This hearty lentil chorizo soup is full of flavor, simple to make, and easy on the budget. With smoky Spanish chorizo, vegetables, and tender lentils, it’s a satisfying meal that’s perfect for weeknight dinners, meal prep, or feeding a crowd.
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Unlike dried beans, lentils cook quickly and don’t require soaking, so this soup comes together in under an hour with minimal prep. The chorizo adds richness and bold flavor, while potatoes and vegetables give the soup body and balance.
What’s great about this recipe
- Full of flavor: Spanish chorizo, garlic, and spices build a rich base that infuses every bite with smoky, savory depth.
- Easy to make: No soaking required! Lentils cook fast, and the step-by-step prep makes this soup doable even on busy days.
- Hearty and wholesome: With lentils, vegetables, and potatoes, this soup is both filling and wholesome.
- Great for meal prep: Makes a big batch that stores well, perfect for leftovers or freezing.
Ingredients
🫒 Olive Oil – We use extra virgin, but any neutral olive oil will work.
🥕 Vegetables – Onion, carrot, and celery form the aromatic base.
🥓 Spanish Chorizo – Dried, cured chorizo adds depth and smoky flavor. Remove the casing before slicing.
🧄 Garlic & Tomato Paste – For extra richness and complexity.
🧂 Seasoning – Salt, oregano, cumin, and black pepper enhance the flavor.
🫘Brown or Green Lentils – These varieties hold their shape and are easy to find.
💧 Chicken Broth & Water – The base of the soup.
🥔 Potatoes – Russets work great, but red potatoes are a good substitute.
📖 See the recipe card for quantities and preparation.
How to make lentil chorizo soup
- Prep the ingredients: Dice the vegetables, mince the garlic, and peel and cube the potatoes. Rinse and sort the lentils carefully—check for small stones or debris.
- Create the flavor base: Sauté the onion, carrot, and celery in olive oil. Add chorizo, garlic, tomato paste, and spices. Cook for 1–2 minutes.
- Simmer the soup: Add lentils, broth, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the potatoes: Stir in the potatoes and cook for another 15 minutes, or until both the lentils and potatoes are tender.
- Taste and adjust: Check for seasoning and adjust the salt if needed. Serve hot.
Substitutions and Variations
- Potatoes: Russet potatoes give the soup a soft, starchy texture. Red or gold potatoes hold their shape better—use what you have on hand.
- Add extra vegetables: About ½ a bell pepper, finely diced, can be sautéed with the onions, carrots, and celery for more depth. You can also stir in a handful of fresh spinach or kale during the last few minutes of cooking—the greens will wilt quickly and add color and nutrients.
- Vegetarian version: Skip the chorizo and use vegetable broth for a meatless lentil soup. For a similar flavor, try adding a plant-based sausage made with smoked paprika or Spanish-style seasoning.
Recipe tips and notes
Prep ahead: Dice the vegetables, slice the chorizo, measure out your spices, and gather the remaining ingredients before you start for stress-free cooking.
Sort and rinse lentils: Always sort through lentils before cooking to remove any debris or small stones.
Chorizo tip: Peel the casing off the chorizo before slicing. It should come off easily like a thin paper wrap.
Customize the texture: Cook the lentils until just tender, or longer if you prefer a softer soup. Serving suggestion: This soup is delicious on its own but great with white rice, or crusty bread for dipping.
Storing and reheating instructions
Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4–5 days.
Freezer: This soup freezes well. Cool completely, then transfer to a freezer-safe container. Leave room at the top for expansion. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheating
- Stovetop: Reheat gently over medium-low heat in a saucepan. Add a tablespoon or two of broth or water to loosen the soup if it’s too thick. Stir occasionally until hot all the way through.
- Microwave: Heat in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until the soup is thoroughly heated.
Food safety: Don’t leave lentil soup out at room temperature for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour if the room is above 90°F). Reheat leftovers to an internal temperature of at least 165°F. For more information on food storage and safety guidelines visit U.S. Department of Agriculture and foodsafety.gov.
Frequently asked questions
Brown or green lentils are best for this soup. They hold their shape during cooking and are easy to find at most grocery stores. Avoid using red, yellow, or black lentils—these varieties tend to break down during cooking and will change the texture of the soup.
Spanish chorizo is a dry-cured pork sausage seasoned with paprika. It’s ready to eat and adds a smoky, savory flavor to soups and stews. You’ll find it in Latin markets, larger supermarkets, or online.
No. Mexican chorizo is raw and needs to be fully cooked, so it won’t work the same way in this soup. Stick to dry-cured Spanish chorizo for the best results.
If you enjoy cooking with lentils, there are plenty of ways to switch things up. Try our chicken lentil soup for something lighter, lentil potato soup for a hearty meatless option, or turkey and lentil soup for a leaner protein. Looking for something bold? Check out our Italian sausage lentil soup, or lentil chili for a rich, comforting meal with big flavor.
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📖 Recipe
Lentil Chorizo Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 small Onion finely diced
- 1 large Carrot peeled and diced
- 1 Celery Rib diced
- 3 ounces Spanish Chorizo casing removed and cut into rounds or half rounds
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
- ½ teaspoon Salt plus extra if needed for the finished soup
- ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Cumin
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 12-14 ounce package Brown or Green Lentils sorted and rinsed
- 6 cups Chicken Broth
- 2 cups Water
- 12-16 ounces Potatoes peeled and cut into ½-1 inch cubes (about 2 medium potatoes)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the onions, carrots and celery. Cook the vegetables for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the chorizo, garlic, tomato paste, salt, oregano, cumin and black pepper. Cook 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the lentils, chicken broth and the water to the pot. Raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil.
- Lower the heat to medium-low, cover and cook the lentils for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep the liquid at a gentle boil. It’s boiling too vigorously lower the heat a bit.
- Taste a few lentils to gauge the remaining cooking time. If the lentils are still hard, cook an additional 5-10 minutes and check again. As a reference, we cooked out lentils for 27 minutes before adding the potatoes.
- Add the potatoes to the pot. Remember to drain before adding them in if you were keeping them in water.
- Raise the heat to medium to get the liquid back to a boil. Cook the soup for 15 minutes, or until the lentils and the potatoes are tender. Lower the heat a bit if the liquid is boiling too vigorously.
- Taste the lentils and add salt if needed. As a reference we did not add extra to our lentil soup.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information above is computer generated and is only an estimate. There is no guarantee that it is accurate. This data is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only.
Iain W
Excellent recipe very clearly explained - thank you. Spice levels were just fine. It produces a very substantial quantity of soup, enough for at least six people, maybe eight.
Almost a stew rather than a soup - a meal in itself.
We had no celery but did have leek and kale to use up and they went just fine.
Elizabeth
Hi Iain, happy to hear you enjoyed it!
Lesley
Loved it. Put a 1tbls of sweet smoked paprika and increased cumin and garlic, plus a couple of ‘ends’ of Parmesan in the fridge. So good
TK
It's good but I would highly suggest you use at least three four or five times the amount of seasoning she suggests. Otherwise it would have been really bland. But it's good! I accidentally use more lentils, so I needed more water. And that might have been part of it, but I would highly recommend a lot more seasoning!
Elizabeth
I agree, if you change the amount of lentils and liquid then the remaining ingredients need to be adjusted accordingly.