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 don’t have a blender of any kind. Is there any way I could still make this/would mashing beans up against the side of the slow cooker be enough? Black beans are my favorite bean so I’d love to try.
Yep, you can use a potato masher, but it will just take some work. :)
Try straining until larger pieces are left. Then place on a cookie sheet with sides. Either mash with fork, bottom of glass, rolling pin, etc.. hard to mash with liquids. Place back with liquids after mashed to your liking.
Great idea! Thanks for sharing that.
Thank you for posting this recipe. Can I use canned black beans? I have a few cans and need to use them up.
Thank you again.
Yes, but you’ll need a lot less vegetable broth. Maybe 1-2 cups. :)
I almost didn’t make this because it looked too plain and I’ve never had success with cooking dry beans in the slow cooker in the time given in the recipe. This proved to be a great recipe. I couldn’t believe the beans cooked in the given time, and the flavor was more complex than I thought it would be! Thank you!
I just bought a slow cooker and cooked for this soup for 6 hours on high, the beans turned out fine, but the vegetables turned into black mush :O Is that normal because they look pretty disgusting? This is my first time using a slow cooker.
Yep, that’s normal, but once you blend the soup you won’t be able to see the vegetables anymore. It will just be a thick, black soup. :)
I have made many Budget Bytes recipes and generally love them all! I followed this recipe to a T and it just did not turn out properly. After cooking the soup on high for 8 hours, I used an immersion blender as suggested. The soup did not turn out creamy at all, rather, it was very grainy in texture. The texture was very unappealing. I blended for quite awhile so I’m really not sure what went wrong here.
Hmm, that makes me wonder if the beans were really soft enough. Sometimes, depending on the minerality of your water, they can take a bit longer to cook. Sorry that didn’t turn out well for you!
Thanks for the response! It sounds like I should have cooked them for awhile longer. If I try the recipe again I’ll report back!
I made this last night and it was delicious! I love your recipes! You ROCK, as does your baked fajitas recipe. I plan to look for recipes here first from now on.
Thank you!
This soup is so cheap and easy to make. My husband and I make it all the time. So glad I found your site. Thank you.
Can you use canned black beans instead of dries beans???
The recipe would need some adjustment because a lot of the liquid here is soaked up by the dry beans. You could probably use somewhere around 2 cups of broth instead of 4 cups broth and 2 cups water. I’d need to experiment with it to know for sure, though.
I made this tonight, but in the pressure cooker and with a small, seeded habanero thrown in, and served with corn bread. I cooked it for 20 minutes and it came out delicious! This one’s a keeper.
This’ll be the second time I’ve made this. I don’t have a stick blender, and by the time dinner rolls around I don’t have the patience to wait for the soup to cool enough to stick it in the blender. Even still, it tastes great.
After trying so many of the recipes on here, I find when it comes to adding spices, I like stronger flavors. I added a bit more chili powder and cumin, to no ill effect. I went to a local Mexican restaurant once that put so much cumin in their black bean soup it made me want to choke; even adding a tsp extra goes a long way.
Ridiculously cheap and easy! Should have taken Beth’s advice and not doubled the recipe. Crock pot nearly overflowed! Amazing recipe though…we are eating it as a soup and used it as a bean dip for Labor Day cookout. THANKS!!!
This looks amazing and simple, I would love to make it, but I am allergic to tomatoes… any thoughts on what I could use in place of the salsa?
You can make your own tomato-less roasted salsa, like I did for this other black bean soup, then just cook the soup in the slow cooker like this recipe.
Amazing! Thanks for another keeper. It was easy, cheap and fast, and my three year-old loved helping me throw it together. I don’t have an immersion blender, so I used a potato masher.
After many years of cooking and baking, this is the very first time I have successfully cooked dried beans. Thank you!
I made this dish in a 4 quart crock pot – i think it fit and worked out fairly well. I did make a major boo boo- i didn’t stir well before plugging the dang thing in >.< !
Also – i don't have an immersion blender so i just at the beans as is with a bolillo (a nice personal loaf of bread).
It worked out okay – I shall try again – and make it correctly.