Spicy Black Bean Soup (20 Min)
- Updated on Jan 05, 2015
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Here’s what I was thinking when I started to experiment with soup recipes: “Why the hell bother making a soup from scratch when I can just buy a can?
It’s clearly faster and it should be healthy too, right?! Are we wasting our time? Should HurryTheFoodUp’s soup recipes just HurryTheFuckOff?”
I quickly wrote down what I require from my ideal soup: It should…
- …be at least vegetarian.
- …contain only moderate sodium levels.
- …taste great.
- …be reasonably priced.
- …and be available in any bigger grocery store.
I still haven’t found a canned soup that meets my requirements, especially with the sodium levels being the way they are.
Where do they get all the salt from anyway? Do they use sea water when they’re making it? Some soups are so salty they could float a rock.
Instead, I worked on perfecting my Black Bean Soup recipe, inspired by a visit to a Mexican mate’s house.
You can whip it up in just over 20 minutes and it tastes so good you’ll be licking the bowl clean.
Cumin, red pepper flakes, vinegar and cilantro do their magic and add flavor instead of a truck load of salt.
Add some avocado and bread to make a full (and fulfilling) meal out of it.
Health Benefits – Spicy Black Bean Soup
I saved the best till last. The fiber to protein ratio of black beans is 1:1, giving you about 15g of both per serving.
Apart from energizing you while simultaneously keeping you full, the high amount of fiber and protein helps to keep your blood sugar balance in check – something which helps to prevent type 2 diabetes in the long run (1, 2).
Pretty awesome, right?!
PS. A final question – do you ever buy canned soups?
Ingredients
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ½ onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 bell pepper, red
- 1.5 cups black beans, cooked (~1 can, 15oz/425g)
- 1.5 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 sprigs cilantro/coriander, fresh
- 1 tsp cumin, ground
- ¼ tsp chili flakes (be careful not to make it too hot!!)
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ½ avocado
- 1 oz cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Get a pot and add the olive oil.1 tsp olive oil
- Finely dice up the onion and mince the garlic. Throw both in the pot and let it simmer on low heat.½ onion, 2 cloves garlic
- In the meantime cut the bell pepper into small pieces and add them to the pot.1 bell pepper, red
- Rinse and drain the can of black beans.1.5 cups black beans, cooked
- Squash a few of them with a fork or your hands to give the soup a creamy touch, then throw them into the pot with a bit of love.
- Add the vegetable broth and nutritional yeast to the mix.1.5 cups vegetable broth, 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- Chop the cilantro and add it to the soup (holding a bit in reserve for garnish).2 sprigs cilantro/coriander, fresh
- Now pimp it up with the cumin, red pepper flakes and balsamic vinegar.1 tsp cumin, ground, ¼ tsp chili flakes, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes.
- In the meantime prepare some avocado slices.½ avocado
- If you want to be naughty, finish off the soup with a slice of cheddar.1 oz cheddar cheese
- Taste test – adjust the seasoning, if necessary.
- Soups on! Garnish the bowl with a little extra cilantro, avocado and you’re ready to roll.
NOTES
Nutrition
Comments
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46 comments
A great recipe that came out really well. You definitely want to double the liquid at least – triple if you’re planning on adding a pasta or anything else that’ll suck up the liquid. The single cup of broth I just knew wouldn’t be enough, but even after doubling it and adding some ditalini I barely had any broth left.
If you’re not vegan or vegetarian, a beef or ham broth would go really well with this recipe too.
Made this spicy black bean soup for dinner tonight and it was amazing!!! And only minutes to make.
Ah soo cool the soup turned out great 😀
It’s one of my faves too!
I made this recipe because I am learning about being a vegetarian. I added carrots, celery, and corn to the recipe and topped it with avocado, diced tomatoes, and sour cream. It probably is not authentic but I need to eat more veggies and find that sneaking it into main dishes enables me to enjoy them much more than as a side dish.
All that extra veg sounds awesome Sara! I would say it doesn’t really matter if it’s authentic or not, if you enjoy it AND get a load of veggie goodness down you, what’s not to like?! Yep, it can be quite tough to eat lots of veg, but it’s a good habit that builds up over a short time. I enjoy veg much more now than I ever did before, and really appreciate how tasty they can be when cooked right 🙂
Sounds delicious! I just have one request. When talking about the risk of developing diabetes, can you please specify the risks refer to Type 2 diabetes? Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that has no known cause or cure. Insulin is not a cure. The myths and misinformation the media continues to perpetuate about both types of diabetes is frustrating for those of us who have to live with this challenging disease. Long story short the misinformation can prevent people from getting diagnosed early, leading to complications and even death. Your help is greatly appreciated.
Hi Suzan! That’s a very good point, and the post has been updated to reflect that. Thanks for the heads up, much appreciated!
Thanks so much for your help! I rarely get a positive response when I make similar requests.
You’re more than welcome Suzan! It was a very good and important point for us to take on board 🙂
I’ve never been a big fan of soup, so it was with great reluctance that I convinc d myself to try this recipe. Holy cow! It was amazing. I was so impressed, and realized afterward that I hadn’t added any salt, which (as per the comments above) seems a mainstay of soups. I think I’ll be dreaming of this soup.
Hi Hayley, so great to hear you liked the black bean soup! Dave and I will be making it this evo as well 😀
I’m not sure if I every dreamed of tasty food, but I do like the idea a lot, hahah
I added in a little bit of lime juice and some chili powder to make it a little extra spicy! And served it with rolls, cuz I don’t soup is good without some biscuits on the side.
Thanks for the recipe. It was delicious!
And I also had no idea that so many people had issues finding black beans (From the previous comments). Theres like 47 different brands of black beans in our super market here in South Florida. Guess the spanish food makes them a necessity! 🙂
Hey Aubri!
Glad you liked the soup 😀
Yess, I can definitely see lime juice and chili powder giving this another kick!
Funny enough, I also have trouble finding black beans over here in Germany. It’s not a basic staple in most supermarkets unfortunately.
Can you tell me how much is 250ml? How many cups?
Yes, of course! One cup 🙂
will add it right now!