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Easy Black Bean Soup-A simple and healthy soup made with canned black beans and everyday ingredients! This flavorful black bean soup is vegan, gluten-free, and vegetarian.
Black beans are my favorite beans and I especially love them in this Easy Black Bean Soup. It is filled with healthy ingredients and seasoned to perfection. And the best part? This recipe is made with everyday basic ingredients, that I bet you already have on hand.
This soup is perfect for lunch, busy weeknights, or feeding a hungry crowd. Our entire family loves this soup and we all get excited when it’s on the menu! It hits the spot every time.
Canned Black Beans
This Black Bean Soup is EASY because I use canned black beans! You don’t have to go through all the hassle of cooking your own beans to have a delicious homemade soup. Canned black beans are a quick and affordable way to get a really yummy soup on the table in no time!
How to Make Black Bean Soup
This is a really easy soup recipe that comes together in no time at all. Let’s make some soup!
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Start with the veggies that will need the most time: onion, carrot, celery, and red pepper. So many beautiful colors right off the bat!
- Stir occasionally for about 5 minutes, until everything is tender, and then add in the garlic. Cook for 2 more minutes.
- Now liquid! Pour in the vegetable broth, then stir in the rinsed and drained black beans, and toss some seasonings in: cumin, oregano, a bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Turn the heat way down and let it simmer for 25 minutes. I told you it was easy!
Tips for Thickening the Soup
You can enjoy the black bean soup as is, but I like to thicken it up a little.
Remove the bay leaf and use an immersion blender to puree a little bit of the soup. This gives it a thicker consistency, but don’t blend it completely smooth! You want to still have whole black beans throughout.
If you don’t have an immersion blender you can transfer some of the soup into your blender, pulse it, and pour it back into the pot with the rest of the soup.
Toppings
Most of your favorite Mexican food toppings would be delicious on Black Bean Soup! You could put out:
- Homemade Tortilla Chips
- Pico de Gallo
- Sliced avocado or Guacamole
- Shredded cheese
- Plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- Chives
Serving Suggestions
If you are looking for side dishes to go with your big pot of black bean soup, here are a few of our favorites!
- Easy Cornbread
- Easy Green Salad
- Fresh Corn Salad
- Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
- Mexican Rice
- Mango Black Bean Quesadillas
How to Store
You can keep leftover black bean soup in a container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Black bean soup also freezes beautifully. Pour room temperature soup into a freezer container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Make sure you label and date your soup so you know what it is!
More Soup Recipes:
- Vegetable Soup
- Pasta Fagioli
- Ribollita
- Smoky Tomato Soup
- Easy Butternut Squash Soup
- Easy Minestrone Soup
Soup
Easy Black Bean Soup
Easy Black Bean Soup-A simple and healthy soup made with canned black beans and ingredients you probably already have in your pantry! This flavorful black bean soup is vegan, gluten-free, and vegetarian.
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 35 minutes mins
Total Time 45 minutes mins
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 1 celery rib, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 60 oz (4 cans) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 32 oz vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- Garnish options: avocado, cilantro, shredded cheese, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, sliced green onion
Instructions
In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and red pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
Stir in the black beans, vegetable broth, cumin, oregano, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Turn the soup to low and let simmer for 25 minutes.
Remove the bay leaf. If you want to thicken the soup, use an immersion blender to purée some of the soup for a thicker consistency but don’t blend it completely, just a little to thicken it up. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can carefully transfer 2 to 3 cups of the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Stir the pureed soup back into the pot.
Stir in the cilantro and fresh lime juice. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve warm with desired toppings.
Nutrition
Calories: 428kcal, Carbohydrates: 75g, Protein: 26g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Fiber: 26g, Sugar: 3g
Keywords gluten free, vegan, vegetarian
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Photos byDishing Out Health
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FAQs
In a separate bowl, dissolve a teaspoon or two of cornstarch or all-purpose flour in a small amount of cold water. Add the slurry to the bubbling soup. The soup should thicken up. Add more cornstarch or flour as needed until the soup reaches your desired consistency.
Do you need to soak black beans before making soup? ›
"Black beans cook so quickly soaking only saves 30 minutes or so. It also marginally helps keep them whole, but you're going to be pureeing some anyway. and the flavor is so much better.
How long does black bean soup last in the fridge? ›
You can keep leftover black bean soup in a container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Black bean soup also freezes beautifully. Pour room temperature soup into a freezer container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Make sure you label and date your soup so you know what it is!
What are the best canned beans for soup? ›
Great northern beans
That softer consistency means they'll readily absorb the other flavors you pair them with. That's why great northerns are a solid choice for stews or any dish with a long cooking time. Like red beans, they can cream up very well — so if that's the texture you're after, they can be a good option.
Why is my bean soup not thickening? ›
Cook It Longer
Sometimes soup just needs to simmer longer to reach the perfect consistency. Check to see if the vegetables are tender, and then taste the broth. If the soup tastes a bit watery, give it more time.
How do you thicken soup quickly? ›
Add flour or cornflour
Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow the starch granules to burst to thicken, and to cook out any flour flavour.
What happens if you don't drain and rinse black beans? ›
"If you rinse your beans thoroughly, you will have a consistently flavored product, but if you do not rinse them, different amounts of salt will remain in the dish each time you cook it, and it will be hard to cook consistently," he says.
Should I rinse canned black beans for soup? ›
Do You Need To Rinse Canned Beans? According to The Bean Institute, you can reduce up to 41 percent of the sodium in canned beans by rinsing them. "It's fine to add the bean liquid to many recipes, but if you want to reduce the amount of sodium, it's best to drain and rinse canned beans," the website states.
What happens if you don't soak black beans before cooking? ›
If you don't have time to presoak, don't sweat it– your beans will still be tender and delicious. However, there is one exception: if you're starting with old beans that have suffered moisture loss (Primary Beans defines as beans older than 2 years from harvest), a presoak may help you achieve evenly cooked beans.
Why is my black bean soup bitter? ›
Sometimes black beans can come out tasting bitter. To prevent this, be sure to use an appropriate amount of salt. This recipe calls for a tablespoon, but don't forget to taste for salt when your soup is finished and add more if desired; it will depend on how salty your bacon is, too.
Your cooked beans last about 3 to 5 days in the fridge. To store them, let the beans cool down after cooking, then pop them in the refrigerator within an hour. Getting them stored quickly and chilled in the fridge will help prevent the growth of bacteria.
Can you eat bean soup left out overnight? ›
So, yeah: Toss that soup that sat out overnight. Now, to the question of whether or not boiling it will kill off these bugs -- that might be technically true, but it comes with a big caveat. To be completely safe, you'll have to boil the soup vigorously for 10 minutes.
What thickens bean soup? ›
The most obvious being a slurry — or a combination of the broth and flour (or starch). Other options for thickening a soup include blending some of the cooked soup vegetables and adding them back in; throwing in some bread; or adding in a beurre manié — aka the “reverse roux” — made from flour mixed with butter.
Are canned or bagged black beans better? ›
Overall, dry beans cooked in the home and canned beans are both a healthy, environmentally-friendly staple to have in the home and include in our daily dietary patterns. Choose options that facilitate eating more beans, whether that be canned or cooked from dry, or a mix of both.
Do you drain canned beans for bean soup? ›
But if you're someone who needs to watch your sodium intake, it certainly can't hurt to drain and rinse canned beans before using them. Doing so can reduce the sodium by 40%. If you don't want to rinse, consider at least draining them first. Draining alone will “reduce the sodium by a third,” says Reinagel.
How do you thicken watery black beans? ›
One way is to boil the beans until they are soft, then remove them from heat and cover with at least an inch of cold water. The beans will soak up some of the remaining hot water while they cool and release starches which thicken them.
What can I use to thicken soup beans? ›
About this method: One of the most common ways to thicken sauces and soups is with a starch-based slurry, and cornstarch is a popular choice. Cornstarch is flavorless, easy to mix up, and versatile, which makes it a go-to pantry ingredient.
What to do if soup is too thick? ›
If it's too thick.
All you need to do is add more of the recipe's cooking liquid — such as wine, broth or cream.
How do you thicken watery beans? ›
If your beans are still too watery after prolonged cooking and mashing, consider adding a thickener like cornstarch, all-purpose flour, or arrowroot. To do this, first, make a slurry of equal parts thickener and water, then slowly add it to your refried beans. They should thicken considerably.
