Warm yourself with this all-time favorite!
When the weather gets cold, I start thinking about my favorite soups because they warm me up from inside out.
Black bean soup is one of my favorites because it has a spicy, smoky flavor that is unrivaled by any other soup. My secret to bringing out these flavors are ancho chile peppers. They don’t bring the heat like jalapeño or Serrano peppers, they’re just added for flavor.
This soup is simple and easy and takes very little time to make.
I love a good home cooked meal, but I rarely have time to spend hours in the kitchen preparing it. So my go-to recipes are ones that don’t take up a lot of time. To make this soup, I do use some short cuts like using canned beans instead of dry beans, and BPA-free. When using canned goods, I always make sure the cans are not lined with BPA because it is a known carcinogen and endocrine disruptor. What does that mean in plain English? It means that BPA has been shown to cause cancer and it disrupts your body’s ability to communicate between cells and organs. Alternatively, you can find tomatoes in cartons or glass jars too.
This soup is full of phytonutrients!
Another thing I love about this soup is that it is full of naturally occurring substances in our foods that fight disease and keep us healthy. Look no further than the ingredients to find their benefit: allium compounds in onions and garlic slow or stop the growth of tumors, flavonoids black beans inhibit inflammation and bolster the immune system, and lycopene and beta-carotene from tomatoes act as anti-oxidants protecting your body from inflammation and boosting the immune system to name a few.
So what’s the secret recipe?
Velvety Black Bean Soup
Ingredients
- ½ onion chopped
- 2 – 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 15 oz can black beans
- 1 15 oz can stewed tomatoes
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 – 4 ancho chiles rinsed
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 cups 32 oz vegetable broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- avocado optional as garnish
- tortilla strips optional as garnish, I used gluten-free, corn-free, brown rice tortillas
- cilantro optional as garnish
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in soup pot for one minute then sauté onion until translucent.
- Add the garlic and cook for another 1 – 2 minutes. Make sure not to over cook or garlic could burn and will taste bitter.
- Add black beans, tomatoes, vegetable broth and give it a good stir. Then add bay leaves, ancho chiles, salt and pepper.
- Allow to cook for 30 minutes.
- Puree in batches if you have a small blender.
- While soup is cooking cut up avocado and place in a bowl.
- If using, cut tortillas into strips and bake at 350 degrees F for 8 minutes. Place in separate bowl for garnish.
- Garnish with cilantro, avocado, and tortilla strips.
- Enjoy!
