Healthy Black Bean Soup
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This healthy Black Bean Soup recipe is a quick-to-make soup I’ve fallen in love with. Made with canned black beans, wholesome veggies, and delightfully savory flavors.
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Why You’ll Love This Soup
This black bean soup is richly flavored with cumin, oregano, thyme, and just a pinch of red pepper flakes for gentle heat. It’s inspired by Mediterranean flavors with a subtle nod to Cuban cuisine — warm, comforting, and layered with depth.
It’s lightly creamy, deeply satisfying, and miles better than anything from a can. Sure, it takes a little chopping, but the payoff is a hearty, homemade soup that’s perfect for lunch, cozy dinners, or even game day gatherings.
And the best part? The toppings. From avocado and cilantro to a dollop of sour cream or a squeeze of lime, you can make it your own every time.
Black Bean Soup Ingredients
This hardy yet simple soup is made with equally simple ingredients. Specific measurements are in the recipe card below, but here’s an idea of what you will need:
- Olive oil: I’m using extra virgin
- Aromatics & vegetables: onion, celery, carrots, red pepper, and garlic
- Seasonings: ground cumin, dried oregano and thyme, red pepper flakes and a bay leaf
- Vegetable broth (although water can also be substituted)
- Canned black beans
- Juice of a lime
- Fresh cilantro for garnish
Healthy Black Bean Soup Tips
These simple tips greatly improve the flavor of your soup:
Cook the aromatics until tender: It’s amazing how simple vegetables, like onion, carrots, celery, and red pepper, can transform a soup’s flavor when cooked until tender. Give yourself time to let the flavor develop with your aromatics.
Sauté the seasoning: Don’t skip the step of sauteing the cumin, garlic, oregano, thyme, and red pepper flakes. It helps bring an amazing depth of flavor to the soup.
Texture: While you can serve the soup as cooked, if you prefer a thicker texture, pureeing a portion of the soup in a blender or with an immersion blender results in a thicker more creamy soup.
How to Make Black Bean Soup
Step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Sauté aromatics
Sauté the onion, celery, carrots, and red pepper until soft in a soup pot.
Step 2: Add seasoning
Toss in the garlic, cumin, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, and the bay leaf; sauté until fragrant for a few seconds.
Step 3: Add broth and beans
Pour in the broth and beans, and bring to a simmer for 30 minutes or until tender.
Step 4: Serve
Remove the bay leaf, season as needed with salt and pepper, and stir in the lime juice. Puree a portion of the soup and stir it back into the pot for a hearty, thick soup.
Garnish with your favorite toppings like: diced avocado, fresh cilantro, green onion slices, chopped red onion, and tortilla chips.
Serving Ideas with Black Bean Soup
Tips for Thickening the Soup
This soup is delicious served as cooked with a brothy base and tender vegetables. But you can also thicken it a bit to your preference.
To thicken the soup, remove the bay leaf and using an immersion blender (or a regular blender) blend a portion of the soup. This will thicken the broth slightly while still retaining most of the whole beans and vegetables.
How to Store Black Bean Soup
Likely, you will have leftovers. And believe me, they make AWESOME lunches during the week.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for four to five days or freezer for longer storage. If frozen, you can thaw in the refrigerator or reheat on the stovetop.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can substitute dried black beans for canned in this recipe. To replace four 15-ounce cans, use about 2 ¼ to 2 ½ cups of dried black beans. Soak them overnight in plenty of water, then drain and rinse before using. You’ll need to cook the soaked beans until tender, which typically takes 60–90 minutes on the stovetop or 25–30 minutes in a pressure cooker (like an Instant Pot). Once cooked, proceed with the recipe as written.
Use the quick soak method: Place the beans in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 1 hour. Drain, rinse, and cook until tender — typically 60–90 minutes on the stovetop or 25–30 minutes in a pressure cooker.
Once the beans are tender, you can proceed with the soup recipe as written.
To turn up the heat, try adding a diced jalapeño, a pinch of cayenne pepper, or a few dashes of hot sauce. You can also stir in chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for a smoky, spicy kick.
Definitely. Let the soup cool completely before transferring to airtight containers. It freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat gently on the stovetop.
Some favorite toppings include avocado slices, a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped cilantro, lime wedges, or crushed tortilla chips. These add texture, freshness, and extra flavor.
Yes, this recipe adapts well to a slow cooker. Simply sauté the aromatics first, then transfer everything to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6–8 hours or high for 3–4 hours.
Absolutely! This soup tastes even better the next day and stores well in the fridge for up to 5 days. It’s a great option for batch cooking and busy weeknight meals.
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Healthy Black Bean Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 celery ribs chopped
- 1 carrot chopped
- 1 red pepper chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1/4 teaspoon for lower heat
- 32 ounces vegetable broth or water if you prefer
- 4 (15-ounce) cans black beans rinsed and drained
- fresh cilantro for garnish
- 1 fresh lime juiced
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large soup pot and sauté the onion, celery, carrots, and red pepper until soft; about 7 to 8 minutes.
- Add the garlic, cumin, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, and the bay leaf; stir to combine. Cook for 30 seconds or so until the herbs and spices are fragrant.
- Pour in the broth and beans and then bring to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes; stirring occasionally, reducing heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Or until the vegetables and beans are soft.
- Remove the bay leaf, season as needed with salt and pepper, and stir in the lime juice. You can either serve the soup as is or puree it in a blender for a hardy, thick soup.
- Garnish with your favorite toppings like: diced avocado, fresh cilantro, thinly sliced radishes, tortilla chips, diced red onion…
Video
Notes
- Storing: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for four to five days or freezer for longer storage. If frozen, you can thaw in the refrigerator or reheat on the stovetop.
- Substituting dry black beans: To replace four 15-ounce cans, use about 2 ¼ to 2 ½ cups of dried black beans. Soak them overnight in plenty of water, then drain and rinse before using. Or use the quick soak method by placing beans in a pot, covering them with water, bringing them to a boil for 2 minutes, then removing them from the heat and letting them sit, covered, for 1 hour. Drain, rinse, and cook until tender. To cook soaked beans, simmer on the stovetop for 60-90 minutes, or 25–30 minutes in a pressure cooker (like an Instant Pot). Once cooked, proceed with the recipe as written.
- Slow Cooker: Sauté the aromatics first, then transfer everything to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6–8 hours or high for 3–4 hours.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
ingredients say 4 cans of beans ??? is that a typo ?
Yes, you will need 4 15-ounce cans of black beans for this recipe. It makes a good size pot of soup.
With so many beans, how is it just 1 gram of protein per serving?
Hi Jason– thank you so much for questioning this! My calculator wasn’t picking up the beans in the nutritional analysis because of the word “can”. The nutritional information has been updated in the recipe card!