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 have made this several times and we love it. its great the first time around as soup and i love to use the leftovers in burritos or on tostadas. last time i made it i had company and my unpleasable 4 yr old nephew said, “i dont like these beans. i LOVE them” thanks for another great recipe
Updating to share this tip in case it interests anyone. I made this again the other day but happened to have 2 cups of budgetbyte amazing enchilada sauce and i subbed that in for 2 cups of the liquid; wow! It was even tastier. A nice twist on 2 recipes we already love
Oooooh! Nice!
Another hit! I had my wisdom teeth pulled recently and it was a delight to eat such a nutritious and delicious soup to get me through these rough days. I appreciate your recipes Beth and this blog oh so very much.
Hi. I LOVED this recipe: so easy but such wonderful results and the depth of flavor got better and better each day. No one in my house would eat this except me as my family is against anything ‘healthy!’
I’d like to know if this is something that I could freeze and if so what’s the best method for doing so & then using. I want to make again but don’t think I want to eat for a week straight again! :) Thank you!
Yes, this one should freeze very well. I like to freeze soups like this in individual resealable containers (single serving portions), so I can just pop them in the microwave to defrost and reheat one at a time. Or, you can cool it down in the fridge, then pour it into quart sized freezer bags. To reheat, just cut away the bag and reheat in a sauce pan over low heat.
Made this for dinner tonight and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out! I questioned how much salt I’d need at the end but it was practically perfect with very little added! So happy I found this recipe…now to look around your blog and see what other goodies I can find :)
I am planning on making this tomorrow while I’m at work. Is it a big deal if I leave the slow cooker on high for 10-13 hours, or should I lower it to low for that time? Could it potentially “burn” the broth?
I would definitely cook it on low if it will be going for that long. :)
This recipe is excellent. I put in completely dry, packaged beans, no soaking. 8 hours later, the black bean soup was delicious. One of the best dishes I have made.
Just made it today, on difference was adding leeks and some cheddar on top (didn’t realize we had sour cream… but we did so I added both haha). Tastes awesome.
I have a large amount of canned black beans (thanks Costco!), any suggestions on how to modify it for them? Probably can just throw everything in a pot and cook it for half an hour, since the beans are already cooked and just need to be made uber-soft. Then maybe just add one cup of chicken broth since the beans wont be taking up liquid. What do you think?
Yes, that’s exactly what I’d do! :D It should be a really easy and fast dish using canned beans.
Can I double this in my 5qt crock so I have enough for a larger group?
I’m not sure if it would fit in a 5qt if doubled. Mine is somewhere between 5-7 qts (not sure what size) at it was about half full. So, even if it was a 5qt, doubling it would bring it dangerously close to the top.
I made this and added like a half cup of tomato plus the salsa. It’s been cooking on high for more than 10 hours and the beans are still too hard for my liking. I quick soaked them on the stove before putting them in the crock pot. Are they hard because of the acid in the small amount of tomato? But isn’t the salsa acidic anyways? I was very excited about this recipe, but now I’m sad :( I guess pureeing it will help, but just want to know where I went wrong. I’ve heard it could be old beans, but I don’t think these are old….
Sometimes if you live in an area with hard water, that can prevent the beans from softening, too. I’ve heard that a little baking soda helps. Sorry to hear it didn’t turn out for you. :(
I have read in various cooking magazines that cooking beans with acid (like tomatoes) will make the beans tough, so that could easily have been the problem. Maybe try this recipe again, but wait until after the beans are cooked to add the salsa (like for the last 30 min or so).
Another possibility is that your beans were old. Sounds crazy, but even dried beans retain some moisture, but if they’re on the shelf too long, they’ll dry out even more and it takes longer to cook them.
I hope that helps!
Making this today… Our oldest daughter just got get braces on Friday and her poor mouth is sore… very excited to try this… Added half each of a red, yellow, and orange pepper. Also added about four large handfuls of chard, kale, and spinach… Which I chopped pretty fine. And added a bag of frozen butternut squash.
This made just over 10 cups…plenty to freeze… we are having it for dinner tonight with sour cream, avocado and a squeeze of fresh lime. Thank you for a great recipe!
I love your website! I use it all the time! It helps me to stay in budget while having enough to feed my husband and 5 kids. :) I am making this soup for the first time today. :) Thank you so much for all the time you put into doing this.
I made this soup yesterday in my slow cooker and had some for lunch today. It was so easy to make, took me only 6 1/2 hours on high, and the taste is incredibly rich and satisfying. Thank you, Beth, for this delicious recipe, I know I will be making many more from your site! When I recommended this recipe to my daughter who loves black bean soup, she told me she loves your site.
Another wonderful recipe. I was gifted with almost 15 pounds of black beans for Christmas (who has the best parents? Me!) and this was the first attempt to use them up. Even better is that after we were both very full, we happily put 6 portions in the freezer!
Hahaha that IS an amazing Christmas gift!!
This was delicious!!! I recently learned that I like Black Beans. So glad I found you site as there are many yummy, cheap recipes. The first recipe I tried was the Apple Dijon Kale Salad. That was yummy too!