This easy Black Bean Soup is hearty, smoky, and packed with bold flavor. Made with canned black beans, chipotle peppers, and warm spices, it simmers into a rich, comforting soup that’s naturally vegetarian and ready in 30 minutes. Purée it smooth or leave it chunky — it's delicious either way.
Choose your own adventure
Soup is, without a doubt, one of my favorite food groups. I mean, it's cozy, it's comforting, it's slurpable, and it makes your house smell amazing. Who needs a simmer pot when you can have a simmering pot of soup instead?!
I live in Sweden, where soup season is long. Accordingly, I've got a whole archive of healthy vegetarian soup recipes to choose from, but let me tell you why this vegetarian black bean soup recipe is one of my favorites.
It's loaded with veggies (this makes my nutritionist heart happy), has a rich, smoky flavor thanks to chipotle peppers, cumin, and smoked paprika, and thanks to the magic of canned black beans, it's ready in just about 30 minutes.
Also, this is a choose-your-own-adventure situation. Do you like chunky black bean soup? Then leave it as is. Do you prefer a silky-smooth black bean soup? Then blend baby, blend. My personal preference is to blend most of the soup, leaving a few chunky bits for texture. Like, a 70% blend if you want to get scientific about it.
Did I mention that this soup is freezer-friendly, great for batch cooking, and loaded with plant-based protein? I mean, yes. What are we waiting for? Let's make some black bean soup.
Let's make easy black bean soup together!
Okay, friend, you know the drill. If you'd like to head straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button at the top of this post. If you'd like to join me for a visual walk-through, then keep on scrolling.
Step 1: sauté the veggies
Every good soup starts with sautéing some veggies, and this one is no exception.
Step 2: Add the tomatoes and seasonings
Now we're diving headfirst into flavor town. Diced tomatoes go into the pot, along with chipotle peppers, cumin, and smoked paprika.
Step 3: Add the broth and the beans
Now add the black beans, followed by the vegetable broth. Then we'll let the soup simmer for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
Step 4: Blend your soup (or not)
Now it's time to choose your own adventure. To blend or not to blend? It's up to you.
Step 5: Serve!
Allow your black bean soup to cool ever so slightly – if it's blended, it will thicken as it cools.
Ladle into bowls, and serve with your favorite toppings. I love cilantro, crumbled cheese, and freshly diced tomatoes.
Vegetarian Black Bean Soup (30 minutes)
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced carrot
- 2 cups diced Roma tomatoes about 4 tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1-2 minced chipotle peppers in adobe sauce
- 4 14-ounce cans black beans drained and rinsed.
- 4-6 cups vegetable broth* see note
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Add the onion, and sauté until it starts to become translucent—about 3-5 minutes.1 large yellow onion
- Add the garlic and 1 teaspoon of salt, and sauté for 1-2 minutes more.4 cloves garlic
- Add the celery and carrots, and sauté for 3-5 minutes, until the vegetables start to become a bit soft1 cup diced celery, 1 cup diced carrot
- Add the tomatoes and stir to combine.2 cups diced Roma tomatoes
- Add the cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, and chipotle peppers. Stir to combine. Let this mixture simmer for a few minutes, stirring frequently.2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon oregano, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, 1-2 minced chipotle peppers in adobe sauce
- Add the black beans, followed by the vegetable broth.4 14-ounce cans black beans, 4-6 cups vegetable broth*
- Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to medium-low, place a lid on the pot, and allow it to simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
- Remove the soup from the heat.
- Using an immersion blender, or a stand-up blender in small batches, purée at least half of the soup into a smooth purée.**
- Taste, adjust seasonings as needed, and serve with your favorite toppings.
Notes
- Nutrition values are an estimate only.
- I prefer my black bean soup to be on the thinner side, like the thickness of a tomato soup. Some black bean soups are really thick, so if you prefer a thicker soup, use less broth. You can always add extra broth to thin it out, but you can’t take it away! My personal preference is 6 cups of broth, but you can start with 4 and see how it goes.
- Note that the soup will also thicken as it cools.
- Smooth or chunky? Choose your own adventure! I like to purée about ¾ of the soup but leave some whole beans and veggies for texture. You can go fully smooth if you prefer.
- If you are blending in a stand-up blender (I use my Vitamix for this for the smoothest blend) be sure to blend in small batches to avoid a hot soup explosion all over your kitchen.
Ruth says
This soup was delicious! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes Katie - am a big fan of beans of all kinds so your site is kind of like heaven for me 🙂
Katie Trant says
I'm so glad you enjoyed the soup, Ruth! It's a favorite in our home as well.
Mark Hodges says
Is it possible to make this WITHOUT onions and peppers?? I am allergic to those. Garlic is ok to stay.
Katie Trant says
Hey Mark, I haven't tested this recipe without onions and peppers so really can't say how it would turn out. It definitely is possible to make it without them, but the flavor would be completely different.