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.
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
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!
I’m trying to add some vegetarian meals to our rotation and trying to add more beans, after learning about their health benefits. This recipe does both and is really, really good! Thank you!
This looks delicious, but I don’t have a slow cooker. Could this be made on the stove?
Yes, you could probably simmer it on low in a thick/heavy pot until the beef is tender enough to shred.
I don’t have an immersion blender. Can I use the old electric hand held mixer and blend it right in the crock pot? My only other choice would be pouring it into my stand mixer and doing it that way. I really don’t want to have to cool it down to mix it in a blender then warm it back up. Thanks for any info!!
Hmm, I’m really not sure if a hand mixer would work. It might, but you’d still want to be careful with that hot liquid! It seems like it would splash.
Use a potato masher
Hi. I use my Nutribullet to immerse soup. It works very well.
Try using a potato masher!
I tried making this tonight but after following the instructions minus the chili powder and letting it cook for 9 hours, the beans are still not soft. What am I doing wrong? The recipe didn’t indicate the beans should be pre-soaked, but I am thinking that is what I should have done.
Sometimes the mineral content in the water can prevent the beans from softening. If you find the water in your area has that issue, I’ve heard that adding a little baking soda helps. I’ve also read that really old beans won’t soften, but I doubt that any beans bought in the store will be “too old”.
The beans should be soaked overnight before preparing the soup. That is the rule with all dried beans but it slipped my mind before trying this recipe and ours also ended up hard.
I cook all dried beans in the slow cooker and never soak them. The only time I have beans that won’t soften is if they’ve been in my pantry for a very long time. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen occasionally.
Black beans, like all dry beand contain a toxin which must be boiled for 10 minutes to render safe. Slow cookers generally do not produce enough heat to do this. I would advise adjusting the recipe before people start getting sick
From what I’ve read, that’s only kidney beans.
I’ve had black bean soup all my life and I’ve never boiled my black beans- nor my kidney beans when mom made chile con carne, and gotten sick.
This rocked! I doubled it (filled my 7.5 cooker to the brim) for a work pot luck and it was really popular, thanks!
Tried this recipe and the whole family really enjoyed this simple, yet wholesome soup! I shared this recipe on my blog via the link to this page.
Thanks for sharing!
I’ve made this before and loved it, but this time I had a little more than a pound of beans. I put them all in, but didn’t increase the liquid. They are done, and there is very little liquid left, not soupy at all. I think I’ll make a batch of corn bread, and spoon the beans over. Then I’ll add all the toppings. The flavor is very yummy!
I made this recipe for my wife last night along with the spinach tomato quesadillas. Everything turned out GREAT. Thank you for the wonderful recipes! Tonight I made two more of your recipes for dinner, the vegetable polenta casserole and chili potatoes. I’ll post tomorrow after we eat dinner tonight. Thanks,
Made this and followed the recipe to a T. Came our fantastic! Thanks :)
I made this today and was a little skeptical because previous slow cooker black bean soups did not turn out very good but I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t have any celery or vegetable stock. So I had to make some tweaks. I ended up using 6 cups of water, 3 veggie bullion cubes and 1/2 a cup of almond milk. Overall, super creamy once blended and crazy delicious. I am off to the kitchen to make some homemade bread to compliment my soup. Thanks for the recipe!!!! I will make this again!! : )
Made this last week and it was AWESOME! I omitted the celery (didn’t have any) and added one chopped bell pepper and some chopped ham (at the very end) I also added some dried cilantro. I love your inexpensive recipes – especially the slow cooker ones! Thanks Beth!
Has anyone made this without a blender? I’m trying it today (in the crockpot as we speak), but I don’t own one at all.
You can try mashing them up with a potato masher. It will be chunkier, but still very tasty!
Made this today for dinner. Amazing taste! My kids ate some, too. My chili loving son had two bowls. Thanks for another great recipe from budgetbytes.com!
i started the slow cooker later in the afternoon and I just had my sample cup of soup at 9pm. VERY yummy! I only used half a tbsp of chili powder instead of a whole and I topped mine with Greek yogurt (tastes just like sour cream) and green onions. Even husband wanted some bc the kitchen smelled so yummy after hours in the slow cooker. Thanks!