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!
Oh, I do believe I struck gold with this recipe. I forgot to mention that I used smoked paprika as well. I did have a little trouble balancing liquid versus solids. I added more BTB as I went along as well as two cans of diced tomatoes, half a cup of pickled jalapenos, more of the same seasonings, a can of mushrooms hanging around, and half a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. Despite the extra veggies, it still seemed to have too much broth. I tripped across a great idea by accident. I added one can of black beans and then used my immersion blender. Very nearly there but not quite so I added a second can of beans and used my blender again. Perfect. It tastes good now so I can only imagine what it will be like refrigerated and reheated. That was my first time using the blender and I got splashed a little. Beware. I don’t believe I’d especially recommend this as a slow cooker, UNSUPERVISED recipe for a beginner since I did need to juggle the solids and liquids. An easy recipe, though, and a good one if you are going to be at home anyway but don’t want to hang over the stove the whole time. Because I altered it a fair amount, I won’t submit a rating, but I will definitely make this again.
Bay leaf, too!
Great looking base recipe, Beth. This is a chilly, rainy Sunday so it’s a fine day to make cozy bean soup with what you have in the house. I have jury duty tomorrow and you know what that’s like. I may be leaving in an hour or I may be tied up for days. Wanted to have something all made so I can just have dinner and fall into bed. Being me, I’m improvising. I don’t have a slow cooker so I’m making this on the stove. Doubling the vegetables. Garlic, bell pepper, celery, and onion. Doubling the beans as well. Since I have very hard water, I’ve presoaked the beans for a while. I added the cooking broth from your roasted chickpea recipe for some of the cooking water. I’m holding off on adding Better Than Boullion, tomatoes and pickled jalepenos for a while until I’m sure the beans are softening all right. I don’t have any salsa or Rotel. I don’t have any chili seasoning mix so I’m winging it with mixed Italian seasoning, ground chilies, turmeric, cumin, and black peppers. I will adjust seasoning as I go. Didn’t know how much liquid I’ll need so I added enough to cover, laid foil over the top of my soup pot, and put on the lid. I’ll get back to you to let you know how it goes. Thanks for all your good recipes, excellent notes and instructions, and all the comments are useful. You’re the only food site, I’m following.
Everything is in the pot. Took 10 minutes. I may have to create a “dirt cheap and stupid easy to make” collection in Yummly for this recipe.
Nice!!
Something about this did not taste good at all. I followed this recipe closely and found the results inedible.
Hello! I would love to make this for my work lunches for next week but I do not have a slow cooker. I do have a dutch oven and oven. Would I be able to cook it in that? If so, do you recommend a time and temperature? Or should I just pre-soak the beans, reduce the water/broth and cook at a slow simmer on the stop top?
I would do the second suggestion (presoak, reduce liquid, simmer until beans are very tender).
This is exactly what I need to make tonight to use up the whole lot of nothing hanging out in my kitchen and pantry. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for a great recipe that never fails! It’s delicious served as a soup with tortilla chips for dipping, and it’s also great as a topping for taco salad: a bed of lettuce to start, topped with rice, a scoop of black bean soup, some crushed tortilla chips and a spoonful of salsa. It’s a dish that satisfies everyone, including the vegans and gluten free members of the family. The grandchildren always ask for seconds!
Just made this soup and it turned out awesome! Thank you!
Hello! I just made this and even after I used the immersion blender the soup is extremely thin. What did I do wrong? Can I do anything to thicken it up before serving? Help! Thank you!
Did you use dry beans or canned? Did you pre-soak them (you aren’t supposed to, but if you did 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.
This soup is super easy to make, and absolutely delicious. It is insanely flavorful!
This recipe sounds super delicious! I’m making it now as I’ve been craving some bean soup :). I didn’t read all the comments but wanted to give a bit of advice to those who stated they aren’t having success with dry beans in a crockpot. Old beans might never soften cooked in a crockpot. Further, if your crockpot is not reaching a temperature of at least 275 degrees on high anymore it is time to get a new one. New crockpots heat to 300 on high. You can test your crockpot by filling it halfway or more with tepid water and turning it to high for a few hours. Using a candy thermometer test the water temperature after two to three hours. On low the crockpot should reach a temp of 200. As a wife of a retired firefighter it was not uncommon to see fires caused by old appliances and crockpots are a common culprit. If you’ve had your crockpot for over ten years you might consider a new one. Happy and safe cooking everyone!
This is another great recipe from this site that has become a winter staple. It’s great to just throw everything in the crock pot on a Saturday morning, go about my business, and end up with a filling delicious dinner. We usually top it with cheese and crushed tortilla chips for some crunch.
Did you soak the black beans before adding them to the cooker? Thanks, Beth!!! :-)
Nope, they went in dry. :)
Delicious soup! I topped it with some more salsa and some diced red onion, and I imagine it would be good with some fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro as well. Can’t wait to eat this for the rest of the week!