Lentil Rice Soup

This Mexican Lentil Rice Soup recipe is made with green lentils, brown rice, tomatoes, onion and garlic. If you love to make soup, then you are going to love this recipe! It’s made with simple ingredients and it has an amazing combination of flavors! Win-win!

This healthy lentil brown rice soup is a rich, hearty and nourishing soup that your whole family will love!

This family-friendly lentil and rice soup is quick and easy to make any night of the week. And if you have leftovers, they taste even better the next day.

Mexican Lentil And Rice Soup Recipe Ingredients

• Lentils. Use green lentils for this soup recipe because they hold their shape better when cooked.
• Spanish Rice. We use this Spanish Brown Rice for this soup (keeping it healthy), 
• Aromatics. We use a delicious combination of onion, garlic and jalapeno for this soup.
• Oil. We use extra-virgin olive oil to saute the aromatics with.
• Tomatoes. We toss in chopped Roma tomatoes to this soup adding a little tomato flavor.
• Seasoning. We lightly season this soup with a little ground cumin, salt and black pepper to taste.
• Broth. Use a salt-free or low-sodium chicken broth for this soup.
• Garnish. Avocado, chopped tomatoes, onion (red or green) and cilantro

Find printable recipe. with the measurements below.

Variations

• Rice. Use plain white rice, boxed Spanish rice, or our restaurant style Spanish Rice instead of brown Spanish rice. You can also use our Spanish Quinoa if you prefer quinoa over rice.
• Add Vegetables. Add chopped zucchini and yellow squash to the soup.
• Make It Vegan. Use vegetable broth if you want to make this soup vegan.
• Cheese. Garnish with Jack Cheese or Pepper Jack Cheese (grated or cut into small cubes). 

How To Make Lentil And Brown Rice Soup

1. Make Spanish Brown Rice.  Made your pot of Spanish rice, and while the rice is cooking you can prepare the soup.
2. Saute Onions and Garlic. Heat oil in large saucepan or Dutch oven and saute the onion for 2 to 3 minutes, then add in the minced garlic and saute for another 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Add Tomatoes and Seasoning. Add chopped tomatoes, jalapeno slices and cumin with the onions and garlic and stir.
4. Add broth. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Place lid on pot and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. 
5. Add Rice. Add the cooked Spanish rice to the pot during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
6. Add Lime Juice. Turn the burner off and add the juice of 1 lime. Add more lime juice if desired.
7. Serve. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each bowl generously with avocado, a tablespoon or two of chopped tomatoes, green or red onion and cilantro or pico de gallo.

For The Spanish Brown Rice

Adding Spanish Rice to this soup rather than just plain white rice gives this soup a really great flavor!

• Oil. We use a little extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil to brown the rice and onion.
• Long-grain brown rice. We like to use brown rice because it’s a little healthier than white rice.
• Tomato sauce. Tomato sauce adds a little flavor to the rice.
• Chicken broth. Use low-sodium or no-sodium broth so you can control the amount of salt (sodium) in this soup.
• Onion. Use brown onion.
• Seasoning. We use a little onion powder and garlic power to add flavor to the rice.

How To Make Spanish Brown Rice

1. Rinse Rice. This step is important for removing starches on the outside of the rice which will cause the rice to clump and stick together as it cooks. Add rice to a fine mesh strainer and run under cold water until the water runs clear.
2. Saute.  Heat oil in saucepan. Add onion, celery and cook for about 2 minutes, then stir in the brown rice with the onion and celery and cook another 3-4 minutes or until the rice starts to turn golden.
3. Tomato Sauce.  Stir in the tomato sauce, onion powder, garlic powder and dried parsley.
4. Chicken Broth.  Pour in the chicken broth and stir.
5. Cook:  Bring pot to a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer. Place lid on pot and simmer rice for 25-30 minutes or until the liquid has absorbed. It will still look a little moist with the tomato sauce on top. This will settle after the rice sets for 10 minutes.
6. Rest. Remove pot from heat, and leave the lid on the pot and let the rice finish steaming absorbing the liquids for about 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork. The rice may still look a little moist on top when you remove it from the heat.

Best Way To Store Leftover Soup

Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored, the soup should last up to 5 days.

Looking For More Lentil Recipes To Try?

• Italian Lentil Soup
• Sausage Lentil Soup
• Mexican Lentil Vegetable Soup
• Red Lentil Soup

Continue to Content

Print

Yield: 6 servings

Lentil Rice Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

This Mexican Lentil Rice Soup recipe is made with green lentils, brown rice, tomatoes, onion and garlic. If you love to make soup, then you are going to love this recipe! It's made with simple ingredients and it has an amazing combination of flavors! Win-win!

Ingredients

• 1 cup green lentils
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1 onion, sliced vertically
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 4 slices of Jalapeno
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Juice of 1-2 limes
• 2 cups Spanish rice

For The Spanish Brown Rice

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil
• 1 cup long-grain brown rice, rinsed under water
• 1/4 cup brown onion, finely minced
• 1 teaspoons onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 cup low-sodium tomato sauce
• 2-1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Instructions

For The Rice

1. Add brown rice to a fine mesh strainer and run under cold water until the water runs clear. (This step is important for removing starches on the outside of the rice which will cause the rice to clump and stick together as it cooks).
2. Heat oil in saucepan. Add onion, celery and cook for about 2 minutes, then stir in the brown rice with the onion and celery and cook another 3-4 minutes or until the rice starts to turn golden brown.
3. Stir in the tomato sauce, onion powder, garlic powder and dried parsley.
4. Pour in the chicken broth and stir. Bring pot to a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer.
5. Place lid on pot and simmer rice for 20 minutes or until the liquid has absorbed.
6. Remove pot from heat, and leave the lid on the pot and let the rice finish steaming in the pot for about 10 minutes before fluffing. The brown rice will look a little moist with the tomato sauce on top. This will settle after the rice sets in the pot for 10 minutes.
7. Fluff rice using a fork.

For The Soup

1. Heat oil in large saucepan or Dutch oven and saute the onion for 2 to 3 minutes, then add in the minced garlic and saute for another 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, jalapeno slices and cumin.
3. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Place lid on pot and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. 
4. Add the cooked Spanish rice to the pot during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
5. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice.
6. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each bowl generously with avocado, a tablespoon or two of chopped tomatoes, green or red onion and cilantro or pico de gallo.

Notes

Variations

• Rice. Use plain white rice, boxed Spanish rice, or our restaurant style Spanish Rice instead of brown Spanish rice. You can also use our Spanish Quinoa if you prefer quinoa over rice.
• Add Vegetables. Add chopped zucchini and yellow squash to the soup.
• Make It Vegan. Use vegetable broth if you want to make this soup vegan.
• Cheese. Garnish with Jack Cheese or Pepper Jack Cheese (grated or cut into small cubes). 

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 311Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 1516mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 6gSugar: 11gProtein: 12g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.