Every time I make this Black Bean Soup I think of this clip from Ratatouille. And it’s not because of any filthy vermin sticking their nasty paws into my soup (was anyone else grossed out by that?) It’s because of Anton Ego’s childhood flashback. I love the way his eyes get huge as it zooms him back to his boyhood home. My flashback isn’t to my childhood (if it was then this would be a post about some sort of heart-warming casserole involving cream of something soup). Instead, it takes me to this place:
That’s a quaint little house in the middle of a palm-covered oasis in Maceo, Brazil. It’s the kind of place where you play pick-up soccer games barefoot in the middle of a palm clearing, and half of the members of your team have more than 2 legs.
And the kind of place where you can ride a horse into a lagoon and catch a guy in a canoe half way out who gives you a fish for dinner.
It’s where some dear friends of ours live, and several years ago after a long day we sat around a creaky old table late one summer night while the lovely housekeeper made us a big pot of black bean soup. It was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted, probably in part because it represented so many memories and experiences for me. I was in a place and with people I had grown up hearing stories about, and I was with my Father who had told me those stories when I was a child. The whole thing was just surreal. I had just finished spending a year and a half in Brazil by myself and at that point I finally understood why it was such an important place to my Dad. We suddenly shared a bond centered on a culture, a language, and a people that we adored. Somehow that soul-warming soup represented all of those emotions so I’ve tried to replicate it ever since. I made countless versions over the years, tweaking and tweaking and starting all over. One day when I didn’t have anything fancy to throw in it, I made it with the most basic ingredients, and even though I know this is probably not anything like the one the housekeeper made from the vegetables in the garden and fresh, local peppers and spices, it’s the only one where when I took a bite, my eyes got wide and my mind zoomed back to that summer night. That’s when I knew that this was the one. Something about it brought all of the memories back, and because of that it’s on my list of big-time comfort foods. And because it takes minimal ingredients, and ones I almost always have on hand, it’s also a regular on our menu.
The great thing is that it’s super low-calorie, and high in fiber, so you can totally afford to throw some toppings on there (which they totally wouldn’t do in Brazil, just for the record. Tortilla chips? Blasphemous! But I am American and I know no one will hunt me down. It’s way better with toppings).
Ingredient and Equipment Notes
- Green chilies – You can find fire roasted green chilies on the ethnic food aisle near things like enchilada sauce and taco ingredients. You want the diced ones. Double check the heat scale– I use mild, but if you like some spice, you could get the hotter ones.
- Onion – Yellow or white onions work best, but you can use any onion in a pinch.
- Toppings – We love this soup with sour cream, tortilla chips, grated cheese, chopped cilantro, avocado, etc.
- Spices – You’ll need chili powder, cumin, oregano, and a bay leaf.
- Blender – I blend this soup up in my blender. An immersion blender is another option.
Instructions
- Start by sauteing some carrots, onion, celery, and garlic for a few minutes. Pretty much the standard “soup starters.”
- Then add in some drained and rinsed black beans.
- And then add some beef broth, green chilies, and your spices.
- All of that simmers on the stove until the the carrots are nice and tender.
- Remove the pot from the stove, remove the bay leaf, and carefully transfer the hot soup to a blender jar. Remove the stopper from your blender lid to let the heat escape, and cover with a paper towel to prevent splatter. Puree the soup until it’s completely smooth. Optionally, you could pulse it until a semi-chunky soup is achieved.
- Squeeze in the juice of one lime and pulse to combine. Ladle into bows and top with desired toppings. Serve with extra lime wedges.
Serving Suggestions
This black bean soup is the perfect served alongside a pepper Jack panini. It would be delicious with a quesadilla or other Brazilian favorites like grilled meat with Brazilian Vinaigrette and a cold Brazilian Lemonade.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make this ahead of time? Of course! Allow the finished soup to cool completely and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat small portions in the microwave, or reheat the whole batch on the stovetop.
- Can I freeze this black bean soup? Yes! Soup in general makes a great freezer meal and this one is no different. For easy reheating, freeze individual soup pucks in silicone muffin trays or my favorite Souper Cubes, then store in a zip top bag in a freezer. Pull out as many as you need for a serving and heat in the microwave or on the stove top.
Did You Make This?
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PrintBlack Bean Soup
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: About 8 cups soup
Description
This Brazilian inspired Black bean soup is all at once homey and magnificent in its simplicity. Perfect on it’s own as a light meal, but also great as a side for a big salad or paired with a grilled cheese sandwich. We particularly love it with a pepper jack panini.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 3/4 cup diced carrots (about 2 med carrots)
- 3/4 cup diced celery (about 2 ribs)
- 1 cup diced onion (about 1 small-medium onion)
- 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 3.5-ounce can green chilies
- 2 cans low-sodium beef broth
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dry oregano leaves
- 1 bay leaf
1 lime - Optional Toppings: sour cream, tortilla chips, grated cheese, chopped cilantro, etc.
Instructions
- Place a large stock pot on the stove-top and set to medium-high heat. When pan is warm, add olive oil. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and sauté 4-5 minutes.
- Add in the black beans, chilies, and beef broth. Stir to combine and then add the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf.
- Simmer uncovered for about 20-25 minutes or until carrots are tender.
- Remove from heat. Remove bay leaf from soup.
- Place soup in a blender. (You could use an immersion blender in place of this step.) Place lid on blender, but remove the stopper in the lid to let heat escape. Place a paper towel over the hole to avoid splatters.
- Puree soup until completely smooth. Optionally you could pulse until a semi-chunky soup is achieved. Squeeze in the juice from one lime and pulse to combine.
- Ladle into bowls and top with desired toppings. Serve with extra lime wedges.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup, no toppings
- Calories: 125
- Fat: 2g
- Fiber: 8g
SOOOO GOOD!! We’ve decided to try a more whole foods, plant based diet in my family. and this fit perfect. My husband is a major meat eater so he was a little skeptical at first. but he totally LOVED this! Even my little girl was eating it! I also added some spinach at the blender part.
Thanks for the recipe!
Yummy! I made this soup for lunch today. It took no time at all — and I’m a super slow cook. It was delicious, and I’m so glad I have plenty of leftovers for later.
I am in love with this blog and this soup! Between it and the Brazilian Lemonade I am pretty sure that I want to run away with you ladies. Thanks so much for sharing. Here’s my attempt at an all OBB dinner! http://you-wont-feel-a-thing.blogspot.com/2011/09/better-than-best.html
He can have onion powder, its just raw or cooked onions that seem to doe it- how much onion powder would you suggest? Thanks for responding so quickly!
In that case, I would suggest dehydrated onion (which you buy just by the regular spices) but onion powder would work okay too. You might look on the bottle and see if it gives you an equivalent, otherwise you might just do a teaspoon or so of powder or a couple tablespoons of dehydrated.
This blog is making me soooo hungry. I’m really excited to try this, but my fiance has an allergy to onions- do you think removing that ingredient will have a large impact?
Just made this, Fantastic! A great “What the heck am I making for lunch?!” meal, since I had all the ingredients on hand.
I just made this soup – and it is awesome – great flavor!!
Love love love this recipe! Made it a few times already. 2 pts WW awesome!
How big are the cans of broth?
I went to a baby shower last night and they served dinner. They made soup, the creamy chicken taquitos and a few others things. I asked for recipes and they said, “Everything is from our best bites!” I’m still salivating over the delicious food!! So glad you served in Brazil and are sharing your talent with us! Thanks!!
I went on my mission to Recife in 95-96. Teared up a bit at this description. Many memories of soccer games in palm tree clearings. Special world down there 🙂 Trying this recipe tonight.
We tried this today for the first time. We didn’t have the green chili’s, so we just left them out. It was really good. Solid Sunday dinner for us.
Can you substitute chicken broth for the beef broth? Can’t eat any red meats!!! Thanks!
Sure Megan- that would work fine!
I made this for dinner last night and we loved it!! 🙂 It is definitely a keeper in our house, thanks! 🙂
Made it! Loved it! Thank you!
I have leftover black beans from a salad I made last week so I thought of using them in this soup recipe. It reminds me of the last time I made this recipe–my husband came into the kitchen just as I was pouring the soup out of the blender. He got a funny look on his face and asked me what I’d made. He didn’t like the looks of my black bean “milkshake”! Sure tasted good, though.
Sara, my brother served in Curitiba Brazil and recently returned. I invited him over for dinner and made this black bean soup! He almost cried, he LOVED it so much!!
Melissa, you could use vegetable stock. I don't think the flavor would be quite as good, but I know others have done it.
I loved the story behind the recipe. I have also been to Brazil and my daughter is half Brazilian. I hope that she will get to experience the beauty, the people and the incredible simple foods. I am excited to try this recipe.
Blessings
I'm wondering how I could make this vegetarian? Could I use a vegetable broth? I would love to make this, but I have a guest staying with us who is vegetarian. Any suggestions? Thanks!
This was terrific! We pureed half the soup instead of the whole batch for a heartier texture, and it was fabulous. Thanks for a great dinner!
This was yummy. Just an idea, maybe you should include the lime in the ingredient list. I read where you said to add the juice, and i fully intended to add it but I forgot! I didn't have a bay leaf and I used italian seasoning instead of just oregano and it was so good. I also added 4 oz of tomatoes and green chilis.
I'm really excited to make this soup. It sounds delicious! Just an FYI, the soup is now 3 WW points on the new PointsPlus system. I'm excited to add this to my lunch repertoire!
Just made this tonight for the first time…LOVED it!! My 13-month-old scarfed it down in minutes! We served it with homemade tortilla chips (your recipe for cinnamon chips, only with salt). Perfect!!
I consider myself somewhat of a soup connoisseur, and this was one of the best that I've ever had! Really great recipe…keep up the good work!!
Another hit! Made this for dinner last night & it was so yummy! There was a local independent restaurant that made the best black bean soup & they sadly went out of business. This is a great substitue & so easy to make! I bought an immersion blender just for this recipe (that's a whole 'nother story!). Soup was yummy! Thank you for another hit!
I thought I was going to have left overs when I made this for my small family. Next time I will have to double it. Loved It!!!!!!
Christen- you could use dry beans for this recipe, they just need to be fully cooked before adding so they're at the same point as a canned bean.
sorry I meant beans from the bag.
Have you ever used dehydrated beans for this soup? or just the canned beans? I have a ton of black beans in my food storage and I can never get them right. If you have tips that would be great. Thanks for your yummy recipes
kayh- yes, bullion will work just fine!