This delicious Vegan Black Bean Soup is thick, hearty, perfectly spiced, comfort food cozy, and weeknight quick and easy. Ready in under 25 minutes!
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If you've ever thought that bean soup is boring, this thick, flavor-packed Vegan Black Bean Soup will blow your mind!
All it takes is some canned black beans, a few vegetables, some spices and a squeeze of lime and something magical happens in that soup pot.
And then when you take that perfectly spiced, soft, thick, and chunky black bean soup and level it up with delicious fresh and tangy toppings like vegan sour cream, cheese, avocado, and green onions...Oh, and a scattering of crispy tortilla chips...Oof. So good!
Mel x
Ingredients
Here is what you need at a glance, along with some important ingredient notes & substitution ideas:
- Black beans - Canned or dried beans you've cooked yourself at home.
- Bell pepper - I like red, orange, or yellow bell peppers in this recipe. They tend to be sweeter than green. That's not to say you can't use green if it's all you've got, but if you have the choice...
- Red chili pepper flakes - This soup isn't particularly spicy but feel free to add a few more if you do want to spice things up!
- Herbs - I have made this with dried oregano and dried mint. They both work really well. Dried mint with black beans is something I've been doing since my Instant Pot Black Beans back in 2018. It's an unlikely combo that really works so don't be wary of trying it! A bay leaf adds a little something something that no one can really put their finger on, but if you don't have one you can omit it. You won't notice a huge difference.
- Cumin - Black beans best friend! It feels like a lot but this makes quite a big pan of soup and it will be just right but the time you're done.
- Lime juice - This is for finishing the soup and goes in after the heat is turned off and immediately before serving. The touch of citrusy acidity compliments the rich flavor of the soup.
Let's Make Black Bean Soup!
Can't wait to make this soup? The full printable recipe is below, but first, let me walk you through the steps to set you up for success in your kitchen. I recommend watching my recipe video if you're more of a visual learner:
1 - Saute the onions, bell pepper, garlic, and spices then add the tomato paste and let it cook out for a few minutes.
2 - Add everything else (except the lime) and blitz a few times with an immersion blender to thicken and release flavor then let it warm up. Add the lime juice right before serving.
Flavor-Giving Tips
- Be sure to cook off the tomato paste as per the instructions. Doing this removes its harsh raw, slightly bitter edge and makes your soup taste more rounded and complex.
- Blitzing up some of the beans in the soup thickens it beautifully and releases more flavor!
Serving Suggestions
I love to serve this Vegan Black Bean Soup topped with cilantro, avocado, vegan cheese or crumbles of my vegan feta, a dollop of vegan sour cream or natural vegan yogurt, avocado, sliced green onion, and crispy tortilla chips for some amazing texture!
If you want to make the recipe stretch further or make it extra filling it's very nice served over some fluffy rice or with some crusty bread or vegan garlic bread on the side.
Recipe FAQs
See my Instant Pot Black Bean Soup (coming next week) for full and detailed instructions.
Recipe
Vegan Black Bean Soup
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil , use a drop of water instead for oil-free
- 1 large onion , diced
- 1 large yellow or red bell pepper , deseeded & diced
- 4 large cloves garlic , minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano , or mint
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chili pepper flakes , or ½ a diced jalapeno
- 4 x 15oz (398 ml) cans black beans , drained (about 7 cups)
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 cups (1200 ml) vegetable stock
- 2 teaspoons fine salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- juice of a lime
INSTRUCTIONS
- Warm a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the oil and once hot and shimmering add the onion and bell pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes until softened then add the garlic and cook for one minute more.
- Add the tomato paste, cumin, oregano, and chili pepper flakes. Let them cook for 2 minutes more until fragrant then add the beans, bay leaf, stock, salt, and pepper.
- Stir then blitz 3 or 4 times with an immersion blender to thicken, (or scoop out about 3 cups, pulse a few times in a blender to partially blend, then return back to the pan) and allow the soup to warm through.
- Once hot you can serve immediately or leave simmering for up to an hour on low if it's more convenient.
- Immediately before serving turn off the heat and add the juice of a lime.
NOTES
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Mandy says
Yummy as expected ! I only had 2 cans of black beans on hand so mine was a bit thinner but my immersion blender thi keyed it all up nicely! I tossed in a bit of corn too be a use I was feeling a bit Tex Mex! Thanks Mel!