This lively chorizo, bean and vegetable soup is as chunky as your favourite sweater and just as warming. Exactly what’s needed to ward off the last of winter. This thick soup is brimming with vegetables; carrots, celery, peppers, green beans and kale, and packed with fortifying borlotti beans, all steeped in a chorizo-infused tomato-based broth rich in garlic, paprika and thyme. Yes, I’m sure it’s a soup.

Just a little bit of chorizo can infuse a dish with heaps of flavour. It works for this soup, as well as my Chorizo Gnocchi Recipe!

Close up shot of chorizo bean and veg soup in a bowl topped with Parmesan

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This one’s a Spanish-inspired soup thanks to the chorizo, paprika and peppers, but if you’re more of the Italian persuasion, try its near-neighbour pasta e fagioli. This recipe is lighter on the veg, swaps chorizo for pancetta, and has a generously cheesy finish. Which camp are you?

I know it’s a little naïve, but I really thought that when we turned the 31^st-of-January corner we’d pop out in Spring. Anyone else? I am bitterly disappointed and to compound the situation it has been non-stop rain.

Now we have a garden again, I can’t wait to see what flowers will bloom in it. In the UK, it’s the glimmering tips of snowdrop shoots that crop up first, followed by saffron and lilac-coloured crocuses, then brilliant daffodils.

In the meantime, I’m making do with this brightly flavoured soup- its vibrant red peppers, uplifting paprika kick, and nod to sunny Spain is keeping my chin and hopes up! May it bring a little zing to your kitchen too!

Chorizo recipes

In case you didn’t know, there are actually two types of chorizo: Mexican and Spanish. Mexican is raw pork, tends to be made with ground chili peppers and requires cooking. Spanish is cured, flavoured with paprika (so not as fiery), and can be eaten uncooked.

In this vegetable soup recipe, Spanish chorizo brings a concentration of ingredients; pork, the fat from which melts to form an unctuous base; garlic; and tickly paprika, which all infuse the soffritto without the need for multiple ingredients.

Most of the recipes on the blog make use of Spanish chorizo, which is more readily available in the UK than its Mexican counterpart.

It can take centre stage in dishes like creamy chorizo and spinach orzo or chorizo gnocchi, or it can give a flavoursome undertone to soups, stews or casseroles. It can be used at breakfast, lunch or dinner. It’s a stuffing ingredient, or a cheesy dip topping. It’s uses are endless.

Chorizo, it’s a gift. It’s a kitchen/life hack. It’s a wonder sausage worthy of all the praise. It’s the ultimate secret ingredient.

Top down shot of chorizo bean soup in a deep pot with a ladle

Bean and vegetable soup

In spite of, or maybe because of its healthy properties, bean and vegetable soup can be a hard sell! While my husband has no issue with it, my kids have not always been so easily convinced!

Thanks to my own years’ of plugging the combination, I can offer this advice:

Use vegetables you know they like! Carrots are an easy win, I’ve also had success with peas. Broccoli is a family fave too.
Serve with bread. Kids might not eat the broth from a spoon, but they will dunk their bread in it! That way you know they have benefitted from some of the nutritional value!
Add chorizo. The meaty and smoky flavour takes priority making it more palatable to those less keen. It also means you can dub it ‘Spanish sausage soup’, thus removing any triggering ingredient words.

Close up shot of a slice of bread being dipped into a bowl of chorizo bean soup

Recipe tips and notes

Once you introduce Spanish chorizo to your stores, there is no going back! Just a few cubes of this semi-cured sausage can totally transform a dish. Stock up!
I started building my soup base with the usual trio of onions, carrots and celery and then went wild and added diced red pepper too! It added colour and sweetness.
Although chorizo is loaded with garlic and spices, I wanted a big impact, so I added more. The result was a rich red, paprika-peppered, chunky soup.
The paprika should be ‘hot’ not ‘sweet’. It will say on the label.
Beans add bulk, protein and bite. I always use a ready-to-go can from the cupboard for convenience.
Creamy-textured beans like borlotti or cannellini are the most satisfying in soups, I find.
There are lots of veg options for this soup. I used green beans as I had a few that needed using up! Take your pick.
Solid alternatives are spinach, broad beans (fava beans) or kale. Make sure to remove the kale ribs if using, they are too tough and woody for soup.
Feel free to use frozen vegetables if that’s what’s available.
Finally, pasta could be added too. It makes it more appealing to picky eaters and the carbs add extra satisfaction.
Use small pasta like This is an affiliate link.orzo or stelline (little stars), or short pasta like fusilli or orecchiette.

Process shots of chorizo and veg being prepared before added to pot and cooked into soup

Serving suggestions

Soup is served a few ways in my house, dependent on the following hunger levels:

Peckish- comes with a slice of homemade crusty bread and butter.

Hungry- a tuna salad sandwich or chickpea sandwich (the latter especially good with this soup!).

Ravenous – a goats cheese sandwich with roasted vegetables, or seared duck breast with roasted red peppers and artichokes.

Storage and leftovers

This chunky bean and vegetable soup will keep quite nicely in the fridge in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container for 2-3 days. If you’ve used pasta in the recipe, you can expect a lot of the liquid to be absorbed, just add extra water or stock when you come to reheat on the stove top.

This chorizo soup will also freeze well. An absolute blessing as we stare down the barrel of another month of winter! I’m sure you’ll need it sooner, but it will see up to 3 months in the freezer.

It can be worthwhile to freeze in single portions. I use this This is an affiliate link.silicone freezer mold.

To use the frozen soup, defrost in the fridge overnight. Then bring to the boil in a This is an affiliate link.saucepan on the stovetop and allow to simmer for a few minutes before serving.

More soup recipes to try