomatoes, like 10 Campari (small, full flavor) tomatoes. This just screamed for more tomatoes than just 2 Romas called for in the original recipe, blended them up as noted in the original recipe.
* I only had one large carrot, so I large diced & sauteed 2 green and 2 red bell peppers, along with a seeded large jalapeno. Good move.
* Spices: Wanted more Southwestern & Mexican flavor profile, so I added 1 TBS smoked paprika, 1 TBS sweet paprika, 2 tsp mild chili powder, 2 tsp (freshly ground) cumin, 2 tsp dried thyme, 1 TBS jalapeno hot sauce. I also seasoned well with kosher salt & freshly ground pepper.
* Lightly fried the above spices along with 6 (total) chopped garlic cloves in a glug of olive oil & 1 TBS butter, lightly sauteed for just a minute, then, into the pot with the rest of the recipe ingredients.
While this is not Vegetarian (used 1 Qt chicken broth and 6 cups homemade turkey stock, & 1 cup water, about 11 cups broth total), there was no meat added.
That’s it! I know the changes add a whole ‘nuther set of spices to Isabel’s original recipe, though again, I wanted a more “Mexican” spice and flavor profile and this soup was truly outstanding. Thanks for this January 2024 cooking challenge!
I just sent my picture in for the challenge, my first time doing this! The lentils aren’t quite tender yet but I had to taste the broth….oh my, this is so good! I can hardly wait until it’s ready to eat. I have to admit that I’ve never cooked lentils before today, because I’m not really a fan but I think I might just change my mind!
Lentil soup is my favorite and this recipe was delicious.
Really enjoyed this recipe. I don’t usually put vegetables in my lentils, but really enjoyed this recipe, thank you!
This soup was really delicious! The cilantro gave it a nice fresh ending. For a milder soup, I went with only 1/4 of the jalapeño & used a pasilla chili to make up the difference.
Absolutely delicious, tasty lentil soup. I added a little more bouillon to enhance the flavor. Good amount of veggie and I enjoyed the hint of garlic in the broth.
Can you cook this in the instant pot?
This is a good soup however I felt it needed more seasoning. For those who like very mild flavor and perhaps children would enjoy.
Very delicious !! I loved the veggie choices.
Big tip. We made a HUGE batch of PRESSURE COOKER CARNITAS (as there were were 3 whole pork shoulders reduced at the supermarket) and added some of the left over broth to this soup and OMG it’s divine.
Thank you. x