Easy Black Bean Soup

Make this easy black bean soup recipe with (mostly) staples from your pantry: Vegetarian black bean soup is so simple, yet so filling & comforting.

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How about a little cooking from our pantry today? Easy Black Bean Soup comes together with (mostly) pantry ingredients, and then you can jazz it up with anything you have on hand, from diced avocado, to fresh squeezed lime juice. Serve with tortilla chips for a touch of salty crunch.

I also threw a little cocoa powder into my soup today to give it more depth & richness, which was a good call! Since chocolate goes well with that chipotle flavor in chili, I thought that it might in black bean soup, as well.

Looking for more vegetarian recipe ideas? Take a few minutes to browse through the Meatless Monday category for additional dinner options.

Easy Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbsp)
1 chipotle in adobo, chopped
1 Tbsp sauce from chipotles in adobo
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp smoked paprika
Sea salt, to taste
3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

Dice up your onion while heating the olive oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.

Add the onion to the pot and saute for two minutes, or until it begins to soften.

While the onion is cooking, chop garlic and chipotle.

Stir the garlic, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, cumin, smoked paprika, and oregano in with the onion. Continue to saute over medium heat for another two minutes.

Stir in the beans, vegetable broth, sea salt and cocoa powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes to allow flavors to blend, stirring occasionally.

Puree soup to your desired consistency with an immersion blender. (You can also puree a little more than half of the soup — carefully! — in a regular blender, if you don’t have an immersion blender.)

Serve with optional add-ins: Fresh lime juice, chopped avocado, chopped green onion, sour cream, crushed up tortilla chips. A squeeze of lime juice and a little sour cream are highly recommended to brighten up the flavor in your individual bowls before serving, if you have on hand.

Note! Since we’re pantry cooking, here: If you don’t have chipotle in adobo on hand, never fear. This adds a smoky kick to the soup, but you could instead try substituting something like salsa, diced green chiles, or even chili powder + a little more smoked paprika to taste.

Note the second: I like my black bean soup on the “soupier” side. If you prefer yours thicker, you can cut down the broth to two cups.

Filling for a family

I served our black bean soup topped with a few chopped green onions, sour cream, and a splash of lime juice, along with tortilla chips, avocado, and fruit on the side. This easy soup recipe packs enough protein to make it a meal in and of itself, or serve it in cups as a side dish with taco salad or enchiladas.

Middle School Guy ate an inordinate amount; High School Guy prefers his black bean soup thicker, so pronounced it: “OK.” Easy black bean soup is both vegetarian and gluten free.

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Easy Black Bean Soup

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Make this easy black bean soup recipe with (mostly) staples from your pantry: Vegetarian black bean soup is so simple, yet so filling & comforting.

Course dinner

Cuisine soup

Keyword black bean soup, black beans, gluten free, soup, vegetarian

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Rachel Singer

Equipment

immersion blender

dutch oven

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion diced
• 6 cloves garlic minced (1 Tbsp)
• 1 chipotle in adobo chopped
• 1 Tbsp sauce from chipotles in adobo
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• Sea salt to taste
• 3 cans black beans rinsed and drained
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

• Dice up your onion while heating the olive oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
• Add the onion to the pot and saute for two minutes, or until it begins to soften.
• While the onion is cooking, chop garlic and chipotle.
• Stir the garlic, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, cumin, smoked paprika, and oregano in with the onion. Continue to saute over medium heat for another two minutes.
• Stir in the beans, vegetable broth, sea salt and cocoa powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes to allow flavors to blend, stirring occasionally.
• Puree soup to your desired consistency with an immersion blender. (You can also puree a little more than half of the soup — carefully! — in a regular blender, if you don’t have an immersion blender.)
• Serve with optional add-ins: Fresh lime juice, chopped avocado, chopped green onion, sour cream, crushed up tortilla chips. A squeeze of lime juice and a little sour cream are highly recommended to brighten up the flavor in your individual bowls before serving, if you have on hand.

Notes

Since we’re pantry cooking, here: If you don’t have chipotle in adobo on hand, never fear. This adds a smoky kick to the soup, but you could instead try substituting something like salsa, diced green chiles, or even chili powder + a little more smoked paprika to taste.

I like my black bean soup on the “soupier” side. If you prefer yours thicker, you can cut down the broth to two cups.

Recipes in the real world

Be sure not to miss the free ALDI meal plans, which show you how to use these easy family recipes to meal plan affordably and realistically for your family. Or, find more recipe ideas with the Recipe Search!

Be sure not to miss the free ALDI meal plans, which show you how to use these easy family recipes to meal plan affordably and realistically for your family. Or, find more recipe ideas with the Recipe Search!