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!

My favorite things about this soup recipe:

• simple, healthy, nutrient-dense ingredients
• very low oil
• low sodium (for a soup)
• short cooking time (for a soup)
• smoky & savory flavor
• lasts up to 9 days in the fridge (stored in glass containers)

9 Whole Food Ingredients

Sometimes soup recipes can get overly-complicated.

I don’t know about you but too many ingredients in any recipe instantly shuts me down.

That’s why I made this Chipotle Lentil & Black Bean Soup simple, effective (it fills us up) and delicious (because what are we even doing here if it’s not going to taste amazing!?).

• pre-cooked lentils
• canned black beans
• frozen vegetable blend
• fresh mushrooms
• chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

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!

Is this recipe nutritarian?

I originally created this recipe when I was first transitioning into my nutritarian lifestyle back in 2014.  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’re thinking about starting 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.

Other Amazing Things About This Soup

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!

How to Make This a One-Pot Meal

I don’t own an Instant Pot but I can pretty much assure you that this recipe would work well in said device.

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!

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!

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:

• 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 about 30 minutes or until just golden and crispy!

4.93 from 14 votes

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Chipotle Lentil & Black Bean Soup

This warming, low-oil, low-sodium, vegan and nutritarian Chipotle Lentil & Black Bean Soup is packed full of fiber with a rich, savory and subtly spicy flavor that's perfect for cozying up during those colder fall and winter months!

Course Soup

Cuisine Mexican

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

Servings 4 people

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 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

Keeps for up to 9 days in the fridge and up to 1 month in the freezer.

Recommended storage: quart-sized glass Mason jar or glass snap-lock containers

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!