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Thick and hearty, this easy to put together Black Bean Soup is made with simple pantry ingredients and a fresh burst of cilantro and lime juice to bring it to life. Make it mild or spicy to suit your family, and serve up with some of your favorite toppings to truly make it a meal your entire family will love!

Bowl of black bean soup topped with diced avocado, sour cream and fresh cilantro.


 

Who doesn’t love a quick and easy family meal? This soup is hearty, comforting, and healthy. Made with mostly pantry ingredients this is a meal that you can toss together with little planning for those nights when you need something quick. Here’s just a few reasons for you to love this soup:

  • Use dry or canned beans
  • Add in extra veggies your family will love
  • Season and spice it up to your taste

Ingredients Needed:

Ingredients needed for making black bean soup laid out on the counter.

Notes on some ingredients:

  • Red Chile Flakes: optional and not pictured. Taste the soup at the end and if you feel the need for some more heat, add a sprinkle in and add as desired.
  • Black Beans: use 15 ounce cans. Drain and rinse the beans. You can use dried beans for this recipe. Just make sure to soak the beans overnight before using. Substitute the 4 cans with 2 pounds of dried black beans.
  • Broth: bone broth adds a nice richness and nutrients to the finished dish. You can also use a vegetable broth to keep it meat free.
  • Avocado Oil: a great option for cooking, although you can substitute for evoo or other oil of choice if desired

How to make (step-by-step):

How to make black bean soup, showing sauteing onion and jalapeno in a large pot and spices being added. Then the black beans added and stirred together.
  • Step 1: Sauté the onion and jalapeño, then add the garlic and seasonings.
  • Step 2: Add beans and broth. Stir this all together, bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat to low.
  • Step 3: Remove the lid and let the soup continue to cook while stirring and mashing the beans against the side of the pot. Stir in the lime juice and fresh cilantro. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

Expert Tips:

  • Heat: if you want more heat to the soup, leave the membranes in the jalapeno, or you could substitute the jalapeño for a Serrano pepper. Then taste and if more heat is desired add some crushed red Chile pepper. This recipe is written to be mild and will be pleasant for little ones or those who don’t like, or can’t have spice.
  • Thicken: this is a nice hearty soup, nice and thick. To make it thick, simply mash some of the beans on the side of the pot during the cooking process. If you want it even thicker, use an immersion blender or transfer a portion of the soup to a blender carefully and blend.
  • Extra Veggies: if you have vegetables on hand you want or need to use, this is a great soup recipe to add them to. Great options include carrots, celery, tomatoes, zucchini, or other squash. Dice up and sauté with the onion to soften them up.
Bowl of black bean soup topped with diced avocado, sour cream and fresh cilantro.

FAQ’s:

Is black bean soup good for you?

There are many health benefits to eating black beans, you can read more in this article.

Can I freeze black bean soup?

Yes. Store the soup in a freezer safe container and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Remove to the refrigerator to thaw overnight and reheat on the stovetop.

What do I serve this soup with?

Some great options would be to serve a bread or cornbread on the side. A salad is a great option also, either a simple garden salad with some homemade ranch dressing, or this Autumn Apple Salad is always a hit!

More Soup Recipes:

Black Bean Soup

5 from 9 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Author: Serene
This hearty black bean soup recipe is loaded up with veggies! Thick and creamy, this soup is quick and easy to put together.
Bowl of black bean soup topped with diced avocado, sour cream and fresh cilantro.

Ingredients  

  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • ½ cup yellow onion diced finely
  • 1 jalapeño de-seeded and membranes removed, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
  • ½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 4 (15 ounce cans) black beans no sodium, drained & rinsed
  • 2 cups chicken bone broth low/no sodium
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 bayleaf
  • 1 teaspoon lime juice fresh
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro diced

Optional

  • ¼ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

Optional Toppings

  • 1 avocado diced
  • cilantro diced
  • sour cream

Instructions 

  • Heat oil in a large dutch oven.
  • Add onion and jalapeño, and cook until softened and translucent
  • Add in the garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds.
  • Add the seasonings and stir to combine. 
  • Pour in the black beans, and broth. Stir to combine. 
  • Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. 
  • Stir and mash beans against the side of the pot to thicken the soup, if needed use an immersion blender to blend a portion of the soup to desired consistency.
  • Add the lime juice and fresh diced cilantro. Stir to combine. 
  • Taste and adjust seasonings/salt to taste. Sprinkle in red pepper flakes if desired for more heat. 
  • Top with desired toppings, serve. 

Video

Equipment

Notes

  • Red Chile Flakes: optional and not pictured. Taste the soup at the end and if you feel the need for some more heat, add a sprinkle in and add as desired.
  • Black Beans: use 15 ounce cans. Drain and rinse the beans. You can use dried beans for this recipe. Just make sure to soak the beans overnight before using. Substitute the 4 cans with 2 pounds of dried black beans.
  • Broth: bone broth adds a nice richness and nutrients to the finished dish. You can also use a vegetable broth to keep it meat free.
  • Avocado Oil: a great option for cooking, although you can substitute for evoo or other oil of choice if desired.
  • Storage: This soup can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
  • Freezing: Let the soup come to room temperature. Pour into a freezer plastic sealable bag, or into a freezer safe container. Store in the freezer for 4-5 months. To reheat, place the soup in the refrigerator overnight. Then warm on the stovetop in a dutch oven or stock pot.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 97kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 421mg | Potassium: 211mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 130IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!

Photography done by the talented @KJandCompany


Welcome to my kitchen!

Welcome to the House of Yumm!! My name is Serene. I’m the food photographer, recipe developer, and official taste tester around these parts.

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15 Comments

  1. Added carrots, celery, red peppers, yellow peppers. So good! Thanks for the idea. Black beans made a great base for added flavors.

  2. thank you! I eat pintos and black beans a lot as part of my diet, and this is so much more than my typical legume side dish with all of the soup ingredients, including jalapenos!

  3. This reminds me of the soup from Panera, which is my favorite by far! But I haven’t made it in forever…looks like I need too after seeing this delicious recipe!

  4. I don’t have an immersion blender either so I feel your pain on trying to make hot soup in a blender. This whole bean version looks great though 🙂