Black Bean Soup

Easy Black Bean Soup brings onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes, green chiles, black beans, and cilantro together in a perfectly seasoned vegetable broth.  The end result is a hearty soup with tons of flavor and plenty of healthy nutrition, protein, and fiber.

This soup is a filling meal on its own, but for an over-the-top meal, I like to serve it with Mexican coleslaw and cornbread.

How to make Black Bean Soup

Start by heating a little oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat.  Then add the onions, carrots, and celery, cooking until tender.  Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, crushed red pepper, ground black pepper, marjoram, and cumin.  Stir and cook for 1 minute. 

Then add the vegetable broth, diced green chiles, and black beans.  Bring the soup to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. If desired, purée a little of the soup with an immersion blender. Garnish with cilantro or red pepper flakes, and a splash of fresh lime juice, and serve.

Recipe notes and helpful tips

• This recipe calls for canned beans, which can contain large amounts of salt.  Be sure to drain and rinse to get the excess sodium off.
• Several brands have low-sodium canned black beans. If they have them take advantage of them, as the salt from the low-sodium beans and the fire-roasted tomatoes is plenty for this recipe.
• To keep the soup vegetarian and vegan-friendly, stick with vegetable broth. 
• I really like the fire-roasted canned tomatoes because they have a unique smoky taste. But any canned diced tomatoes will work.
• To kick up the heat in this recipe, add chipotle chiles in adobo sauce or some ground cayenne pepper.
• This soup comes together quickly.  The simmering time is fairly flexible as the contents are warm in about 10 minutes, but if you want the flavors to meld together more, then you can simmer for 20-30 minutes.
• If desired, purée a portion of the soup using an immersion blender. Blend as little or as much as you like to reach your desired consistency. You can also use a stand blender but remove the fill cap lid for heat to escape. Top thicker soup with tortilla chips, fresh lemon juice, sliced avocado, sour cream, guacamole, or salsa.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Freeze for up to 3 months by ladling fully cooled soup into quart freezer bags.  Then lay on baking sheets in the freezer until fully frozen.  This allows for easier storage in the freezer.  Be sure to mark the contents and the date it was frozen on the bag.

Why choose marjoram over oregano

As you may have noticed by now, marjoram is one of my go-to spices.  Marjoram is a member of the mint and oregano family.  In appearance, it is hard to tell dried marjoram from oregano, but one whiff of each, and you can tell they are distinctly different.

Oregano’s smell and taste are more pungent and kind of musty and earthy with a bit of bitterness.  While Marjoram is more mild and sweet with mint and woody undertones.  I really prefer marjoram in almost every recipe that calls for oregano.  Next time you are at the store, pick up a jar and see if you feel the same way.

Other soup recipes you will love!

Black Bean Soup Recipe

A quick and easy flavor-packed Black Bean Soup with onions, carrot, celery, garlic, tomatoes, green chiles, and black beans, all in a vegetable broth seasoned with cumin, marjoram, and cilantro.

5 from 17 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 bowls

Calories: 73kcal

Author: Beth Pierce

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion chopped
• 2 carrots peeled and chopped
• 2 ribs celery chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon marjoram or oregano
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
• 1 can 15 ounce fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 7 ounce can diced green chiles
• 3 15 ounce cans low sodium black beans drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

• Heat oil in a Dutch oven or heavy stockpot over medium-high heat.  Add the onions, carrots, and celery, cooking until the onions and celery are tender.
• Reduce the heat and add the garlic, crushed red pepper, ground black pepper, marjoram, and cumin.  Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
• Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the vegetable broth, fire-roasted tomatoes, diced green chiles, and black beans. Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
• If desired, purée a little of the soup with an immersion blender. Garnish with cilantro or red pepper flakes and a splash of fresh lime juice, and serve.

Notes

• This recipe calls for canned beans containing large amounts of salt.  Be sure to drain and rinse to get the excess sodium off.
• Several brands have low-sodium canned black beans. If they have them take advantage of them, as the salt from the low-sodium beans and the fire-roasted tomatoes is plenty for this recipe.
• To keep the soup vegetarian and vegan-friendly, stick with vegetable broth. 
• I really like the fire-roasted canned tomatoes because they have a unique smoky taste. But any canned diced tomatoes will work.
• To kick up the heat in this recipe, add chipotle chiles in adobo sauce or some ground cayenne pepper.
• This soup comes together quickly.  The simmering time is fairly flexible as the contents are warm in about 10 minutes, but if you want the flavors to meld together more, you can simmer for 20-30 minutes.
• If desired, purée a portion of the soup using an immersion blender. Blend as little or as much as you like to reach your desired consistency. You can also use a stand blender but remove the fill cap lid for heat to escape. Top thicker soup with tortilla chips, fresh lemon juice, sliced avocado, sour cream, guacamole, or salsa.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Freeze for up to 3 months by ladling fully cooled soup into quart freezer bags.  Then lay on baking sheets in the freezer until fully frozen.  This allows for easier storage in the freezer.  Be sure to mark the contents and the date it was frozen on the bag.

Nutrition

Calories: 73kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 655mg | Potassium: 148mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 3830IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg

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