Hearty Vegan Mung Bean Soup
This mung bean soup recipe is perfect for those seeking a comforting, flavorful, and healthy meal. The delicate flavor and creamy texture of mung beans combined with the medley of fresh veggies and spices create a rich, savory broth that warms both body and soul.
Being in Thailand, it’s the first time I’ve had mung beans, which are quite affordable and easy to find in local grocery stores. I’ve got to say I love them as they make a simple dish like a soup incredibly rich and fulfilling.
Whether you’re a seasoned home cook or just starting to learn your way around the kitchen, this mung bean soup recipe is easy to follow so you should end up with a pretty delicious result. Plus, you probably won’t have space for dessert as this soup is very hearty.

❓ What Are Mung Beans?
Mung beans are small, green, and round little beans that are much like other legumes such as lentils, chickpeas, navy beans, black beans, pinto beans, and so on. They’re packed with nutrients and also have a delicate and versatile flavor that makes them a popular choice for all sorts of different dishes.
You can add them to soups to make them more filling (like I’m doing here), but you can also use them to make a delicious curry with vegetables and spices. In fact, this is how they’re used in Indian and Southeast Asian cuisine.
If you’re looking for a tasty and nutritious ingredient to add to your cooking, mung beans are a perfect choice! They’re easy to find at your local grocery store and are tremendously versatile, ideal for everyday cooking.
🗒️ Ingredients You’ll Need

The ingredients in this soup are a medley of both crunchy and soft, as well as sweet and savory. It has beans, a coconut-flavored broth, and a mix of spices and veggies— just the perfect, nourishing soup for a rather cold day.
If you think you might need a main course, think again, as this soup is hearty and rich, and it may be the only meal you have for dinner.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this amazing mung bean soup:
- Mung beans
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Celery
- Carrot
- Tomatoes
- Water
- Coconut milk
- Turnip greens
- Salt.
Although it may seem like it’s one too many ingredients for a soup, it’s actually a very easy recipe to prepare, and it should take you less than an hour to have it ready.
👨🏻🍳 How To Make Mung Bean Soup

Make sure you have everything you need for the recipe to be a success, even the smaller ingredients such as garlic, ginger, and celery. These are the building blocks that allow this recipe to be flavorsome and different from a regular soup.
The first step is to prepare the mung beans.
Rinse them with cold water in a sieve and pick out any bad-looking beans or pebbles. Add the beans into a pot with water and set the heat to high, bringing it to a boil.
Reduce the heat to a simmer, and then cook the beans, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes. Cooked mung beans will be soft and some will have burst out of their shells. Separate them from the water and leave them on the side for later use.
Create the flavors that enrich the broth.
In a Wok or deep pan, add diced onion, garlic, ginger, and celery. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and carrots.
Stir and let them cook for 10-15 minutes, allowing the flavors to set.
Add the mung beans and hot water.
Pour the cooked mung beans and two cups of hot water into the deep pan, and use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
Let everything cook for 5-10 minutes or until the celery and carrots are soft.
Add the coconut milk and turnip greens.
Finally, add the coconut milk. Bring the broth to a boil, now with the coconut milk, and then add the turnip greens. Let it cook for 5-10 minutes or until the turnip greens are soft.
Serve the soup and enjoy a heartwarming meal. If you don’t eat the whole thing, don’t forget to store the leftovers in the fridge. They should last 4-5 days.
What To Consider When Making Mung Bean Soup
Don’t skip the onion, garlic, ginger, and celery. These ingredients are what makes this dish special, so skipping one or more of these ingredients may result in a more bland dish, to say the least.
If you can’t find fresh ginger, you can also use ground ginger. You just have to substitute 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric and add it soon after the initial ingredients.
Also, because I’m often traveling (at least, for now), I only have very basic kitchenware, but if you’ve got a microplane or a small cheese grater, it’s definitely something I would use to mince the ginger rather than chopping it into very tiny pieces.
It isn’t always, but assuming that bought coconut milk in a can— sometimes the coconut milk is not mixed well, so you have a very solid cream on top and liquid on the bottom. I would recommend pouring the milk into a large bowl and whisking it to break up the clumps. That’ll make it easy to stir the milk in the soup.
Consider using vegetable broth. If you use a veggie broth in place of water, you can make your soup so much tastier— which is not necessary for this soup, but it’s very useful in recipes that call for meat stock. You can always prep a veggie stick in a few minutes and use it to give your soups and curries an extra flavor.

Hearty Vegan Mung Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tbsps of olive oil
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 inch of ginger
- 1 cup of celery
- 1 carrot
- 3 tomatoes
- 2 cups of hot water
- 250 grams of mung beans
- 1.5 cups of coconut milk
- 3 cups of turnip greens
Instructions
- Make sure you have everything you need for the recipe to be a success, even the smaller ingredients such as garlic, ginger, and celery. These are the building blocks that allow this recipe to be flavorsome and different from a regular soup.
- Rinse mung beans with cold water in a sieve and pick out any bad-looking beans or pebbles. Add the beans into a pot with water and set the heat to high, bringing it to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and then cook the beans, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes. Cooked mung beans will be soft and some will have burst out of their shells. Separate them from the water and leave them on the side for later use.
- In a Wok or deep pan, add diced onion, garlic, ginger, and celery. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and carrots. Stir and let them cook for 10-15 minutes, allowing the flavors to set.
- Pour the cooked mung beans and two cups of hot water into the deep pan, and use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Let everything cook for 5-10 minutes or until the celery and carrots are soft.
- Finally, add the coconut milk. Bring the broth to a boil, now with the coconut milk, and then add the turnip greens. Let it cook for 5-10 minutes or until the turnip greens are soft. Serve the soup and enjoy a heartwarming meal. Store leftovers in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Video
🙏🏻 Before you go, I’ve got a favor to ask!
I’d love to get your feedback on this recipe! Feel free to leave a comment below detailing your experience— and let others know how you feel about it!
Of course, you can also ask any questions you may have about the recipe— and we’ll try to respond ASAP.