Spiced Mexican Bean Soup
This bowl is everything I love — smoky, hearty, earthy, and full of the good stuff.
I took my Spiced Mexican Bean Soup and added some extra seasonal love: roasted sweetcorn and Mexi-spiced sweet potatoes, finished with a drizzle of smoky chipotle salsa which you can also serve with a big dollop of creamy guacamole.
Why we should eat more beans
Beans are such a wonderful, underrated ingredient — high in plant protein, rich in fibre (hello gut health), and naturally satisfying.
I love building layers of flavour with beans, especially with a little Mexican warmth.
These humble legumes are rich in soluble fiber, which helps lower cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar levels, reducing the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
According to Zoe, beans are packed with plant-based protein, iron, zinc, magnesium, and folate. They also contain prebiotic compounds that nourish your gut microbiome, supporting overall digestive health.
You can use any combination of beans you have on hand — black beans, red kidney, cannellini, chickpeas, or butterbeans all work beautifully.
Always toast your spices
Toasting your spices, even if they are ground, makes all the flavour difference.
When you toast whole spices in a dry pan, they release their essential oils and fill your kitchen with the most beautiful aroma — it deepens the flavour, makes the spices taste fuller and more rounded. Trust me, once you start, you won’t go back.
Serving suggestions
- would be so good served with my Mexican Spiced Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- a dollop of my Roasted Tomatoes & Smoky Chipotle Salsa would be great too!
AND of course a cheese toastie loaded with mature cheddar and diced spring onions would be amazing because who does not love dunking a melted cheese toastie in a soup?!
Spiced Mexican Bean Soup
Equipment
- hand blender optional
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 red onion peeled and diced
- 2 large red peppers white membrane removed, diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Spanish smoked sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons salt
- pinch chilli flakes more if in love with chilli
- 6 tablespoons red lentils
- 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 x 400g tin black beans
- 1 x 400g tin red kidney beans
- 1,2 litres vegetable stock heated
- 3 corn cobs kernels
- handful coriander leaves only, chopped
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a medium saucepan, add the onions, peppers and pinch of chilli. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 15 minutes
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Then stir in the tomato paste, salt, and spices. If the mixture seems very dry, add a little more oil. Fry for an additional 3 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, lentils, stock and beans and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook, covered until the lentils are soft, about 12-15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Remove from the heat, add the corn and stir through. TEXTURE TIP: I take the texture of soup seriously 🙂 - preferring a thickish soup, in order to do this, I like to give my soups a few bursts with a hand blender to 'bring everything together'.
- When the soup has cooled a little, sprinkle over the coriander if using.
- To serve, ladle the soup in bowls and serve with wedges of limes, the tomato salsa and sweet potatoes (if making) or mature cheese toasties. See above for serving suggestions.
