Weeknight Vegan Black Bean Soup
I had two days notice on the start of my kitchen renovation and the only thing I prepped was 3 pounds of black beans. Okay, technically I had more notice, we ordered everything in March and started the beginning of June, but hear me out. They had a contractor switch and the first walk through he said we wouldn't start until the end of June due to scheduling. I was totally okay with that, it gave me time to finish my May Whole30 and a few weeks to prep a ton of food to be safe in the freezer. The next day they told me they would start on Monday, it being Friday afternoon, I panicked. I had to empty my entire kitchen and come to the realization that I have an unholy amount of stuff that needed to be packed up. Plus planning on how to cook for 6-8 weeks, I totally shutdown. But darn-it, I popped beans into a slow cooker and bagged up like 12 packs of them, and shoved them into the freezer. Haven't made beans in the slow cooker - check out this article and your life will be changed. Because that was going to feed my family for weeks, right?!
I am glad I had them in the freezer to make this super simple soup once I had a stove to work on though! I have been making this soup for years, always for nights I don't feel like cooking and have procrastinated starting until we are like 20 minutes from dinnertime. I usually have all the ingredients lurking in the fridge, pantry, and freezer so I don't have any excuses. As you can tell, I have a preference towards Latin flavors so I make sure to always be stocked. This is another recipe that you will need and want an immersion blender. We have tried it "chunky" and it was not good. And who wants to pour boiling hot soup into a blender to puree, just to have it explode (totally happened to me once...)? So go buy one and you can make all the beautiful soups, like my Simple Potato Leek Soup, a shortcut for gravy, and homemade mayonnaise in seconds!
I love how fast this comes together and how all that fiber and plant-protein make me feel full. Sometimes we have little quesadillas on the side or a beautiful salad. This is a perfect recipe for Whole30 Reintroduction as well for legumes, all other ingredients are compliant in the soup so you can truly determine the effects black beans have on your body.
My husband loves it the next day with some tortilla chips, like a chip and dip situation. I love topping it with a bunch of stuff, this day, I did some Cashewgurt, hot sauce, green onions, cilantro, and radish slices. Adding these fresh and crunchy things add great texture. What are you going to top yours with?
Weeknight Vegan Black Bean Soup
- 1 Tablespoon oil (olive, avocado, coconut)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 cups cooked black beans (about 3 cans, if using, make sure to drain and rinse)
- 1 can (7oz) chopped green chiles
- 1 cup Red Enchilada Sauce (I love El Pato brand)
- salt and pepper to season
- Broth of choice, optional
- Heat the oil in a large pot on medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic, stirring, and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the remaining ingredients and lower heat to low. Cook for a few minutes until boiling. Turn off the heat and blend with an immersion blender. If too thick, splash in some broth and stir until the consistency you preferLadle out and top with your favorites.
The obligatory chopped onion picture. Browned and seasoned with the garlic.
There are three bags of my pre-made beans. I throw the entire contents into the soup rather than drain and rinse like I would with canned beans. These beans have what they call "gravy" which has a huge amount of flavor, I add onions and spices to my beans when they cook.
I just thawed these quickly in a bowl of warm water, some bits were still frozen when they went into the pot but they quickly thawed in the soup.
Dump it all in and simmer!
Blend it up and you are ready to serve. If it is too thick, add some broth, stir and adjust as needed. Season with salt and pepper again to taste.
