This black bean soup is a zesty blend of beans and vegetables, simmered together to make a thick and hearty meal. Add your favorite toppings and you’ll have an easy and healthy dinner option that’s sure to get rave reviews!
I love a hot bowl of soup on a cold day. Some of my favorite soup recipes include chicken and rice soup, cabbage soup and this simple yet satisfying black bean soup.
My local Mexican restaurant makes the best black bean soup. I decided to recreate the recipe at home with great success! This soup is thick with plenty of beans and veggies. I love serving it with a little sour cream, cheese and tortilla strips on top.
Enjoy this soup with some of my favorite Mexican appetizers and side dishes like chicken taquitos, Mexican fruit cups and Chipotle guacamole. While enjoying this hot soup, you can cool off with agua fresca!
Table of Contents
Black Bean Soup Ingredients
To make this delicious black bean soup you will need butter, onion, red bell pepper, jalapeno, garlic cloves, chili powder, ground cumin, dried oregano, cans of black beans, chicken broth, lime juice, cilantro leaves, salt and black pepper. You will also want some toppings for your soup like sour cream, shredded cheese and tortilla strips. See the recipe card below for amounts and details.
How Do You Make Black Bean Soup?
To make this black bean soup recipe, start by melting butter in a large pot. Add onion, red bell pepper and jalapeno to the pot and cook them until tender. Stir in minced garlic and cook it for 30 seconds. Once the veggies are done, add a variety of spices to the pot along with canned black beans and chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes. Remove half of the soup and puree it in a blender or food processor. Return the puree to the pot; this will help thicken the soup. Simmer the soup for another 10 minutes. Next, stir in some lime juice and cilantro for a bright and fresh flavor. Add your favorite toppings, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Soup
- I use canned beans for this recipe because this way it can be on the table in about 45 minutes. If you’d prefer to use dry beans, use one pound of rinsed and soaked beans and 6 cups broth. Cook for 60 to 90 minutes or until beans are softened.
- To blend the black bean soup you can use a blender, food processor or an immersion blender. If you use an immersion blender be careful not to splash hot soup out of your pot.
- Not a fan of cilantro? Use sliced green onions instead.
- To make this soup vegetarian, simply substitute vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
Quick Tip
Remove the seeds and ribs from your jalapeno to keep the flavor without the heat.
Recipe FAQs
Black bean soup leftovers stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 4 days which makes it great for meal prep.
Yes, you can freeze bean soup for up to 2 months. Thaw the soup overnight in the fridge, then reheat on medium heat on the stove top.
You can thicken black bean soup by removing some of the cooked soup and pureeing it. Then add it back into the soup. You can also thicken this soup by simmering it on medium heat until you reach your desired consistency.
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Black Bean Soup Flavor Variations
This soup is fabulous as-is, but you can add other ingredients to the recipe to customize the flavors to your tastes.
- Meat: Feel free to add some meat such as ground beef, Mexican chorizo, shredded chicken or bacon.
- Vegetables: You can add other veggies to the soup such as carrots, celery, corn, zucchini or a can of diced tomatoes.
- Beans: I’ve made this soup with a blend of black beans and pinto beans with great results.
- Spicy: Leave in some jalapeno pepper ribs or seeds. You could also add some hot sauce to the soup for more flavor.
Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup
This recipe can easily be adapted to work in a crock pot. Sauté the vegetables as directed, then place all the soup ingredients in a slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 4 hours. Remove 1 cup of the soup to puree, then stir the puree back into the soup. Add toppings and serve.
Soup Toppings
Use whatever Mexican style toppings you enjoy. Some ideas include:
- tortilla strips,
- diced avocado,
- sliced olives,
- diced tomatoes,
- salsas like pico de gallo, salsa fresca and corn salsa,
- cilantro,
- sour cream, and
- cheeses like shredded cheddar cheese, shredded Monterey Jack cheese or crumbled cotija cheese.
This black bean soup is on our regular dinner rotation; I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine does!
More Soup Recipes To Savor
Pasta e Fagioli Soup
50 mins
Italian Wedding Soup
45 mins
Cheeseburger Soup
45 mins
Vegetable Beef Soup
1 hr 40 mins
Chicken Enchilada Soup
30 mins
Black Bean Soup Video
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Black Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup onion finely diced
- 1 cup red bell pepper seeded, cored and diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeds and ribs removed, minced
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper or more to taste
- 4 15 ounce cans black beans drained and rinsed
- 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves chopped
- assorted toppings such as sour cream, cheese and tortilla strips
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and jalapeno pepper, then cook for 5-7 minutes or until tender.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, black beans and chicken broth to the pot. Bring to a simmer.
- Cook for 15 minutes. Remove half of the bean and broth mixture and place in a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth.
- Stir the puree back into the pot. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes or until soup has thickened to your desired consistency.
- Taste and add more salt and pepper if desired. Stir in the lime juice and cilantro. Serve immediately, with assorted toppings as desired.
Notes
- I use canned beans for this recipe because this way it can be on the table in about 45 minutes.
- Remove the seeds and ribs from your jalapeno to keep the flavor without the heat.
- To blend the soup you can use a blender, food processor or an immersion blender. If you use an immersion blender, be careful not to splash hot soup out of the pot.
I served this to my book group with all the toppings and it was a big hit! Everyone wanted the recipe
I usually have these ingredients at hand so this a go to recipe for me. In the crook pot then dinner is ready when I’m home from work. We love anything with toppings!
Is there sour cream actually mixed into the soup, or is it just an optional topping? Can’t tell by the instructions about stirring in with lime — if it is added, what amount?
The sour cream is an optional topping!
Always love a dish that is packed in protein, but light on the wallet! So simple yet filling; easily, a new favorite soup recipe!
This soup is so hearty and with canned black beans comes together in a snap!
So incredibly good! Love how flavorful it is one of my favorite soups for cold days.
This soup looks great, I like how healthy it is!
I love this black bean soup! Perfect weeknight dinner that the whole family loved.
My favourite type of soup! So easy to make and full of flavour!
I love a good comforting soup any day. Never tried black bean soup before. So, I am bookmarking this!
Wow! This black bean soup was such a hit! My family is wanting more especially my picky eater! Definitely making this delicious and flavor packed soup again!
Such a delicious soup, if you love black beans, you will love this!
Such a comforting soup and it comes together so easily! Looks amazing with that pile of cheese and toppings on top. Yum!