Smoky Vegan Black Bean Soup Recipe
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Smoky Vegan Black Bean Soup recipe from scratch with earthy comforting tones from smoked paprika, carrots, celery and bay leaves. A simple plant based soup or stew, no ham, no bones, no bacon, totally cruelty free made with only clean, meatless and wholesome ingredients. Simply the Best!
The Best Black Bean Soup Recipe!
How to Make Vegan Black Bean Soup from Scratch
- Start by soaking dry beans for 6 hours.
- Sautee your aromatics until they start to caramelize.
- Simmer the soaked beans together with aromatics and spices until tender.
- Season to taste with smoked sea salt in the last few minutes of cooking. This prevents the beans from hardening up and yields a creamy texture.
- Serve with cilantro, lime, avocado, fresh tomato salsa and some potato flatbread.
How long do we soak the beans?
Because you just never know how old the beans might be, It is crucial that you soak the beans in water for 5 to 6 hours and up to 8 before cooking. Please do not skip this step! This process will yield the creamiest bean texture without turning into mush and also exponentially cuts down on the cooking time. I’m not a fan of soaking beans overnight as that could mean 12 hours sometimes which I feel totally interferes with texture.
How to Thicken Bean Soup
Since this soup is made from scratch using dry beans, it is naturally thick and creamy. To thicken it even more you can continue cooking it down or carefully transfer about a third of it to a powerful blender and process until silky smooth then mix in with the rest of the soup. This will give you a nice balance between creamy and rustic textures but if you take a look at the photos you can see how nice and thick it turned out for me without pureeing anything.
On Storage
This recipe makes a big pot of beans and I am proud to say none of it ever goes to waste. It is best stored in glass containers with a lid and refrigerated for 5 to 6 days. Alternatively it can be frozen (after it has cooled down completely) in freezer proof mason jars or containers up to 6 months.
Add Ins Ideas
- Golden or sweet potatoes added in the last 15 minutes of cooking
- Lacinato kale, escarole or baby spinach
- Cooked brown rice, barley or quinoa
- Grilled corn + red lentils
- Diced pumpkin or butternut squash.
Why You’ll Love It:
- one pot wonder
- made without broth, just pure water for ultimate flavor
- healthy, gluten and oil-free
- super easy to make from scratch
- packed with clean protein, vitamins & micronutrients
- naturally thick & creamy + a little spicy
- good for you, good for the heart.
- pure vegetarian – no dairy!
More Bean Recipes
smoky vegan black bean soup
Smoky Vegan Black Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 3.5 cups dry black beans (soak them in cold water for 6 hours)
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 carrots cut into 1/2 inch rounds
- 2 ribs celery diced
- 3 leaves bay
- 2 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast optional
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 9-10 cups water
- smoked applewood sea salt taste
- 2 limes for serving
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Rinse and soak your black beans for six hours. Drain.
- Preheat your large heavy bottom cast iron pot over medium low heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery and red pepper flakes and sautee in a drizzle of olive oil until softened and the veggies start to get a little color around the edges. (Use a splash of water instead of oil for WFPB + Plantricious compliance).
- Add the soaked beans to the pot together with the water and bay and bring to a simmer. Stir in the smoked paprika, onion and garlic powder. Cover with a tight lid and cook on low heat for about one hour. Make sure the pot is at a constant simmer. Stir a couple of times during cooking to make sure nothing sticks and check your brans at the 45 minute mark.
- Once the texture of the beans is perfectly soft and creamy but the beans still hold their shape add the nutritional yeast. Season to taste with the smoked applewood sea salt at this point and extra red pepper flakes for heat.
- Remove the lid and continue simmering if you like to reduce the soup at this point. Or If you prefer a thinner soup at this point feel free to add a little bit more water or veggie broth but not too much. (Also keep in mind that sometimes beans take longer sometimes less time to achieve that perfect texture so it's important to keep an eye on them).
- Serve hot garnished with fresh tomato salsa, cilantro, avocado and a squeeze of fresh lime. Pairs well with a chunk of crusty bread, potato flatbread or crispy tortilla chips.
WFPB + Plantricious
- To make your beans compliant just make sure to saute your veggies in water or veggie broth and omit all oil. Alternatively you can dump all the ingredients in one pot and cook away until done.
Slow Cooker Method
- Literally throw everything but the salt into your crock and cook on low for 6 hours. Season to taste with the smoked sea salt and enjoy!
Notes
- Storage: this soups stores well in glass containers with a lid and refrigerated for up to 6 days. Alternatively it can be frozen (after it has cooled down completely) in freezer proof mason jars or containers up to 6 months.
- Thicken: to thicken this soup even more you can continue cooking it down or carefully transfer about a third of it to a powerful blender and process until silky smooth then mix in with the rest of the bean soup.
This recipe is very delicious, I had to add a little more water because I wanted my soup thinner and it was perfect. Now I have a use for all that smoked paprika I ordered in bulk. Thanks for sharing your recipes with us. 🙏🏼
i would like to use organic canned black beans.. what would be the quantity?
thanks
I’d say at least 4 x 15 oz cans.
The flavors of these beans are so good, I just let mine simmer until thickened to more of a stew consistency and they taste amazing, I’m literally in love with black beans now. Thanks for sharing!
This soup is absolutely wonderful. I made my beans ahead of time (for another recipe) and adjusted the cooking time and it all worked out. The smoked applewood salt added amazing flavor! I will be making this soup again!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this Bethany, I love this bean soup so much I make it weekly ~ Florentina Xo’s