Vegetarian black bean soup is one of the those cozy, comforting dinners you can feel good about! Beans, brown rice, and piles of veggies to mix into the bowl will satisfy your taste buds and stomach while giving you plenty of healthy nutrients. It’s a favorite in our house for meatless Monday, or any day!
Hello, all!
We’re here working our way through winter, selling Girl Scout cookies (daughter is a Cadette and will be a Senior next year – how time flies! I remember the Daisy years), continuing our organizing binge by weeding out more stuff, and making all sorts of cozy dinners.
Just recently I took photos of stuffed pork chops with pasta (perfect for a date night!), hot spiced milk (with or without bourbon), and a new Instant Pot Italian pot roast. Tonight I’m making a sheet pan chicken and potato dinner, which may show up here soon depending out how we like it. And I have all sorts of other cold weather dishes planned out!
While I adore summer for its bounty of beautiful, fresh produce, I do also love the chance to have stews and pot roasts and baked pastas and all sorts of bean dishes. Bean soups and bean based dinners are big in this house, and I think they are going to become bigger in the near future as we move towards a less meat based diet.
What’s to love?
- Easy – canned beans
- Healthy – low fat, plenty of fiber, whole grains
- Flavorful – spices and aromatics
- Toppings – the real reason we love black bean soup š
What do you need?
- Black Beans – Two 15-oz cans, most pureed and the rest left whole.
- Vegetable Stock – 4 cups.
- Brown Rice – You can switch to white but I like the brown here.
- Vegetables – Carrots, bell pepper, onions, and garlic.
- Seasonings – Cumin, coriander, ancho, cayenne, oregano, and lime.
- Toppings – Sour cream, avocado, chopped onions, cheese, tortilla chips, etc.!
How to make this
To make vegetarian black bean soup saute onions, garlic, and carrots until soft then add spices, beans, and stock. Simmer to develop the flavors and serve over rice with toppings of your choice.
- Make the rice.
- Saute vegetables – onion, garlic, bell pepper, and carrots – in olive oil.
- Add spices, beans, and stock. Simmer.
- Puree until smooth and serve with rice.
- Add toppings such as onion, avocado, sour cream, and jalapenos.
To put together this simple dinner, start the rice first so that it will be done when the soup is ready.
Then chop up your veggies and saute them in olive oil until they are nice and soft. Add the spices, let them bloom in the hot oil. And pour in the beans and stock.
Get everything to a simmer and let the flavors meld together. Once that’s done, puree in the blender then rewarm the soup in the pot.
Serve over the rice with ALL the toppings!
Great Bean Recipes
Here are a few of my favorite bean based dinner and side dish recipes!
If you try my recipe for Vegetarian Black Bean Soup, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And Iām happy to answer any questions you might have.
– Happy Eating, Annemarie
Simple Vegetarian Black Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups brown rice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium white onion, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- kosher salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp ancho chili powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed, 1/2 cup reserved
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 lime
For Serving:
- limes
- shredded cheddar cheese
- chopped jalapenos
- sour cream
- diced red onion
- diced yellow bell pepper
- diced avocado
Instructions
- Start the rice according to package directions or in your rice cooker. While the rice is cooking, do all the prep.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, bell pepper, and garlic along with a pinch or two of kosher salt.
- Saute until the vegetables are softened and a little browned, 5-7 minutes. Adjust the heat as needed to keep the vegetables from burning.
- Add the cumin, coriander, ancho, cayenne, and oregano. Stir and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add the beans and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
- Transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Return the soup to the pot, add in the 1/2 cup of reserved beans, and bring back up to a simmer. Squeeze in the juice of one lime. Add more stock if the soup is too thick.
- Taste and add more salt and spices as needed. Serve the soup over rice with the toppings of your choice.
Notes
- Rice: I prefer either a brown basmati or a brown jasmine rice. Either are an aromatic, long grained rice which stays firm when cooked.
- Dried Beans: If you wish to cook your own beans, you will need 1 1/2 cups of dried black beans. Cook them until done and then proceed with the recipe.
MV says
I made this for dinner last night and it was so tasty! This is definitely going into the regular lineup.
justalittlebitofbacon says
Great! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe and thanks for the comment. This is one of my daughter’s absolute favorites and one I’m sure I’ll be making again soon myself.
Shirley says
Great soup! We all loved it! The kids came back for seconds.
justalittlebitofbacon says
I’m glad you all enjoyed it! Thanks for commenting. š