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With over 50 five-star reviews and packed with protein and fiber, this mung bean soup is a quick dinner that the entire family will enjoy. We’ll cover everything you need to know to make it virtually foolproof!
save this recipe!What are mung beans?
Mung beans, also known as marsh or moong, are little green beans that resemble peas. They’re actually legumes and are commonly found in Asian and Indian cuisine.
Like most types of beans and legumes, mung beans are individual little powerhouses, providing many vitamins, nutrients, and benefits in each bite. They provide lots of plant-based protein in addition to fiber, magnesium, iron, copper, and zinc. They’re also filled with antioxidants and are great for cholesterol, digestion, and blood sugar.
Reader rating
“I made this soup a while back and my whole family loved it. I think my 2.5 year old loved it the most. This recipe is definitely a keeper!” —Marissa
you don’t need much to make this soup
The ingredients in this soup are chewy, savory, and just… perfect. (This is an overview, and you can jump to the recipe card for exact measurements!)
- Mung Beans: Can’t have mung bean soup without the mung beans! These can usually be found in your local grocery store or online.
- Vegetable Broth: Using broth in place of water adds so much savory flavor!
- Coconut Milk: A can of coconut milk will add a creaminess that will make it all the more cozy.
- Flavor Makers: We’ll lay down the base flavors by sautéing white onion, garlic, ginger, and celery in a splash of oil and finishing with salt. Helloooo, flavor town.
- Spinach: Finally, spinach adds a pop of bright green nutrition! Traditional Filipino-style monggo beans are made with malunggay leaves (moringa oleifera), though these may be difficult to find, depending on where you are.
where to find mung beans
These are generally found near other dried beans in the store or in the international aisle. If you can’t find them there, you can also try your local Asian supermarket.
Let’s make it!
Jump to the recipe for full printable instructions.
Step 1: Prepare The Beans
First, rinse the mung beans with cold water in a colander, picking out any bad-looking beans or pebbles. Add the beans to a larger pot along with the vegetable broth. Set the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to reach a gentle simmer, and then cook the beans, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes.
Step 2: Add The Flavor
While the mung beans cook, heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger, and celery. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Step 3: Create The Soup
Finally, stir the sautéed veggies into the pot of mung beans, along with the can of coconut milk and the chopped spinach. Let it gently simmer until the coconut milk is hot and the spinach has wilted. Serve warm.
What nutrients are in mung beans?
As a nutritionist, I’m always keeping an eye out for nutrient-dense ingredients, and mung beans are one of the best. 1 cup of cooked mung beans has:
- 14g of protein
- 15 grams of fiber
In addition, they are rich in folate, manganese, magnesium, thiamine, phosphorous, iron, copper, potassium, and zinc. They also have a good portion of your daily intake of vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E.
How To Make Mung Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried mung beans, 400 g
- 8 cups vegetable broth, 2 L
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, 15 mL
- 1 cup diced white onion, about 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 14-oz can coconut milk, 414 mL
- 3 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Beans: Rinse 2 cups dried mung beans with cold water in a colander, picking out any bad looking beans or pebbles. Add beans to a large pot along with 8 cups vegetable broth. Set heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to reach a gentle simmer, then cook the beans, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes. They are finished when they are soft and some have burst. Most of the broth should be absorbed, though a little is okay.
- Flavor Makers: While mung beans cook, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add 1 cup diced white onion, 2 cloves garlic, 2 Tbsp freshly grated ginger, and 1 cup diced celery. Cook until onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Soup: Add sauteed veggies into the pot of mung beans, along with 1 14-oz can coconut milk and 3 cups fresh spinach. Let gently simmer until coconut milk is hot and spinach has wilted. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
Just made this and it is simply delicious. Super easy to make and feels wholesome
So happy to hear it, Lau! Enjoy! 😀
This is so delicious, I added garlic chili sauce to spice it up and give it a kick.
I would like to know if anyone has frozen it.
I used one cup mung bean instead of two, three cups of trader joes low sodium vegetable broth and coconut cream instead of coconut milk. I followed the rest of the recipe. It was delicious!
The soup sounds wonderful but the price of Moong dal has skyrocketed! Can I make this with Red Lentils instead?
Yes that should be fine! 😀
Hi Sarah,
Can I add a half can coconut cream instead coconut milk?
Yes! And just supplement the rest of the volume by adding a bit of water.
Wow, that was super delicious. The whole family loved it. Thank you so much
Pretty good. I like the texture. Could use more flavour.
This is great soup and very easy. I made it in the instant pot. You can add any veggies you have afterwards. Thank you so much for this.🙏❤️
outstanding and easy recipe and everyone loves this!!!!!!
I’m so happy to hear it, Joleen! Enjoy! 😀
I combined two recipes by adding way more vegetables – I went full mirepoix (in other words, I added carrots) and added zucchini too. The other recipe called for turmeric, so I added that too and it tasted vaguely curry-ish.
Two comments. 1. Mung beans never get very big – so with my version they were kind of a smaller percentage of the soup. Which was fine because they never got particularly soft (after a loooong soak time) and weren’t hugely flavorful. 2. You may end up adding more broth.
My family liked this and I assume it’s super healthy, so if I get mung beans again this would absolutely be my go-to as a starting point. Darn, just realized I forgot the ginger! That would have pepped it up in a good way, I think.
Giving it 5 stars because since I changed it a lot, it’s not fair to criticize the original at all.
Where can I find Mung
beans
Hi Mark! I bought them online here 😀