Healthy and smoky vegan black bean soup recipe from scratch with earthy comforting tones from smoked paprika, carrots, celery and bay leaves. A simple soup or stew, no ham, no bones, no bacon, totally cruelty-free made with only clean and wholesome ingredients.
Rinse and soak your black beans for six hours. Drain.
2.5 cups dry black beans
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). Stir in the smoked paprika, onion and garlic powder, give everything a good stir.
Add the soaked beans to the pot together with the water and bay (+ Kombu if using) and bring to a simmer. Add liquid smoke if using. Cover with a tight lid and cook on medium heat for about one hour - make sure the pot is at a constant bubble. Stir a few times during cooking to make sure nothing sticks and check your beans at the 45 minute mark.
2.5 cups dry black beans, 3 leaves bay, 5-6 cups water, 2 tsp liquid smoke, 1 piece Kombu seaweed (3x3 inch piece)
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.
smoked applewood sea salt taste, 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
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.
1 pinch red pepper flakes, 2 limes for serving, 1/2 cup fresh cilantro for garnish
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.
Kombu - This dried seaweed has been used for centuries to add both umami flavor and Iodine to dishes, so it is highly recommend to use a strip or 3x3 inch square here if available. Discard at the end of cooking.