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Home » Appetizers and Snacks » Mexican Lentil Soup

Mexican Lentil Soup

By Hank Shaw on December 12, 2022 - 12 Comments

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5 from 16 votes
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Sopa de lentejas, Mexican lentil soup, exists in various forms all over Mexico. My recipe is a hat tip to Nuevo Leon, where I ate this soup a lot. It’s hearty, warming and easy to make on a cold day.

A bowl of Mexican lentil soup.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Lentils are popular in northern Mexico, just as they are in the northern regions of the United States. Why there seems to be a 1500-mile gap in the “lentil belt” I don’t know.

The lentils I’ve seen in Mexican lentil soup are small and brown, so try to get those if possible. Don’t use red lentils, as they dissolve quickly. Green lentils are common, and will work for this recipe. Little black “caviar” lentils would work, too, but are not traditional.

The Mexican states of Michoacan and Guanajuato grow most of the nation’s lentils, so most Mexican lentil soup recipes lean toward Michoacano. This sopa de lentejas is my recreation of several I ate when visiting Nuevo Leon, and it features chorizo, cumin and fiery hot chile pequins.

This is really a very simple soup, with one exception. You cook the lentils separately. Why? Because there’s lots of tomato in the recipe, and the acidity of it will slow the cooking of any sort of legume — and lentils are legumes — to a crawl. So I cook them in a separate pot.

You can do this as a one-pot lentil soup by making it as normal, skipping the tomato until after the lentils are tender, then adding it and letting things get to know each other for a while.

Couple things on the lentils: First, you don’t need to soak lentils overnight. That’s a myth. Lentils will go from dry to done in about 30 minutes. And “done” in the case of Mexican lentil soup is al dente — you want neither hard nor mushy lentils. They should have just a little bite to them.

Vegetarian Mexican Lentil Soup

You can easily make this soup vegetarian by skipping the chorizo and using vegetable broth to cook the lentils. This is done a lot around Lent.

One nice alternative that will give you some of the chew and flavor that meat brings is to mince up a half pound of mushrooms and cook them as if they were the chorizo in the recipe. You can also use a homemade mushroom stock, too, although that can darken the soup.

Close up of a bowl of sopa de lentejas, Mexican lentil soup.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Meaty Lentil Soup

Most renditions of Mexican lentil soup I see have some sort of meat. I’m using homemade Mexican chorizo because it adds a lot to the party, but I see cooked bacon a lot. The bacon is fried and removed, the vegetables cooked in the bacon fat, soup built on that, then the bacon added at the end for garnish.

I’ve also seen diced ham — ham and lentils is a classic combo — machaca, which is shredded jerky, as well as link sausage cut into disks. You do you.

The Chiles

This recipe uses both mild-to-medium roasted green chiles as well as mega hot chile pequins. The green chiles act as a vegetable, the pequins as spice.

I roast, peel and seed lots and lots of Hatch green chiles each year and freeze or can them. You can use frozen or canned chiles, or you can roast them specifically for this Mexican lentil soup. If you do, use Anaheim or poblano chiles.

But honestly, frozen is fine, and canned are OK. Just don’t cook canned green chiles too long or they will turn to mush.

The pequins are a signature of Nuevo Leon. Tiny green orbs of fire. Their heat explodes, then fades like a firecracker. Any small, hot chile, like a little Thai chile or the pequin’s cousin the chiltepin, will work well. Or you can skip it if you don’t like your lentil soup picoso.

Make Ahead and Canning

Absolutely. Like all soups and stews, Mexican lentil soup improves the day after it’s made. You can store the soup in the fridge up to a week, and it freezes well.

If you want to pressure can your sopa de lentejas, make it as per the recipe, with the lentils and the rest of the soup separate. Instead of simmering in the pot, add just the lentils to the soup base, then fill quart Mason jars 2/3 to 3/4 full. Top off with the lentil cooking liquid, leaving a full inch of headspace.

Follow your pressure canner’s directions, and can for 90 minutes at the pressure appropriate for your altitude.

If you liked this recipe, please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below; I’d love to hear how everything went. If you’re on Instagram, share a picture and tag me at huntgathercook.

Close up of a bowl of sopa de lentejas, Mexican lentil soup.
Print Recipe
5 from 16 votes

Mexican Lentil Soup

This is a quick, hearty lentil soup very similar to the sopa de lentejas I ate in Nuevo Leon, in northern Mexico.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Total Time50 mins
Course: lunch, Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: Mexican
Diet: Gluten Free
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 331kcal
Author: Hank Shaw

Ingredients

LENTILS

  • 1 1/2 cups lentils (brown or green)
  • 1/2 onion
  • 1 sprig fresh epazote (optional)
  • 1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
  • Salt

SOUP BASE

  • 8 ounces Mexican chorizo (see above for alternates)
  • 1 cup minced white or yellow onion
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
  • 2 ribs celery, sliced thin
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 2 roasted green chiles, seeded, peeled and diced
  • 1 cup crushed tomatoes
  • Salt
  • Chopped cilantro and chile pequin to taste

Instructions

  • Put the onion and epazote in a pot and add the broth, plus another quart of water. Add the lentils and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the lentils are tender, but not mushy. You want them cooked, but still a little al dente. Add salt to taste and turn off the heat.
  • Meanwhile, in another pot, cook the chorizo — it should be fatty enough so you don't need to add more fat or oil — until well rendered, then add the onion, carrot and celery. Cook these until soft, then add the garlic and cook for another couple minutes.
  • Stir in the cumin, green chiles and tomatoes. If the lentils are done, add them, plus as much of the lentil cooking liquid as you want. If the lentils aren't done, just turn the heat off the soup base until they are.
  • Once everything's all together, simmer another few minutes, adding salt to taste. Serve with chopped cilantro and as many chile pequins as you can stand.

Nutrition

Calories: 331kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 932mg | Potassium: 737mg | Fiber: 17g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 2073IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 5mg
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Filed Under: Appetizers and Snacks, Featured, Mexican, Recipe

Avatar for Hank Shaw

Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet's largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

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Comments

  1. Avatar for ChrisChris says

    December 28, 2022 at 12:27 pm

    I made this using some leftover slow-roasted pork shoulder, it was a huge hit over here. Making it again today using Mexican chorizo!

    Reply
  2. Avatar for Crystal RCrystal R says

    December 17, 2022 at 1:11 pm

    Made this kinda last minute, so I omitted the chilis (sadly) and had to sub a Portuguese chorizo for the Mexican. It was still delish! Will be trying again with the proper ingredients soon!! Thanks, Hank!

    Reply
  3. Avatar for Sam BartlettSam Bartlett says

    December 14, 2022 at 11:38 pm

    Many thinks for this recipe which I tried yesterday with great success.

    You might be surprised to learn that you have fans a long way from the US, in my case in Tunisia!

    Reply
  4. Avatar for John Palmer-RyeJohn Palmer-Rye says

    December 14, 2022 at 10:24 am

    Hi Hank. Could you use something like a Del Arbol powder towards the end for some heat? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      December 14, 2022 at 10:33 am

      John: Absolutely. Add it a little at a time…

      Reply
  5. Avatar for Bill FBill F says

    December 13, 2022 at 4:27 pm

    Delicious. Found those pequins dehydrated at my local Mexican/ethnic grocer and reconstituted them in hot water. We each used a bunch and sweated through our meal but – no regrets!

    So, my wife eats game but not most other meats so I used… soyrizo! Came out great, but I added a glug of oil and used some of the lentil liquid to remove the fake meat fond. A real meat that chars a little would surely be tasty.

    Reply
  6. Avatar for Mark BrennerMark Brenner says

    December 12, 2022 at 4:36 pm

    Hey Hank!
    I just made some venison chorizo from a deer I got last week so this looks like the perfect recipe to use it in! Your instructions say add a half onion to the lentil pot and then later you scoop out the lentils from the broth. So is the onion left unsliced/diced in the pot and added just for flavor and removed before adding the lentils to the rest of the soup in the other pot?
    Mark

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      December 13, 2022 at 8:23 am

      Mark: No, you toss the onion.

      Reply
  7. Avatar for Daniel HowellDaniel Howell says

    December 12, 2022 at 11:32 am

    I’m a little baffled why there is a gap in the “lentil belt” too. It’s my favorite legume and we make a lentil dish almost weekly. Usually something mediterranean, middle eastern, or Indian though…. Mexico isn’t a place I normally think of when it comes to lentils. 🙂

    This one will be on the menu next week!

    Reply
  8. Avatar for Raul Orlando GarciaRaul Orlando Garcia says

    December 12, 2022 at 9:20 am

    Thanks for the well-timed recipe, Hank.
    Regarding soaking the lentils, I’ve read that this is done to remove the phytic acid found in many legumes, including lentils. Do you think there’s any truth to this?

    Curiously yours,
    Raul Orlando

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      December 13, 2022 at 8:23 am

      Raul: I don’t think so, because cooking renders it inactive.

      Reply
  9. Avatar for TadTad says

    December 12, 2022 at 6:54 am

    Hank,

    Another great recipe.

    Will make over the weekend.

    Have a great week.

    Tad

    Reply

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Hi, my name is Hank Shaw; I’m a James Beard Award-winning author and chef. I started this site back in 2007 to help you get the most out of all things wild: fish, game, edible wild plants and mushrooms. I also write cookbooks, have a website dedicated to the intersection of food and nature, and do a podcast, too. If it’s wild, you’ll find it here. Hope you enjoy the site!

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