Wondering what to do with your bag of mung beans? I’ve got just the recipe for you! Filled with fresh veggies like beets and celery, mung bean soup is full of flavor, warming, and filling. Pair it with a hunk of garlic bread for a cozy weeknight meal.

WHY WE LOVE THIS RECIPE

It’s nutritious. Mung beans have a variety of health benefits. Not only are they high in proteins and amino acids, but they are also rich in antioxidants, B vitamins, folate, and fiber. Studies suggest that mung bean extracts may have the potential to improve symptoms of inflammatory conditions.
It’s quick and easy. Using a pressure cooker or Instant Pot eliminates the need to soak the mung beans before cooking. This mung beans recipe is ready to plate in less than 12 minutes.
All the lovely veggies! Not only does the addition of root vegetables make this mung bean soup super healthy, but it’s also low in calories. In addition, the variety of vegetables enhances the flavor.
Mung beans are easy to digest. If you encounter tummy troubles with other legumes, give mung beans a try. Research shows that the carbs in mung beans may be easier to digest than those found in other beans.

INGREDIENTS

Here’s what you’ll need to make the perfect bowl of mung bean soup:

Mung beans
Veggie medley: beets, sweet potatoes, carrots, celery
Vegetable broth
Garlic
Scallions
Fresh thyme leaves

INGREDIENT NOTES

Mung beans: I love using organic sprouted mung beans from TruRoots. They cook quite fast and have a rich, creamy texture and a nutty-sweet taste.
Beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, celery: These veggies create a base for the stew. The beets, carrots, and sweet potatoes provide a subtle sweetness to the dish. At the same time, celery balances it out by adding a hint of savory goodness.
Vegetable broth: Use homemade vegetable broth to make dressings or gravies, casseroles, pasta recipes, and cook grains. In this recipe, vegetable broth is used instead of water to add flavor to the dish.
Garlic: It complements most savory dishes and adds a delicious aroma and depth of flavor to the dish. To get the most health benefits from garlic, always choose fresh over bottled.
Scallions: Also known as green onions, scallions have a sweet, mild flavor. When paired with other aromatics like onions and garlic, they form a rich flavor base for mung bean recipes.
Fresh thyme leaves: Thyme is a member of the mint family and is very aromatic. It enhances the flavor of mung bean sprouts without overpowering the taste of the dish itself.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1: COOK THE AROMATICS

Mince the garlic cloves and roughly chop the onion. Cut up the scallions. In the pressure cooker, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped aromatics to the pot. Sauté while stirring for around 5 minutes until they’re fragrant and tender.

STEP 2: PREP THE VEGETABLES

Wash the beet, sweet potato, celery stalks, and carrots. Chop them into bite-sized pieces. You can peel the beets and carrots before chopping, but I prefer to cook them with the skin.

STEP 3: CREATE THE MUNG BEAN SOUP

Add the chopped veggies and mung beans to the pot. Pour in the vegetable broth. Lastly, pull the fresh thyme leaves from their stems and add them to the pot. Cover the pressure cooker and bring the mixture to full pressure over medium-high heat.

Once the pressure cooker starts to whistle, reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. You don’t want the mung beans to overcook, so make sure you don’t let it continue cooking for longer than that.

After the 10 minutes are up, take the lid off and stir everything together. If you want to thin out the soup, add some more vegetable broth.

Cooked mung beans soup in a pressure cooker

STEP 4: ADD THE SEASONINGS

Once the soup is ready, add some sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste. Simmer the dish for five more minutes and serve!

EXPERT TIPS

Modified mung beans recipe. If you don’t have a pressure cooker or Instant Pot, you can still make this mung bean soup recipe. Remove any withered beans and other debris and then wash the beans. Bring the ingredients to a boil in a large stewing pot and let the mixture simmer for 30 minutes or until the mung beans look puffy.
Use seasonal vegetables. Vegetables in season are always more affordable. For example, suppose you don’t have beets. In that case, you can replace them with purple carrots, red cabbage (to attain the same coloring), parsnips, turnips, or celeriac.
Double the recipe. Make large batches of mung bean soup for lunch and dinner options throughout the week.
Go easy on the herbs. Too much thyme can result in bitter and overpowering flavor notes. If this happens to you, add more stock or water. However, you also run the risk of diluting other flavors in the dish. Alternatively, add more umami flavor to the dish using soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce. Lemon or lime juice may also work.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Do I have to soak mung beans before cooking?

I don’t soak mung bean sprouts because it takes me 10 minutes with a pressure cooker and no more than 30 minutes in a stewing pot (depending on how soft you want them to be). However, some people find that soaking helps break down the beans when digesting (hence reducing indigestion). Pre-soaking for 2 hours before cooking should be sufficient.

Can I use another variety of beans instead of mung beans?

Of course! Lentils, pigeon peas, and black-eyed peas are all great substitutes for mung beans.

Can I freeze this soup?

Yes, you can. After the soup has cooled, portion as desired (so that you can take out what you need at any given time). Place the portions in vacuum sealer bags, Ziploc freezer bags, or freezer-safe containers. If you’re using bags, spread the sealed bags out flat onto a sheet pan and place in your freezer. Once the bags are frozen, you can stack them neatly in your freezer.

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