I hope you guys don’t get sick of all my soup recipes, because I pretty much live off of soup this time of year! This Smoky Black Bean Soup is definitely going to be one of my new fav’s because it’s so fast, super thick and hearty, and leaves the door open for tons of fun toppings. Kind of like tacos, in soup form! I think you’re going to love this smoky, rich, just-happens-to-be-vegan soup!
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Load it Up with Toppings!
I’ve only provided the price breakdown for the soup itself below because there are just so many options for fun toppings. Not only is adding toppings to soup like this fun, but it’s a great way to use up leftovers in your refrigerator. Here are some toppings that I’ve added to my Smoky Black Bean Soup this week:
- Cornbread
- Cheddar
- Sour Cream
- Green Onion
- Jalapeño
- Avocado
- Pickled red onions
- Crushed tortilla chips
- Pico de gallo
Smoky Black Bean Soup is a Great Flexitarian Dinner
If you have a family with different dietary needs, this easy soup is a great place to start. This black bean soup in its base form is vegan and gluten-free, but you can add several things to accommodate other dietary preferences. You can add shredded rotisserie chicken or quickly sautéed shrimp to feed those who want a little meat, stir in a dollop of sour cream or cheddar cheese for those who like dairy, or add any of the toppings listed above.
Want more flexitarian dishes? Check out my round up of 30+ Flexible Recipes for Vegetarians and Omnivores.
Is This Soup Spicy?
This soup can be as spicy or as mild as you like. The spicy ingredients in this soup are the jalapeño and chipotle powder. If you prefer a mild soup, skip the jalapeño and use smoked paprika in place of chipotle powder. Or you can do any combination of those ingredients to adjust the heat to your liking. :)
Can you Freeze Smoky Black Bean Soup?
Yes! While this is a fairly small batch recipe, you absolutely can freeze the leftovers. As with freezing all other food, I suggest dividing the soup into single servings just after cooking, then refrigerating until completely cooled before transferring to the freezer for long term storage. The soup can be kept in the the freezer for about three months.
To reheat, either use the defrost function on your microwave, transfer to the refrigerator the day before you plan to reheat, or reheat straight from the freezer in a sauce pot, with a lid, over low heat, stirring often.
30-Minute Smoky Black Bean Soup
Servings 4 about 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 jalapeño (optional) ($0.15)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 3 15oz. cans black beans ($2.07)
- 1 15oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes ($1.00)
- 1 tsp ground cumin ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika or chipotle powder* ($0.05)
- salt to taste ($0.02)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Remove the stem and seeds from the jalapeño, then dice the remaining jalapeño flesh. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño, and olive oil to a soup pot and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft and translucent.
- While the onion, garlic, and jalapeño are sautèing, use a blender to purée two of the three cans of black beans (with liquid from the can). If the beans are too thick to purée, add just enough water to make them blend.
- Add all three cans of black beans to the soup pot (one can of whole beans with liquid, two puréed), along with the can of fire roasted diced tomatoes (with juices), the cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika. Stir to combine.
- Place a lid on the pot and allow the soup to come up to a simmer. Allow the soup to simmer, stirring often, for about 15 minutes. After simmering for 15 minutes, taste and add salt to taste (I added 1/2 tsp). Serve hot with your choice of toppings.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Smoky Black Bean Soup – Step by Step Photos
Dice one yellow onion and mince two cloves of garlic. Remove the stem and seeds from a jalapeño, then finely dice the pepper. Add the diced onion, jalapeño, minced garlic, and 2 Tbsp olive oil to a soup pot. Sauté over medium heat for about five minutes, or until the onions are soft and translucent.
While the onion, garlic, and jalapeño are sautéing, purée two 15 oz. cans of black beans (with liquid) in a blender. If the beans are too thick to blend, add a small amount of water (about 1/4 cup). Leave the third can of black beans whole.
Add one 15 oz. can of whole black beans (undrained) and the two cans of puréed black beans to the soup pot.
Add one 15 oz. can of fire-roasted tomatoes (with juices) to the soup pot.
Finally, add 1 tsp cumin, ½ tsp dried oregano, and ½ tsp of either smoked paprika or chipotle powder to the soup. Stir to combine.
Place a lid on the soup pot and let it come up to a simmer. Simmer the soup, stirring often, for about 15 minutes.
After simmering for 15 minutes, taste the soup and add salt as needed (I added ½ tsp). Serve hot with your choice of toppings!
Yummmmm!
I was worried this might not have enough flavor or else be the same as any other bean chili, but it was distinct and satisfying. I didn’t have a third can of black beans so I used a tri-color kidney bean can for my third. Also, I served it on top of diced, roasted sweet potatoes, topped with lightly steamed, cut up green beans for crunch. I found this combination to round out the meal’s overall nutritional value and provided a good mouth-feel and flavor mix. Definitely going to make again.
I love this recipe and I’ve made it several times now. I sub chipotle in adobo for the paprika/chopotle powder. Sometimes just a spoonful of the adobo sauce is enough. I also add the spices, minced garlic and jalepeno earlier on to let them “bloom” while I cook the onions.
Easy to make and definitely okay to substitute things! I had a can of red chili beans, a can of black beans, and a can of red beans! It still turned out great, and I also added a half a can of chipotle peppers in adobe sauce. Can’t go wrong!
This is one of my favorite recipes to make on a regular basis. It is so flavorful, versatile and easy to assemble. It freezes so well that I always make a larger batch and freeze several portions. In addition to a soup I use it as a filling for a quesadilla, in tacos or with eggs! It’s also something that my toddler loves too so it’s great to have on hand for a quick meal. Sometimes I’ll cook a couple slices of bacon to add and cook the onions and garlic in it which adds even more smoky flavor.
We’ve been trying to add in more veggie meals and this is delicious!! SO much flavor! I add sour cream, cheese, and avocado and serve with cornbread. Amazing and easy/quick!
Beth, this recipe is amazing! I was out of jalapeños, so I subbed a whole chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. I just blended it up with the beans. It turned out a little spicier than intended, but my little kids still enjoyed it! Next time I will try just half a chipotle pepper and see if that’s the right amount of spice. I’ve been following you for about 5 years and my family loves your recipes! Love that you’ve been doing more vegetarian options lately :)
We made this last night and it’s going to be a staple from now on! We followed your recipe exactly except we added in a can of southwest corn with the liquid half drained out and it was perfect! The corn added a nice textural change with a bit of crunch! We spoiled ourselves a little and had the soup with store bought frozen beef and cheese taquitos and the combo was great!
Oh that’s great adding the corn! I like that idea. Thanks for sharing Ash!
I only have plain diced tomatoes. To make up for it, what can I add? We plan to use chipotles in adobo instead of jalaoeno. Is that enough?
Yes, I think the smokiness of the chipotles will be plenty to make up for the lost smokiness of the fire-roasted diced tomatoes. :P
Would cooking up a batch of dried black beans (instead of canned) work the same?
Dried black beans come out great in the Instant Pot.
I haven’t tried it to know how subtle the difference would be, but I would assume it would work as long as you retain the cooking liquid (aquafaba) to purée with the beans.
With canned beans, isn’t there a lot of sodium that comes with keeping the liquid from the can in the recipe? Could you rinse off the beans, and refill with water in order to make the puree? Would this take away from the flavor of the dish?
Using water instead of the aquafaba will yield a thinner soup, but it is an option. A better option would be to buy low sodium canned beans, so you still get the starchy liquid to help thicken the soup. :)
So good! I use an immersion blender in the simmering pot and pulsed it a few times (but not so much as to purée the whole soup – plenty of good chunks remained); I found it worked really well. Great recipe – especially when topped with pepper jack cheese!
Oh great idea Genevieve!
Delicious!! Even my meat loving husband enjoyed this recipe!
Hooray!
Loved this! Had to make my “UK version” with regular diced tomatoes but still wonderful. Doubled the amount of smoked paprika in an attempt to compensate for the tomatoes and I think it helped but either way, really enjoyed this. Finished it off last night and couldn’t resist making it again tonight for another few days of it. Big thanks, as always!
Thanks for letting us know Kalyn!
Thanks for sharing such delicious soup
You’re welcome!
Wow, this recipe is packed with flavor. So easy! Definitely a go-to, weeknight recipe.
Thank you Dylan!
Lovely and easy to make soup. Serve with your sweet potato biscuits. Toppings were Monterey Jack, sour cream, diced avocado, diced tomato an lime wedges. We had an ice storm yesterday and it’s really cold today, so this hit the spot. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
I’m coming for lunch! Thanks for sharing Vivian.