Black Bean Soup
Last weekend I was craving black bean soup. I have eaten it plenty of times, but never made it myself. So that morning I picked up a large can of black beans, an onion, a jalapeno, and a red bell pepper and started to create the recipe in my head as I finished my shopping.
I kept this recipe simple, starting with sautéing onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and peppers. I then added the black beans, spices, and broth. Once it cooked for a bit, I pureed everything into a smooth soup. At that point I tasted it to see if it needed any adjusting, and it didn't - not bad for my first shot at making this soup.
As I always do, once the soup cooled I ladled it into 4 containers for lunches for the week. When I warmed it up the next day and sat at my desk to eat it, I was in heaven - this soup was SO good. Smooth, hearty, and with it a bit of a kick. And while it was a completely vegetarian soup, it had a slight flavor of smokiness, or bacon.
I definitely have to make this one again soon, and next time will double the recipe so I have more that I can share with my mom! I didn't measure the spices, so the amounts below are approximate.
Black Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 sm onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 stalk of celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced
- 1 26.5 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- Pinch of salt
- 3.5 c vegetable broth
Directions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat
- Add the onion and sauté 2 minutes
- Add the carrots, celery, garlic, red pepper, and jalapeno. Saute 3-4 minutes, until veggies are slightly tender.
- Add the black beans, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and salt; stir.
- Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Lower heat and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and puree. I use my handheld immersion blender, but you could also puree it in batches in a blender.
I planned on serving this with some sour cream, cilantro, and maybe some chips, but it honestly didn't need a thing - I loved it just the way it was.
