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a serving of black bean soup garnished with a dollop of sour cream, cilantro and lime wedges.
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5 from 9 votes

Black Bean Soup

Creamy Black Bean Soup made with canned beans and ready in 30 minutes. Half the pot gets blended and stirred back in, which gives it body without any cream. Naturally vegan, made in 1 pot, and even better the next day.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Lunch, Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: black bean soup
Servings: 6
Calories: 317kcal
Author: Joanna Cismaru

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 1 medium red bell pepper diced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 4 cans black beans 15 ounces each, drained and rinsed
  • 4 cups vegetable broth low sodium
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • ½ cup fresh cilantro chopped
  • juice of 1 lime

For Serving

  • sour cream
  • fresh cilantro chopped
  • avocado diced
  • lime wedges
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 6 quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the diced onion and red bell pepper and cook about 5 minutes, until softened. Stir in the 3 cloves minced garlic, 2 teaspoons cumin and 1 teaspoon chili powder. Cook about 1 minute, until fragrant.
    process shots showing how to make black bean soup.
  • Add the drained black beans and 4 cups vegetable broth. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered 15 minutes.
    process shots showing how to make black bean soup.
  • Remove from the heat. Using an immersion blender, blend about half the soup directly in the pot, leaving plenty of whole beans for texture. Stir in the ½ cup chopped cilantro and the juice of 1 lime. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
    process shots showing how to make black bean soup.
  • Serve with sour cream, avocado, extra cilantro and lime wedges.

Notes

  1. 4 cans of black beans comes to roughly 40 ounces once drained. Rinse them until the water runs clear, because the canning liquid is starchy and salty and will affect both texture and seasoning.
  2. Blend about half, not all. Blending the whole pot makes a puree and loses the texture.
  3. No immersion blender: ladle out 2 to 3 cups, blend in a regular blender with the lid cracked and covered with a towel, then stir it back in.
  4. Season at the end, once the beans and broth are in and the soup has been blended.
  5. The lime and cilantro go in off the heat. Cooking them dulls both.
  6. The soup is vegan as written. Leave off the sour cream or use a plant based one.
  7. For dried beans, use about 2 cups dried, cooked until tender.
  8. It thickens as it sits. Loosen with broth or water when reheating.
  9. Freezes for up to 3 months. Freeze the soup only and add toppings fresh.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 317kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 638mg | Potassium: 771mg | Fiber: 17g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1164IU | Vitamin C: 28mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 5mg
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