You can’t go wrong with this quick black bean soup recipe. I’ve been making this recipe since 1999. The recipe printout is so old that it is tattered beyond easy reading. I don’t even remember where it came from. It was time to save the recipe from being lost to our family as it is a favorite soup recipe and it belongs here on Well Worn Apron. That’s one of the main reasons I started Well Worn Apron was to create a “cookbook” of my favorite recipes for my family to have in the future and share with others.
This recipes checks a lot of boxes. It is easy, quick, healthy, and budget friendly. It is made with mostly pantry items which allows it to come together last minute. Black Bean Soup is perfect during the week or for a quick meal on the weekend.
What I love most about this soup is that it tastes like it took far more effort than it actually did. The flavors deepen beautifully, especially with a squeeze of lime and your favorite toppings. We usually serve it with tortilla chips, avocado, or a little dairy-free sour cream.
Like many of the best recipes, this one became part of regular life quietly. No special occasion. No complicated techniques. Just a dependable recipe that showed up over and over again for dinner when life was busy, budgets mattered, and everyone needed something warm and filling.
Love soups? Me, too. Soups are great year round. In the summer, I make them in the slow cooker.
If you want to make this one fully vegan, or swap out an ingredient for something that works better for your diet, the Well Worn Apron Recipe Rewriter can help. It’s on the ChatGPT Store now. Try it here.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried
- 3 15-ounce cans black beans, drained, 1 cup liquid reserved
- 2 14 1/2-ounce cans low-salt vegetable
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons hot sauce
Preparation
- 1. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat.
- 2. Add onion, garlic and thyme; sauté until onion is golden, about 8 minutes.
- 3. Add beans, reserved 1 cup bean liquid, broth, tomatoes with juices, cumin and hot sauce.
- 4. Bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until flavors blend and soup thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.
- 5. Working in 2 batches, purée 2 1/2 cups soup in blender until smooth.
- 6. Mix purée back into soup in pot. Season with salt and pepper.
- 7. Ladle soup into bowls. Add sour cream and chopped cilantro.
Hello! I'm Ann Marie and I wear the well-worn apron. Join me as explore plant-based eating while I live on an island off the U.S. state of Rhode Island.