Spicy Black Bean Soup
The easiest low fat Spicy Black Bean Soup. This soup is loaded with flavor and is healthy for you! I love to serve it up with chopped cilantro, avocados, and lots of blue corn tortilla chips! Did I mention it’s vegan and gluten-free?
It’s Friday and we’re making spicy black bean soup. So it’s actually the best day ever.
My mouth is in love. With smoky, black beans that have been slow-simmered with onions, garlic, a chipotle pepper, and adobo sauce. And we’re toppineroff with a handful of cilantro a couple diced avocado and onions. A dollop of sour cream (for my non-vegan friends) too if you want to cool off the palette a little as you eat and don’t you DARE eat this without some crushed up tortilla chips. It’s got a zing of tangy deliciousness and a small kick in the rear of spicy heat, which is totally a magical combination in the food world.
This black bean soup is completely vegan by accident and a happy accident that is. With a spicy broth and lots of zing from the lime, this is just the right kind of southwestern style summer soup. And with my love obsession with black beans, I could eat this soup every day. ❤
Only after I was done picturing this soup and in the editing phase did I realize that this is one of those soups. The kind where I can talk about it for days and day and tell you how delicious it is but the masses simply looks at the texture and doesn’t want to give it a go. But PLEASE do. It’s a soup that will change your life.
Just look at all the combination of flavors going into this soup.
I’m using lots of cumin in this spicy black bean soup to give it a nice little kick. Growing up, we had a Cumin Cop in the family — my little sister. If she could taste the cumin in something, she absolutely wouldn’t eat it. And now 15 years later, I still love her to death but also love my freedom to stuff as much cumin into something as I want. I love it. I love it. I love it.
I understand that the semi-blended texture may not be everyone’s favorite. I love having some whole black beans in my soup along with some that are completely creamed. If you prefer it straight smooth or the beans completely whole, feel free to blend all of none of the black bean soup. I blended about 1/3 of my soup to get the semi-pureed, semi-whole bean consistency.
If you’re worried about the SPICE for this soup, I will say it was enough to wake up my senses. If teeny tiny humans are also going to be enjoying this soup, you can cut back the spice by:
- Removing the seeds from the chipotle pepper before blending
- use a mild chili powder
Other ways to customize this soup, add it chorizo or soy-rizo for some added flavor. Toss it in when you’re adding the garlic in the recipe and that gives you an added flavor. But keep in mind the chorizo/soy-rizo is a little spicy so you may want to adapt one of the options listed above for cutting back the spice.
I am going to be enjoying this black bean soup ALL WEEKEND LONG. It’s perfect for lighter lunches so make it on the weekend and enjoy it for lunch all week, guys!
Spicy Black Bean Soup
The easiest low fat Spicy Black Bean Soup. This soup is loaded with flavor and is healthy for you! I love to serve it up with chopped cilantro, avocados, and lots of blue corn tortilla chips! Did I mention it's vegan and gluten-free?
Ingredients
- 1 chipotle pepper + 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 heaping cup onions, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (4 oz can) diced green chilies
- 1 1/2 tablespoon cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon mild or hot chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 (15 oz cans) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 cup salsa (homemade or store-bought)
- Juice of 3 limes (about 3-4 tablespoons)
Instructions
- Place the chipotle pepper, adobo sauce and 1 cup of vegetable broth in a blender and blend until smooth; set aside.
- In a large dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to sauté for an additional 3 minutes. Then, add the green chilies, cumin, chili powder, and salt. Scrape the bottom of the pan for any brown bits. Add the chipotle broth, remaining 2 cups of vegetable broth, black beans, cilantro, and salsa. Allow the soup to come to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low and allow the soup to simmer for 35 minutes.
- Add the lime juice. Transfer 1/3 of the soup to a blender and carefully blend the soup holding down the lid with a towel. Add back to the dutch oven and stir. If you want a smooth texture, blend all of the soup. For a chunkier texture leave as is. Serve with diced avocados and additional cilantro. For non-vegans, serve with sour cream.
Notes
- For a milder soup: Remove the seeds from the chipotle pepper before blending. Also, use the mild chili powder to help cut back on the heat level.
IS THIS A GOOD CHOICE FOR YOU?
*Please note: the nutritional facts calculated are an estimate based on the ingredients I’ve used. If you’d like a more accurate count, please calculate them using the ingredients/brands you’ve used to prepare the recipe. The nutritional info for this black bean soup is based on 8 servings.*
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Can this be made in a slow cooker? If so, how long will it need to cook?
Yes, I think you can. You’ll need to prepare the recipe as stated until you’ve sautéed the onions and garlic (step #2). At that point you can transfer everything to a slow cooker and let cook for about 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low. You would follow step #3 as written once the soup has been slow cooked.
Yummy, sounds delicous. Thanks for sharing.
simon
Does it freeze well? Have you tried? I’m flying solo, but I like to make big batches of soups and freeze in individual servings!
Love this recipe! I blend the salsa and green chilies at the same time as the chipotle’s since I don’t like the chunks. We’ve made this recipe multiple times
This is by far my fav soup! I make a big batch and then reduce it to put on eggs and make a veggie Benedict. So delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Love that idea! Thanks for sharing, Ash!
We love black bean soup. I tried this recipe tonight, only adding carrots (needed to use a couple up) and additional black beans after blending half the soup. This was so good and will be replacing my former black bean soup recipe! Served with Chicken Italian sausage and blue corn chips. Delicious! Thank you!