Black Bean Soup

For some reason I kept thinking that I had posted this awhile ago, because it was my favorite of the recipes from the soup class I took at Whole Foods.  When I was at the grocery store on Friday I was trying to remember the ingredients so I could get them to make the soup again this weekend.  When I tried looking the recipe up on my phone, I realized I had never posted it – the horror! This is simply too good to be missed.

Fast Black Bean Soup

What You’ll Need

• 2 15 oz cans of black beans, preferably low- or no-salt
• 15 oz  can of prepared black bean soup, preferably low- or no-salt (*or substitute additional can of black beans)
• 2 cups (½ bag) of frozen mixed vegetables
• 2 cups (½ bag) frozen corn
• 2 cups (½ bag) frozen broccoli florets
• 2 cups (16 fl oz bottle) carrot juice
• 1 cup fresh chopped tomatoes
• ⅛ tsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste

Optional Ingredients

• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• ½ cup chopped green onions (scallions)
• 1 avocado, chopped
• ¼ cup pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds), lightly toasted
• 2 tsp hot sauce

Ready for the easiest soup recipe ever?

Here it is:

Combine the frozen mixed veggies, corn, broccoli, black beans, can of soup, carrot juice, water, hot sauce and spices in a soup pot.

Bring to a boil, them reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, then continue cooking until they are heated through.

Serve topped with avocado, green onions, and pumpkin seeds (or plain). Enjoy!

I chose to enjoy this with just some green onions on top, and they are a great addition to this.  Green onions are milder than regular white or yellow onions, so they don’t have an overwhelmingly oniony taste (like my awesome vocab there?). They do provide a nice coolness and bit of crunch to this soup and they balance the slight heat provided by the chili powder and hot sauce. This is definitely not a “spicy” soup, but feel free to use those two ingredients as little or as much as you’d prefer. I didn’t use the avocado or pumpkin seeds, but I’m sure they would both be tasty toppings. I looooove this soup. I love it so much that it makes me use multiple unnecessary consonants in my words.  For reals, though, this is the best black bean soup I’ve ever had, and trust me, I’ve eaten ALL of them.  Pretty much every prepared black bean soup on the market is chock full of sodium (which gives it “flavor”), but lacks the fresh vegetables and textures this soup has. The black bean soup at Panera is a great healthy option, but it’s essentially just mushy black beans (I still like it – black beans and I are tight). There is absolutely no reason to buy canned soups when you can make something this healthy and delicious in almost no time, for very little money, and with very little effort.  This made enough for Eric and I to eat it for dinner (it’s that filling) twice and for me to take it for lunch a couple times. I’m making this tomorrow as the appetizer for a recipe I have planned for an upcoming post – Asian-inspired Steak Fajitas from Bobby Flay’s Throwdown! Cookbook. I can’t wait to eat them both tomorrow night!