Easy Black Bean Soup Recipe

This Black Bean Soup recipe is amazingly quick to make and so delicious!  Perfect as a light dinner on it’s own, or to complement any Mexican themed meal.

I consider myself very lucky that my kids love beans!  Refried, Borracho, ranch style and all types of hummus, I serve beans all the time, and the kids gobble them up!  The first time I made this soup, I was a little concerned that they wouldn’t eat it, after all, it’s very dark and not “normal looking.”  (My daughter is always game for just one small bite of something new, but my son- I sometimes can’t even pry his lips open for just a lick.)

After my daughter gave this soup a taste, her little eyes lit up; she gave it an immediate thumbs up and promptly exclaimed, “It tastes like a burrito!”  Hmmm…  A burrito?  Whatever, I’ll take it.  It is actually the basic ingredients of the bean and cheese burritos I serve quite frequently.

You could use shredded cheese in the recipe, but there is just something delicious about the little chunks of gooey, melty cheese in the soup.

 

Easy Black Bean Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• a pinch of red pepper flakes (optional for a bit of heat)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Small handful chopped fresh cilantro (I used a tbsp of cilantro paste.)
• 1 cup small cheese cubes (I used colby jack)
• sour cream
• optional toppings: chopped green onions, diced avocado, tortilla strips

Instructions:

1. In large soup pan, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onions, garlic about 5 minutes until translucent.
2. Add the black beans, chicken broth and spices and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.
3. Purée the soup using a blender, food processor, or immersion blender until smooth. (Be careful if using a food processor or blender, the soup will be very hot and the steam will need to escape through the top of the blender.)
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Add soup to bowls and add cheese cubes and a spoonful of sour cream. Top with optional toppings.

Tip: Depending on the beans you use (some brand are just better quality, I guess) you may have an over-abundance of “bean skins”  After pureeing your soup, give it a taste and if you find this the case, you can strain out the solids.  (The worst bean “offender” so far, in my experience, has been the Safeway “Signature Brand” Black Beans.  Avoid these as they don’t do whatever needs to be done to keep this from happening.)

Enjoy!

 

Want more Tex-mex?  Be sure to check these recipes out:

 

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