I love black bean soup like I love chili. It’s great on its own, but it’s also fun to get creative with toppings and turn it into a bowl full of fun (okay, maybe I get too excited about food). This awesomely flavorful and easy slow cooker black bean soup practically makes itself, which is perfect for hot summer days like this when you don’t want a pot of soup boiling away on the stove making your whole kitchen extra steamy.
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What else is awesome about this soup? Wellll…. It’s vegan, super filling, low cal, high fiber, high protein, full of veggies, and costs next to nothing. Need I say more?
And about those awesome fun toppings? I ate mine with a dollop of sour cream, but you could do crispy tortilla strips, green onions, cilantro, pepitas, cheddar or pepper jack cheese, or even a scoop of cooked rice. Actually, just about anything that goes good in a taco would probably go awesome on top of this soup. Go wild!
Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup
Servings 6 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.41)
- 2 ribs celery ($0.33)
- 2 carrots ($0.28)
- 1 lb. black beans (uncooked) ($1.75)
- 1 cup salsa ($0.85)
- 1 Tbsp chili powder* ($0.30)
- 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin ($0.15)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 4 cups vegetable broth ($0.53)
- 2 cups water ($0.00)
Instructions
- Mince the garlic, dice the onion and celery, and grate the carrots on a large holed cheese grater. Rinse the black beans in a colander under cool running water and pick out any stones or debris.
- Combine the garlic, onion, celery, carrots, black beans, salsa, chili powder, cumin, oregano, vegetable broth, and water in a 5-7 quart slow cooker. Stir well.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 6-8 hours (you want the beans to get VERY soft). Once the beans are very soft, use an immersion blender** to blend the soup until it is thick and creamy (leave some beans whole if desired). Taste the soup and add salt if needed (this will depend on the brand of vegetable broth used).
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup – Step by Step Photos
Rinse the dry beans under cool water to remove any dust and dirt. If there are any pebbles or other debris, pick them out.
Add the beans to a 5-7 quart slow cooker along with 2 cloves of minced garlic, one onion (diced), 2 stalks celery (diced), 2 carrots (grated on a large holed cheese grater), 1 cup salsa, 1 Tbsp chili powder, 1/2 Tbsp cumin, and 1 tsp oregano. Add to that 4 cups of vegetable broth and 2 cups of water. Stir well, place the lid on top, and let it cook on high for 6-8 hours (the goal is VERY soft beans).
After 6 hours on high (it can go 8 hours if needed), the beans will be soft and floating around in a bunch of liquid. You want this to be a thick soup, so you’ll need to purée some of the beans (or all if you want it to be a super smooth soup). The easiest way is to use an immersion blender, but if you don’t have one, it can be done with a regular blender. If using a regular blender, let the soup cool until it’s no longer hot (warm is okay). blend about half of the soup in batches for a slightly chunky soup, or all of the soup for a smooth soup. When blending warm liquids it’s always a good idea to throw a towel over the top of the closed blender to catch any spray if it does build pressure and burst out the top. Never, NEVER, blend hot liquids. (speaking from experience).
I blended about half of my soup and left some beans whole for texture. Blending the beans also thickens up the soup considerably. Once it’s blended, give it a taste and see if you need to add salt. I used Better Than Bouillon soup base for my vegetable broth, which tends to be on the salty side, so I didn’t need to add any. If you’re using a low sodium broth, you’ll probably need to add a pinch to make the flavors pop.
And then go crazy with toppings! Woot!
This recipe is a STAPLE in our house. I’ve made it a million times and it always comes out perfect. We love to serve it over white rice with corn bread.
Think this could be pre-made and frozen, and then thawed later? I’m thinking I could combine everything except the stock…? Now I’m pregnant with our first, and looking to make a ton of pre-made crockpot meals to pull out when in need! Thank you!
I only have canned black beans in my pantry. Could I make this soup with canned black beans and if so how would you recommend I adjust the cooking time/recipe?
Thanks
This one is designed specifically for dry beans, so you’d need to change it quite a bit for canned beans. I’d need to do some testing to properly advise.
I’ve done this black bean soup with canned beans. You can just cook it stove-top. Just cook until the carrots/veggies are soft and then I like to refrigerate overnight and serve the next day. The flavors get to meld a little better since you’re not slow cooking it.
I almost always used canned beans only: two cans of black beans (540mL/19 fl oz each). I usually only add the veggie broth, and not the 2 cups of water, and leave everything else the same. So far, it has always turned out nice and thick once I’ve blended it.
I also reduce the cooking time when using canned black beans. When I’m gone for the day, I put it on low for 6-8 hours, or if I need a shorter time, high for 4hrs (but I check it around the 3hr mark and reduce to low if I feel it’s almost cooked).
I also have some chipotle hot sauce that I add, and I usually through in some kale/spinach for the last 30 minutes before blending.
I made this yesterday with some old [dried] black beans I had in the pantry – I think they required a bit more water (perhaps they were extra dried out?) but otherwise the old beans worked just fine. I followed the recipe exactly, and it was great! We had it with homemade biscuits, and then today had the leftovers again for lunch with toast. Yum! Love black bean soup.
Thanks for posting this! I have some old black beans I want to use and I’m now encouraged to follow this recipe! Cheers!
Wow…made this for dinner last night. Followed all directions except since I found I was out of oregano I subbed w badia complete seasoning. Added fresh cravings salsa w one hour left of cooking per another readers suggestion. I was planning to use my immersion blender but after 8 hours total i found I didnt need to! This was AMAZING! My husband had leftovers for lunch today and I used on my own huevos rancheros for lunch. This is even BETTER the next day! Husband said, you can make this any time! I’m sooo glad to have found your blog! Haven’t made anything from your site that wasn’t a hit! Thank you!
PS My husband is newly vegan and I’m vegetarian and I so appreciate the adaptability of your recipes!!
This was so easy and sooooo good. As soon as I opened the door when I got home and smelled it cooking, I knew I was in for a treat.
Since I can’t find black beans, I’m going to try it with ‘red’ (not ‘pinto’) beans.
This is so good. I started it late, so I used my pressure cooker and cooked everything on high for 40 minutes, then slow cooked for about 5 hours. It turned out great.
One of my go-to easy recipes! I don’t have an immersion blender (and I wasn’t willing to wait for it to cool for the blender route!) so I went at with a potato masher for a few minutes. A slightly chunkier texture, but I like it.
If I pre-soak the beans and discard the water first, do you think I would need to adjust the amount of vegetable broth? What do you think?
I’m sensitive and have come to realize that if I eat dried beans and eat them with the liquid they’ve soaked or soaked+cooked in, I get a little bit of an angry bottom. 😊
If you pre-soak, they will absorb less water during cooking and make the soup more watery. If you simmer the soup on the stove top some of the liquid will evaporate and the soup should thicken.
I would recommend to pre-soak the beans for 24 h and drain & rinse. I use 4 cups of low sodium vegetable broth and 1 cup of water (not the soaking liquid). I always add 1 bay leaf when cooking beans – it is supposed to help with the issue you mentioned:)
Made this the way it was written and we loved it for two reasons — 1. So easy! It’s rare to find a recipe that’s literally just dump everything in a crock pot and go, and this was as easy as that. 2. It was delicious. Even my guy who doesn’t really like beans had to admit this one was a keeper. Thanks again for all these easy, tasty recipes!
Followed the recipe exactly and the soup was great. It took 7 hours on High for the beans to soften completely, but they did get very soft! I loved the consistency and ease of this recipe, but felt the end result needed a bit more flavor so if I make it again I’ll use more spices. But also, that’s what toppings are for! Haha
Yes toppings are everything!
I normally love your recipes, and I think in a normal slow cooker this would have been fine, but PSA for anyone trying to use an InstantPot’s slow cooker feature: It’s not enough to cook the beans! I bought two pounds of black beans. The first pound was used in this recipe. I soaked them overnight, and then through everything in as directed. I slow cooked for nine hours and the beans were NOT tender. I put them back and slow cooked them for TEN more hours (no joke) and the texture was the same the next day. The soup still had good flavors so we did eat it all. I thought maybe the beans had sat on the shelf for too long but when I cooked the other pound, I soaked them overnight then I pressure cooked them for 30 minutes with a full natural release, and they came out perfectly. Unfortunately I gave away my old slow cooker ages ago so I couldn’t do any tests with that. However your more recent black bean soup was a great way to use the other batch of beans! Very tasty!
Thanks for letting us know Anna.
I’ve had good luck with this recipe in the slow cooker overall, but I don’t put the salsa in at the beginning, only at the end. Anything that’s got acid in (like tomatoes) will really slow down the cooking of the beans and potentially make them tough.
Good to know! Thanks Kathleen.
This is one of my favorite recipes! I just got an instant pot and wondered how to modify the recipe to work In the instant pot instead of slow cooker. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!!
We haven’t tried it that way Lori! A few commenters below have had some success.
Hi. This recipe sounds great however I am allergic to tomatoes so I can’t use salsa. Do you think I can make this recipe without the salsa and it still be good?
Unfortunately the salsa provides a lot of flavor in this soup, so I’m not sure how good it would be without it. :(
Kelly, we have a son who has to abstain completely from tomatoes and potatoes. We feel your pain, because you never realize how many dishes have certain ingredients until you cannot eat them.
We made this recently and it was absolutely delicious without the salsa!!! We added sliced avocado, sour cream and tortilla strips and it was wonderful like that without the salsa!
I meant Nikki, not Kelly 😮😃
We make it without the salsa and it’s delicious!
It’s finally soup season again, and I’m looking forward to bringing this for lunch tomorrow. I most often make it on the stovetop using canned beans (adjusting the water) and it’s so easy and fulfilling. The combination of flavours is a winner!
Hooray for soup!!