This Black Bean Soup is ridiculously flavorful and packed to the brim with good-for-you ingredients! Prepare this soup in the slow cooker or pressure cooker with minimal hands-on time!
This Black Bean Soup recipe uses dry beans, but we promise — it’s easier than using canned ones!
Let Me Convince You To Use Dried Beans (I Promise, It’s Easier!)
Trust me — I get it. I was raised in a home where beans always came from a can and I have spent most of my life fully convinced there was nothing easier than opening a can to use in a recipe.
But not this recipe! I pinky swear, hand to heart — dried beans not only taste better, but they’re also EASIER in this Black Bean Soup recipe. Let’s break it down:
- Dried beans are cheaper! (By quite a bit, actually.)
- We use a whole bag in this recipe so there’s no need to pull out measuring cups!
- Opening one bag is quicker than finding your can opener, opening four cans, then draining and rinsing all the beans.
- No overnight soaking required (or any soaking for that matter)!
- Far superior texture and flavor when using dried beans.
If you aren’t *fully* convinced, give this simple Black Bean Soup Recipe a try and let me know if that does it for you! 🙂
How To Make Black Bean Soup
- It may be tempting to throw everything in the slow cooker or pressure cooker and let it go, but sautéing the veggies in the olive oil brings tremendous amounts of flavor. It adds layers of flavor to the soup.
- Once veggies are sautéed, add everything else to the slow or pressure cooker and let it work it’s magic.
- When finished, blend a portion of the soup (but not all, which ensures a creamy base but still plenty of texture).
- When blending, be sure to remove the center knob from the blender lid and replace that with a clean kitchen towel to avoid splatters. The blender needs to be able to release steam!
- Depending on how salty the chicken stock is, and the actual type of salt you’re using (not all salts season the same!) you’ll want to adjust the amount of salt to personal preference. If the soup tastes flat, it’s likely as easy a fix as adding in some more salt or fresh lime juice. Garnish and dig in!
Variations
Make a Vegetarian Black Bean Soup by replacing chicken stock with vegetable stock.
Shortcuts
Shortcut tips
- Preparation shortcuts. While the chopping can take a bit of time, you can save time by pulsing all the veggies until nicely chopped in a food processor.
- Don’t soak the black beans. No need to soak the beans before cooking!
Quick Tip
Freeze leftover chipotle peppers! Canned chipotle peppers freeze beautifully! Here’s how to freeze them:
- Spoon out peppers with the adobo sauce, 1/2-inch apart, on to a parchment paper lined pan. Place pan in freezer until peppers are frozen, about 1 hour.
- Once frozen, peel off the tray and add to a freezer-safe plastic bag. Seal; store in freezer up to 6 months.
- To thaw, take as many peppers as needed out of the bag and let stand at room temperature for 15-20 minutes or until thawed through (or pop in the microwave for 10-15 seconds).
Is Black Bean Soup Good For You?
A traditional black bean soup recipe is filled with — you guessed it, black beans! Black beans are a great source of plant-based protein and fiber. Both of these aspects will leave you feeling fuller for longer.
We’ve also “snuck” a bunch of extra veggies in this soup along with garlic! Lastly, this soup is made with chicken stock which is a good source of protein and low-calorie alternative to heavy creams or roux-based soups.
Storage
Black Bean Soup Storage
- How to reheat: This soup keeps nicely in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-6 days.
- Reheat in a pot over medium low heat until warmed through. If the soup has thickened too much for your liking, add a splash more of chicken stock to thin it out as it warms through again.
- Freezing: This recipe for Black Bean Soup will freeze well for up to 2 to 3 months. Here are some best methods for thawing frozen soup.
What To Serve With Black Bean Soup
The toppings seal the deal for this Mexican Black Bean Soup; here are our favorites:
- Sour cream: Lite or fat-free sour cream, which keeps things fresh, work great while also adding in some nice creaminess.
- Chips: Crushed chips or tortilla strips (seasoned or plain) add a nice contrasting crunch to the creaminess of the soup. Or just dip some chips in the soup!
- Ripe avocado or guacamole: For an additional element of creaminess, we love a ripe diced avocado on top.
- Cheese: We like to freshly grate the cheese right on top of each bowl and let it melt for a minute. Our favorites are pepper-Jack cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, or sharp Cheddar cheese.
- Lime juice and/or cilantro: These additions add freshness and vibrancy! There is already some of both in this recipe, but add more if desired.
If you’re dairy-free, add an avocado for creaminess and a squeeze of fresh lime.
Trying to keep things as light as possible? Add a small scoop of fat-free sour cream and some extra fresh lime juice.
Quick Tip
As far as sides go, this meal feels really complete with tortilla chips as a side and any big salad (like this quick Salad Recipe or this Chipotle Chicken Salad.
More Favorite Soup Recipes:
- White Bean Soup with basil-pesto
- Corn Soup with fresh sweet corn and basil
- White Bean and Sausage Soup with carrots
- Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup with quinoa and black beans
- Pumpkin Soup using a can of pumpkin!
Black Bean Soup
This Black Bean Soup is loaded with flavor and nutritious ingredients! Make it in the slow cooker or pressure cooker with minimal effort!
Equipment
- Pressure cooker or slow cooker
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions diced, 1-1/2 cups
- 1 red pepper diced, 1 cup
- 3 to 4 medium carrots diced, 1-1/2 cups
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic 6 cloves
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- Salt and pepper
- 1 (16-ounce) bag dried black beans see note 1
- 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock or broth, like Swanson
- 2 heaping tablespoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce measure the peppers and surrounding sauce, see note 2
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- Toppings as desired see note 3
- Tortilla chips or tortilla strips, for serving, optional
Instructions
- For a quicker prep, give onion, pepper, and carrots a quick coarse chop and add along with the garlic cloves to a food processor; pulse to dice into small pieces.
- Select “sauté” in the pressure cooker (see note 4 for slow cooker instructions). Add olive oil, and once hot, add diced onion, pepper, and carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 8–10 minutes. Season to taste; I add 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add garlic and all seasonings and sauté for 1 minute or until fragrant.
- Add rinsed beans, chicken/vegetable stock, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and bay leaf. Stir everything together, add lid and seal the pressure cooker, turn the valve to seal, and cook on manual mode 45 minutes (it takes about 15–20 minutes to get up to pressure). Once finished, allow for a natural release for 30 minutes before releasing the rest of the pressure manually.
- Remove lid of pressure cooker. Remove chipotle peppers and bay leaf; discard. Pull out 4 cups soup and blend (see note 5). Return blended mixture to pressure cooker and stir through. Add in lime juice and optional cilantro. Taste and adjust seasonings. (I usually add another 1 teaspoon salt here, depending on how salty the stock used is; add slowly until flavors sing).
- Ladle into bowls and add your favorite toppings. I love a diced avocado and/or sour cream, an extra squeeze of lime juice, and lots of tortilla chips on the side for dipping.
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Rinse the beans in a strainer and pick through them, discarding any shriveled beans, debris, or rocks.
Note 2: The chipotles add a great flavor, but only a touch of heat since we remove them after cooking. If you choose to leave them in and blend, the soup is quite spicy (start with blending in one, then both if you want it super spicy). Leftover chipotles from the can freeze beautifully. (Read blog post for details.)
Note 3: Try some of these toppings: 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, large ripe avocado and/or sour cream.
Note 4: Slow cooker directions: Sauté diced onion, pepper, and carrot in your slow cooker if it has a sauté function or in a pot on the stovetop if not. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 8–10 minutes. Season to taste; I add 2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Add in garlic and all seasonings and sauté for 1 minute or until fragrant. Transfer everything from pot to slow cooker. Add rinsed beans, chicken/vegetable stock, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and bay leaf. Stir everything together, add lid, and cook 8 hours on low or high for 4 hours or until beans are tender. Refer to steps 4 and 5 in the recipe card for finishing things off.
Note 5: When blending, remember that heat expands, so increase the speed slowly and watch carefully to avoid soup exploding. Never fill a blender more than halfway full at a time. Remove the center knob from the blender lid and replace it with a clean kitchen towel to avoid splatters. The blender needs to be able to release steam!
Storage: This soup keeps nicely in an airtight container in the fridge for 4–6 days. You can freeze this Black Bean Soup for up to 2 to 3 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 130kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 123mg | Potassium: 483mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 5738IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
