Chipotle Lentil & Black Bean Soup

We all know that soup is good for the soul, but what about making it good for our health too?  This warming, flavorful Chipotle Lentil & Black Bean Soup checks all the boxes for cold-weather comfort while it’s loaded with good-for-you ingredients!

What makes this soup special?

• filling & satisfying (thanks to plant protein and fiber)
• simple and adaptable whole food, nutrient-dense ingredients
• use any frozen vegetables that you have on hand
• very-low-to-no oil
• low sodium
• only 177 calories and 1.27 grams of fat per cup
• 20% daily protein, 23% daily potassium & 19% daily iron in one cup!
• short cooking time for a soup 
• savory & smoky flavor
• lasts 9 to 12 days in the fridge (stored in glass containers)

9 Whole Food Ingredients:

1. low-sodium vegetable broth
2. cooked lentils
3. canned black beans
4. mushrooms
5. frozen vegetable blend
6. 2 to 4 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (or sub with chipotle powder to taste)
7. cumin
8. nutritional yeast
9. lemon or lime juice

Mushrooms: If you’re not a fan you can omit or replace them with another 1/2 cup chopped frozen veggies.  Feel free to use canned, frozen or fresh mushrooms.

Frozen vegetable blend: I used carrots, broccoli and cauliflower but feel free to use whatever you have on hand.  Just be mindful that the nutritional information for the recipe will be impacted.  If you’re following the Aggressive Weight Loss Plan cruciferous veggies are preferred over starchy veggies.

Adjusting Spice Levels

Use 2 chipotle peppers if you like a mildly spicy soup, use 3 or 4 peppers if you appreciate the spicier things in life!

If you’re particularly sesitive to spice and you’re worried about ruining the soup, start with 1 pepper or simply use about 1 tbsp. of just the adobo sauce from the can.  Then you can taste and adjust as needed.

If you’re using chipotle powder: For a more mild spice level use 1 to 2 tsp. for a spicier soup use up to 1 Tbsp. making sure to use half of your spice before tasting and adjusting (so you don’t over-spice your soup).

Is this recipe nutritarian?

Yes, if you make it without the canned chipotle peppers.

As a nutritarian I’m on a daily mission to get in as many greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds as I can.  This soup checks off half that list in one fell swoop!

If you make it with the canned peppers there will be a small amount of oil and added sodium.  If you’re thinking about or just starting out on the aggressive weight loss plan but you’d like to transition in slowly, this is the perfect soup recipe in the right direction. It has enough added salt and tiny bit of oil from the canned chipotle peppers to edge you more comfortably into oil-free and low-sodium cooking.

How to make this Chipotle Lentil & Black Bean Soup Recipe

By far, my favorite part about this Chipotle Lentil & Black Bean Soup is how fast it is to make!

Often it can feel like an eternity to make a flavorful homemade soup because of the combined sauteing time and simmering time.

We skip over a lot of that with this recipe because we’re using mostly pre-cooked ingredients!  And the heavy-lifting in the flavor department comes from those canned chipotle peppers that are already cooked with great flavorful ingredients like garlic, onion and spices.

So we’re getting an incredible rich, deep flavor with minimal cooking time on our part–and that’s always a lovely thing!

I’ve made this soup souper-fast (couldn’t resist) before by just combining everything into one pot at one time (see above left) and letting it all cook down together–and it worked beautifully!

I don’t own an Instant Pot but I can pretty much assure you that this recipe would work well with that cooking method.

If you decide to give this Chipotle Lentil & Black Bean Soup recipe a try in your Instant Pot I would be forever grateful if you’d come on back and let us know how it went for you in the comments below!

Is this recipe nutritarian?

Yes, if you make it without the canned chipotle peppers.

As a nutritarian I’m on a daily mission to get in as many greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds as I can.  This soup checks off half that list in one fell swoop!

If you make it with the canned peppers there will be a small amount of oil and added sodium.  If you’re thinking about or just starting out on the aggressive weight loss plan but you’d like to transition in slowly, this is the perfect soup recipe in the right direction. It has enough added salt and tiny bit of oil from the canned chipotle peppers to edge you more comfortably into oil-free and low-sodium cooking.

Recommended Soup Dippers & Toppers

The soup itself is only the beginning.  It’s your canvas for adding more color, more crunch and more flavor!

Here’s how I like to level-up this Chipotle Lentil & Black Bean Soup recipe:

• squeeze half a fresh lime over your bowl of soup just before serving 
• top with fresh green onions (checking off that GBOMBS list, remember?) and/or fresh cilantro
• No-Added-Salt Pico de Gallo and this soup are pretty much BFFs
• fresh radishes and tomatoes add more nutrients, crunch and fresh flavor
• home-made oil-free chips are amazing with this soup (see below for the simple technique)
• get a bit fancy by finishing it off with a flavorful oil-free sauce like this Cilantro Cream Sauce

How to Make Oil-Free Chips: Grab one or two of your favorite corn tortillas per person (remember the less ingredients the better).  Cut them into your favorite chip shapes and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake the chips at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes or until just golden and crispy!

4.95 from 17 votes

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Chipotle Lentil & Black Bean Soup

This 5-star rated soup recipe is oil-free, vegan, and low-sodium while being packed with good-for-you veggies and beans. This is your new delicious easy-to-make soup recipe that’s loaded with healthy plant protein and keeps you filled and satisfied for hours.

Course Soup

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword low oil, low sodium, nutritarian, refined sugar free, vegan

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 8 1-cup servings

Calories 177.34 kcal

Author Kristen Hong

Ingredients

• 4 cups low-sodium veggie broth
• 2 cups cooked lentils (I used Trader Joe’s brand, find it in the salad section)
• 1 cup diced fresh mushrooms
• 1 1/2 cups frozen vegetable blend, thawed and diced (I used broccoli, cauliflower & carrot blend)
• 2 to 4 chipotle peppers, diced (canned in adobo sauce)
• 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed
• 3 tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tbsp. lemon or lime juice

Instructions

1. Add 1/2 cup veggie broth to a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add cooked lentil beans, chopped mushrooms, diced thawed veggies and diced chipotle peppers. Cook together for about 5 minutes.

2. Reduce heat to medium and add in black beans, remaining veggie broth, nutritional yeast, cumin and lemon juice. Cook for another 10 minutes.

3. Reduce heat to simmer and allow to cook down for another 10 to 15 minutes. You can adjust the thickness of the soup to your preference by adding more veggie broth or continuing to cook down for a thicker consistency.

Recipe Notes

Recipe Yield: 8 cups

Servings: eight 1-cup portions or about five 1-1/2-cup portions 

NOTES:

If you're using chipotle powder: For a more mild spice level use 1 to 2 tsp. for a spicier soup use up to 1 Tbsp. making sure to use half of your spice before tasting and adjusting (so you don't over-spice your soup).

Serving suggestions: Serve with oil-free tortilla chips and top with fresh green onions, cilantro, radishes, tomatoes or Pico de Gallo.

How to Make Oil-Free Chips: Grab one or two of your favorite corn tortillas per person (remember the less ingredients the better).  Cut them into your favorite chip shapes and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake the chips at 350F for about 30 minutes or until just golden and crispy!

STORAGE:

Keeps for 9 to 12 days in the fridge in a glass jar or storage container with a tight-fitting or snaplock lid. Condense down your containers as you eat. Stores up to 2 months in the freezer, thaw in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter till defrosted. 

Recommended storage containers: Quart-sized glass Mason jar or 4-cup capacity glass snap-lock containers.

Nutrition Facts

Chipotle Lentil & Black Bean Soup

Serving Size

 

1 cup

Amount per Serving

Calories

177.34

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

1.27

g

2

%

Saturated Fat

 

0.34

g

2

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

0.365

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

0.255

g

Cholesterol

 

1.2

mg

0

%

Sodium

 

101.18

mg

4

%

Potassium

 

811.55

mg

23

%

Carbohydrates

 

31.87

g

11

%

Fiber

 

9.05

g

38

%

Sugar

 

6.97

g

8

%

Protein

 

10.13

g

20

%

Vitamin A

 

254.09

IU

5

%

Vitamin C

 

5.195

mg

6

%

Calcium

 

57.71

mg

6

%

Iron

 

3.38

mg

19

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

I’d love to know what you think if you give this recipe a try!

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