Black Bean Lentil Soup

Why should you make this recipe?

• This is a one-pot recipe. There is no need to make a ton of dishes for this easy soup. Simply add everything to one large pot or slow cooker and cook the ingredients until they reach perfection.
• This is a highly nutritious and high protein recipe. Today, it is hard to find hearty soups that are still as healthy as this one is. Not to mention it is extremely low in calories – perfect if you are trying to lose some weight.
• This soup is extremely quick and easy to make. It takes less than half an hour and can even be stored for a couple of days.
• You can make this bean lentil soup in advance and simply thaw it once you’re ready to serve it again. Have a look at our storage tips on how to best freeze this soup.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Green lentils: The hero ingredient for this black bean and lentil soup is naturally the green lentils. These legumes are protein packed and make an excellent plant-based substitute. Furthermore, lentils help add a ton of savory flavors to the soup and make it more filling. If you can't find green lentils, you can also use brown lentils, red lentils, or black lentils. 
• Black beans: For this recipe, we use canned black beans, which are already cooked. If you use dried black beans, you need to soak them for 8 hours and boil until tender before adding them into the soup. Make sure you discard the water you boil the beans in. To substitute these beans, kidney beans or pinto beans will work great. You can even use a combination of beans and chickpeas.
• Vegetables: We have decided on using only basic vegetables for this recipe including onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and tomatoes. But, you can add more veggies like kale, sweet potato and bell peppers to this recipe.
• Spices: We use black pepper, cumin, paprika and salt. But, you can also make this a spicy soup! Add some chili powder or flakes (even fresh chilies if you'd like) to add some bite. You can even throw one or two bay leaves for an extra flavor.
• Water: Water is an easy addition, but for more flavor, you can add low-sodium vegetable broth instead.

Variations

We love this black bean soup because of how flexible the recipe is. You can turn this vegetarian soup into chicken soup. All you have to do is add some grilled chicken pieces and substitute the water with chicken broth (low sodium).

You can also give it a Mexican twist inspired by a classic Mexican black bean soup recipe. For example, by adding some delicious grated cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese, tortilla chips, and a dollop of sour cream, you now have a delicious nacho soup. 

These are only two ways you can dramatically change the flavor of the soup and give it a fun new take.

And, you can even change up the cooking method used! You can use a slow cooker to make this soup instead of cooking it on the stovetop.

You can turn this chunky soup into a creamy soup by blending everything in a food processor or using an immersion blender. 

How to Make

This black bean and lentil soup is packed with lots of nutritious veggies and can even be made in advance and frozen!

1. Make the base. Heat the olive oil inside of a large pot. Then, add your onions and cook them until they become translucent. Add the chopped 2 cloves garlic and cook it for a minute. Add your chopped carrots and celery and continue cooking them for 5 minutes.

2. Add in your mashed or diced tomatoes, green lentils, and spices. Give the ingredients a good stir and cook them for roughly 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the water and lemon juice to your soup base. Bring the mixture to a boil before reducing the heat to a medium-low. Cook the lentils until they become tender, about 20 minutes.

4. After your lentils have cooked, add the black beans and continue cooking them for roughly 5 minutes. Once finished, serve your soup immediately with some freshly chopped parsley or cilantro.

Serving Suggestions

This black bean and lentil stew can be served with loads of accompaniments. Of course, you can add virtually any fresh garnish that you'd like. We love some freshly chopped parsley and a swirl of fresh cream or yogurt.

And, we especially love serving this soup with some flatbread or a crumbly cornbread. You can have a look at our bread recipes you can make at home.

Expert Tips

• You don't have to pre-soak the green lentils before cooking them. You can simply add them into your pot and immediately start cooking them. Soaking them will shorten the cooking time, however, you have to remember to pre-soak them then.
• If you want to use pre-cooked lentils, you just have to be careful to not overcook them. You can add the cooked green lentils when you add the black beans. Only cook them for another 5 minutes.
• If you are using cooked lentils, you have to rinse them first. This will remove any foreign particles and ensure that you have clean lentils.
• You can substitute the water with some vegetable broth to add more flavor to this soup.

How to Store and Reheat

To store any leftovers (if you’re lucky enough to have any) you can simply place the black bean and lentil soup inside of an airtight container. Then, place the container in the fridge for about 4 days.

Alternatively, you can freeze the soup for a couple of months. When freezing soup, you can even place them in re-sealable plastic bags so that they can be frozen on a flat surface. This will make storing them much easier.

To thaw the soup, place the entire container in the fridge and allow the soup to defrost overnight. You can also defrost the soup in a microwave on a low heat setting or in a pot over low heat.

FAQs

Other Bean Recipes

• Turkish White Bean Stew
• Celery Root Soup with Beans
• White Bean Salad

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