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Lentil Soup with Mexican Chorizo adds a kick of spicy chorizo, taco seasoning and jalapeños to traditional lentil soup for a hearty, bold and flavorful one pot meal.
Growing up in South Central Texas, we did not eat lentils. We ate Texas BBQ, Tex-Mex, and traditional meatloaf and mashed potatoes and other meat and potato dishes.
What Are Lentils
When we first got married and I fixed lentils for my hubby, I first had to explain to him what Lentils were. I told him Lentils are these flat, disk-like dried beans that are high in protein and cook very fast.
Why We Love This Chorizo Lentil Soup
What I like about this Lentil Soup with Mexican Chorizo is that it is a one pot meal that can be on the table in less than 45 minutes and makes for easy clean up so I can spend my time with my family and not by myself in the kitchen.
Recipe Sharing With Friends
When I told my friend in Mexico that I was going to be creating a lentil soup, she told me that she had to share with her Mom’s recipe, which was now her recipe that she served to her daughter and family.
Her recipe, which served as the base for my Lentil Soup with Mexican Chorizo, looked to me to be what I would call a more traditional lentil soup recipe with lentils and lots of vegetables including onions, carrots, celery, and tomatoes. However, it was not spicy at all.
I knew if I was going to serve this to my family that I would have to add some bold spicy flavors in order to get them to eat it. Therefore, I added chorizo, jalapeños, and taco seasoning to add some bold flavors and appeal to their taste preferences.
Ingredients Needed
Below, I discuss the ingredients and possible substitutions if you don't have a specific ingredient. However, if you are looking for the specific measurements of each ingredient, scroll down to the bottom of this article, just above the comments, for the printable recipe card, which includes all the ingredients and the specific amounts of each one.
- Ground Mexican chorizo – I like to use a ground Mexican Chorizo, but you could use whatever type of chorizo is available from your grocery store.
- Onion – Dice a white onion.
- Garlic – You can mince the garlic yourself or use store-bought pre-minced garlic.
- Celery – Chop up a stalk of celery
- Carrot – I used store-bought sliced carrots but you could slice up a carrot yourself.
- Spinach – Fresh spinach is best for this recipe.
- Jalapeños – The diced jalapeños add spicy flavor. If you don’t want the spicy heat, you can leave out the jalapeños, or you can de-seed the jalapeño to reduce the spiciness.
- Lentils
- Tomatoes – You can use regular diced tomatoes or use Ro*Tel tomatoes to add more flavor.
- Chicken Broth
- Taco Seasoning – I like to make my own Taco Seasoning Recipe, but you could use store-bought.
The Chorizo and taco seasoning add so much flavor, and the diced jalapeños add flavor and heat to this Lentil Soup with Mexican Chorizo.
However, the soup still has the delicious lentils as well as loads of vegetables, such as the ones I described above, plus I added carrots and spinach as well.
How To Make Lentil Soup With Mexican Chorizo
In a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook the chorizo until browned.
Add the onions, garlic, celery, carrots, jalapeños, and spinach to the pot and sauté with the chorizo until the vegetables start to become tender, about 5 minutes, stirring often.
Add the lentils, tomatoes, and chicken broth and bring it all to a simmer. Stir in the taco seasoning.
Cover and reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Stir often to prevent the soup from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When the lentils are soft and the soup has thickened.
Serve this Lentil Soup with Mexican Chorizo with crusty bread, Focaccia Bread, or cornbread.
Recipe Tips
- Chorizo – If the chorizo is too greasy, you can drain off all but a couple of tablespoons of grease. You need a little bit of fat to sauté the vegetables.
- Reduce Spiciness – If you want to reduce the spicy heat, you can de-seed the jalapeños, or leave out the jalapeños all together.
When will you be serving Lentil Soup with Mexican Chorizo?
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Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Mexican chorizo
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 1 large carrot peeled and sliced
- 2 cups fresh spinach leaves chopped
- 2 jalapeños seeded and diced
- 1 cup lentils
- 3 roma tomatoes chopped
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
Instructions
- In a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook the chorizo until browned.
- Add the onions, garlic, celery, carrots, jalapeños, and spinach to the pot and sauté with the chorizo until the vegetables start to become tender, about 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the lentils, tomatoes, and chicken broth and bring it all to a simmer. Stir in the taco seasoning.
- Cover and reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Stir often to prevent the soup from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When the lentils are soft and the soup has thickened.
- Serve this Lentil Soup with Mexican Chorizo with crusty bread or cornbread.
Megan @ MegUnprocessed says
The flavors in this recipe sound amazing!!
Alma @ Freelance Writer India says
The flavors in this dish sound fantastic!! Many thanks for sharing the recipe. Love the dish box!