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!

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!
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
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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.
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Reduce heat to medium and add in black beans, remaining veggie broth, nutritional yeast, cumin and lemon juice. Cook for another 10 minutes.
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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!
Threw it all in the instantpot, except for lemon juice. Cooked for 15 minutes. Delish. I made a spooky Halloween garnish too!
YAY!! So happy to hear it works in the Instant Pot and cooked so quickly!!
Thanks so much, Jenni, for taking the time to leave a rating and letting me know about that amazing cooking alternative!
xo, Kristen
Made it in the instant pot as well (10 min.) and it turned out great. Whenever I make any kind of lentil soup, I add Balsamic Vinegar for extra flavor. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe, Marion!
I love that you made the balsamic addition–I will have to try that next time!
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and recipe rating!
xo, Kristen
Made it in the instant pot with one cup dried lentils instead of two cups cooked…15 minutes…added the lemon juice after. It was delicious – thanks for the recipe!
Hi Megan,
Thanks so much for letting us know that it works in the Instant Pot and that you enjoyed the recipe!
xo, Kristen
I made this for dinner tonight. Terrific. My husband loved it. I added a full can of black beans, 1 lb mushrooms, 3 cups vegetables plus 1 red bell pepper. Thanks for the recipe!
I love those additions you made and so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it!
This is a delicious soup that is my go-to recipe now! I just put everything in the pot at once and let it cook and it works great! I take it with me to family event to enjoy.
I’m so happy to hear that you tried and loved this recipe and thanks so much for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it Theresa!
This might become my favorite soup. It’s super easy and flavorful. I added onions and extra veggies since we don’t like mushrooms. I threw in the full can of chipotle peppers, which was too spicy for my BF, but perfect for me. Topped with cashew sour cream. Thank you for posting this recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that you liked this recipe and that it even tastes good without the mushrooms! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a review and recipe rating!
Kristen
Delicious and simple! It was spicy 8 out of 10 on the spicy scale.
Hi Melissa,
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a recipe rating and a spiciness rating too! You can always put in less of the chipotle adobo next time!
This soup was DELICIOUS, yet so easy to make! The flavor was perfect, and I like that I can adjust the heat. My husband, who doesn’t necessarily follow a nutritarian diet, thought it was excellent! I’ll set be making this again! Thank you Kristen!
Hi Lynn, thank you so much for taking the time to let me know that you enjoyed the soup–and even your hubby did too! It’s definitely a great soup to feed to non-nutritarians!
Chipolte and Black Bean Sou p is stunning. Just loved it and will make it again. I think many kinds of eaters would enjoy it. Also, I did calories count of one serving, which I need to know for health reasons, and it is below 250 , which makes it a great option for me. Thx. JD WI
Hi Jody,
So happy to hear you enjoyed it and that the calories were on point for you!
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a recipe rating and review!
xo, Kristen
Is there a way I can make this less spicy for my toddler? Is there a good substitute for the chipotle?
Hi Jonathan, it’s a big part of the flavor but I think you could omit it and maybe double the cumin.
Thanks for this great recipe. I made it in the instapot- water sautéed the veggies and spices and then added the canned beans and dry lentils. Cooked for 15 mins. I didn’t have chipotle peppers so I subbed a can of diced green chiles and added paprika. My frozen mix was peas, carrots and green beans. Turned out delicious!
Hi fellow Kristen!
I love that it can be made in the Instapot–thanks so much for sharing that very helpful information with us! I still don’t have an Instapot, so I’m not in the cool crowd yet.
I really appreciate you taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment and recipe rating!
All the best,
Kristen
Any idea of how many servings this makes?
It would serve 4 people, but I’m not sure on the amount per serving. I will update it soon to reflect that!
Chipotle Lentil & Black Bean Soup was great — deep flavor with green onions, radishes, avocado & pico de gallo on top. Thanks!
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a lovely comment and recipe rating, Eileen!
Thank you for sharing this delicious soup.
Absolutely my pleasure! So happy you enjoyed it!
Dear Kristen, I love this soup! I often mix up the ingredients with fresh veggies in place of frozen, I add tomatoes, I increase the cumin. And it always turns out delicious! And quick. Thank you for this and your other nutritarian recipes. I’m hooked and you make it easy. Thank you!!
Hi Ellen!
I love the additions you make to the soup! It’s such a simple base with endless ingredient combinations. Thank you for taking the time to let me know you enjoy it!
Kristen
Thanks for all the information on the Nutritarian plan. I just made this and it is so good! TrueLime makes a seasoning of Lime, Garlic and Cilantro—without salt—and it gives this soup a great zing. I will make this again and again. Thank you!
Hi Darian,
Ohh, that seasoning sounds so delicious! Thanks so much for letting me know about that spice brand because I really love citrus flavor!
I appreciate you taking the time to leave such a helpful comment and recipe rating!
All the best,
Kristen
I LOVE this soup! It is my go-to. I add veggies I have in my fridge and a can of diced tomatoes too.
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it Ellen!
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a recipe rating and comment!
xo, Kristen
I also put it in the Instapot for 15 minutes. Very good, but next time I’m going to add cilantro, simply because I live in south Texas and use it alot also will add onion and garlic. Is that acceptable on my new eating lifestyle?
Hi Roberta, so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! And cilantro is definitely acceptable (and encouraged) on the nutritarian plan!
This looks delicious! I love soups that are full of flavor like this one! I’ll have to try the recipe soon!
I hope you enjoy it! And please let me know what you think of it when you get the chance–this is one of my favorite soup recipes!