Fuss-Free Spicy Black Bean Soup

This black bean soup has an earthy, spicy, and slightly sweet taste. This meal is perfect when you come home from work and want to cook something hearty but quick.

Jump to:

• The Best Black Bean Soup
• What Goes in It?
• How to Make Black Bean Soup Step by Step 
• The Keys to Success: My Top Tips
• How to Serve It
• Answers to Your Burning Questions
• Make this Soup Now
• Other Black Bean Recipes
• Spicy Black Bean Soup with Cilantro sauce

The Best Black Bean Soup

I love sitting in front of a bowl of steaming beans, especially when the climate is, shall we say, gloomy. It really just warms you up from the inside.

When you make them from scratch, the wisdom of cooking a fabulous meal with pre-cooked beans as a solid base comes with time. Because if they're not pre-cooked, you might find yourself one night, after running into your kitchen dangerously hungry, opening your cupboards to see nothing on your sadly empty shelves but jars of dried beans.

But if you get a head start, having beans ready to eat is really great. Plus, it's not so hard to prepare, and it's so economical. Plus, you'll find it's just as fast as canned beans.

This soup is extraordinary. It's really great because it's:

• High-protein
• Low in calories
• Naturally salty, therefore low in salt
• Diet-conscious

This is exactly what you need to reach your healthy weight goals. In fact, it's very satisfying. You'll love it.

After the vegetables are sautéed, the cumin, chili, and chipotle intertwine happily with the black beans in your kitchen for just under an hour while your butt is waiting on the couch.

Once it has simmered, you top the soup with a textured gremolata-style herb sauce made with cilantro, oil, and lime zest. What a delight!

I was thrilled to bring a spoonful of this thick and variegated soup to my mouth. 

The acidity of the sauce comes first hits the palate. Then comes the softness of the tomatoes and the smoothness of the avocado. And finally, some explosions of sweetness emanating from the carrots, corn kernels, and red bell pepper and amalgamated with the beans' earthy taste. At the very end, all I felt was a pleasant tickle in the back of my throat.

It is a good backup dish to prepare at any time. Your family will think you've been working at simmering it for hours.

What Goes in It?

Main ingredients

• Black beans – it's ridiculously easy to make them at home. In this case, pre-soak them the night before in water with a tenderizing substance (like baking soda). If you're using canned beans, make sure they're organic and salt-free.
• Corn kernels – fresh or frozen will do the trick. It brings a color contrast in the brown porridge and a touch of sweetness.
• Red bell pepper – another color element to take the monotony out of the meal.
• Carrot – and another one.
• Cilantro – used in the herb sauce. It goes really well with black beans.
• Lime – I used it instead of lemon because it reminded me of the Caribbean's flavors.
• Tomato – for garnish and color.
• Avocado – ditto.

Seasonings

• Red onion – to me, red onions are more flavorful than yellow onions.
• Garlic – ditto.
• Vegetable broth – gives umami. Not all broths are equal. Choose one that is tasty enough but doesn't leave its mark.
• Ground cumin – it's a bitter spice that gives a depth of taste. I like to have whole seeded cumin, then grind it in a small coffee/spice grinder if necessary. This way, I can be sure that there are no additives or other possible dubious substances. Also, the fragrances are more obvious. The finest ones are from India.
• Chili powder – this is a mixture of spices used among others in Tex-Mex cooking. The main element that gives its name to the mixture is the chili serrano (chile serrano). Also found in its composition (in ascending order) are paprika, garlic, cumin, oregano, and cloves. It comes in the form of a fine powder with a dark red-brown color. 
• Chipotle powder – it's a variety of chili pepper native to Central and South America. It's actually a type of large jalapeno picked very ripe, then smoked and dried. It has a café au lait color. It's a little hotter than the jalapeno but less fiery than the cayenne pepper. The finest ones are from Mexico.
• Salt and pepper – for seasoning, of course. It's worth using kosher salt. It dissolves twice as fast as dense salt and gives you an early indication of your preparation's saltiness.

Optional Ingredients

• Kombu – widely used in Japanese cuisine, it's a food seaweed usually dried which is rich in minerals.

How to Make Black Bean Soup Step by Step 

I start by sautéing the vegetables (onion, garlic, bell pepper, carrot) ①. Then I add the black beans, corn, broth, and spices ②. In a food processor, I roughly mix the soup and season ③. Then, I prepare the herb sauce ④. 

When I'm done, I divide into bowls and put the toppings on.

The Keys to Success: My Top Tips

These tips are for you if you decide to go the canned bean route. 

Choose the right black beans

I'm going to go on a limb, but in my opinion, it's useful, dear guest, to know how to doctor those. It's one of those important life skills, like knowing how to tie your shoes, make your bed or use a corkscrew. If you have this skill, it's nothing to be ashamed of.

Anyway, I've heard through the grapevine that they're very different from brand to brand. So you have to be fussy and aim right.

Cook them to perfection

Also, be aware that canned beans should only be heated briefly; otherwise, you'll end up with a sad mush.

Bring out the spices' inherent flavors

If you have a small coffee/spice grinder, I suggest you have whole cumin seeds and grind them for usage to release its volatile oils—aromatic compounds that give the spices their fragrance and flavor.

How to Serve It

If you can, keep a quantity of pre-cooked black beans handy. Put some in the freezer to keep them longer. You'll be able to create the easiest, quickest and tastiest meals ever!

Your soup may thicken over the next few days. What to do with your bean mixture? 

• Mix them with rice (white or brown), a sliced tomato salad, or anything in the refrigerator.
• Wrap it all up in a tortilla or burrito with a cream that imitates sour cream.
• Use it as a base to make black bean burgers.
• Turn your soup into a taco filling.
• Accompany them with plantains.

Answers to Your Burning Questions

Make this Soup Now

This black bean soup is the perfect comforting meal on a cold winter day.

Make it a backup meal when you don't feel like thinking about what to cook when looking for something filling, healthy and tasty.

All you need are some fine beans that are ready to cook. But they're not pre-cooked, it's not hard to get them ready. Soak them the night before, and then add ingredients that combine well with their earthy taste.

The day you come home from work hungry, you'll cry with gratitude for doing it early.

And your hungry belly and lazy buttocks will thank you too, both of them happily soothed.

Other Black Bean Recipes

Once cooked, the beans make a blank base, ready to be made into anything you fancy.

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