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Active Time
30 min
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Total Time
11 hr (includes soaking beans)
Sarah T. Thibault of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, "I had the best black bean soup at Enchantment Resort in Sedona, Arizona. In fact, I had it for lunch every day during our stay. Could you please get the recipe? The soup's incredible!"
This is a brothy black bean soup with whole beans, unlike many thicker, heavier versions that are puréed. Serve it over rice if you're in the mood for a heartier main course.
Ingredients
Makes 6 to 8 servings
Step 1
Cover beans with cold water by 3 inches in a bowl and soak at room temperature at least 8 hours, or quick-soak (see cooks' note, below). Drain well in a colander.
Step 2
Cook bacon in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer bacon with a slotted spoon to a small bowl and pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot. Reserve 2 tablespoons chopped bacon for topping, then return remaining bacon to pot and heat over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, chile, oregano, bay leaf, and thyme and sauté, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
Step 3
Add beans, chicken broth, and white pepper and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until beans are very tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Discard bay leaf and stir in cilantro.
Step 4
Serve soup topped with sour cream, chopped cilantro, and reserved bacon.
· To quick-soak beans, cover dried beans with 3 inches of cold water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, over moderate heat 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cover pan, then soak beans, covered, 1 hour. · Soup can be made 3 days ahead and cooled completely, then chilled, covered. Thin with water if desired when reheating.
Leave a Review
Reviews (60)
Back to TopYes, great black bean soup! I made it in a pressure cooker and the whole thing, with dry beans, no soaking and cooking, took 40 minutes. I love my pressure cooker.
Brushjl
solon, oh
2/4/2022
This is an excellent recipe -- much better than those that call for canned beans and and way too much salt. A tablespoon of sherry or port in the bottom of each bowl, just before serving, is a nice addition.
Gerre G
Austin TX
11/27/2021
LOVE THIS RECIPE!!! EXACTLY AS IS!!
sophia52
Silver Spring MD
9/22/2020
The best black bean soup I have ever made. followed the recipe exactly. Simply delicious.
jb100389921
New York, NY
3/22/2020
This was delicious! I did use a few of the other reviewers suggestions. I added diced carrots and celery and extra garlic. I used the whole red pepper. I also added 1/4 cup good dry sherry that I tossed in while the veggies were cooking. I added 1/4 tsp. ancho chile powder and 1 tsp. of cumin. I also added one can of the Ro-Tel diced tomatoes & green chilies. Best black bean soup I've ever had.
nanacandy
Lynden, WA
1/4/2020
Made with butternut squash instead of red pepper, Canadian bacon instead of regular, added more cumin, and added to celery ribs (whole; took out when finished). After soaking beans put it in slow cooker with enough low sodium stock to cover everything, high for 6 hours. Adjusted spices at finish. Quite good
sqpt
lower parts of CT
11/9/2019
I used less water, cooked the beans without soaking, added a ham bone. Cooked for about 3 hours. Very tasty. Next time, will probably use ham hocks instead of ham bone. it’s a keeper!
Anonymous
Highland Park, IL
11/7/2017
Has anyone tried using a salt free chicken broth? That makes it so much easier to adjust the flavors. This is a good recipe that can accept modifications to accommodate other vegetables.
arthomas1
Boston. MA
1/4/2017
嗯,我不知道合格我写一个再保险view on this considering the changes I made to it, but I'll post it here to potentially give people some ideas, anyway. I made this soup a few days after Christmas and had a bunch of leftover turkey stock I wasn't sure what to do with. I figured I'd put it to good use here. In a similar vein, I thought it might be nice to add some of the leftover turkey and even some of the leftover gravy to thicken it up. Otherwise, I followed the recipe nearly exactly and it all wound up going together weirdly very well. Made a nice hearty winter meal.
acetken
12/28/2016
Totally ignored OPUSDOODLE's advice - MISTAKE! Regular chicken stock - in conjunction with the smoked ham hocks that I used instead of bacon - made it *way* salty. I ended up adding some water and pasta at the end just to soak up some of the salt - but first pureed it with my immersion blender. I also added a carrot, a celery stalk and used an entire jalapeno - not hot at all. I will definitely make this again (w/low-sodium stock!).
lelew
Portland, OR
6/10/2016
Great soup, used the advice of others and added some celery and carrots. I made the mistake of not using reduced sodium stock, and the result is a bit salty...which is a lot to say for me who loves salt. I forgot to take into account this was going to cook for 2.5h and would reduce quite a bit and concentrate the salt flavor. I pureed part of it and love the texture, but either way it's a beautiful soup and one I look forward to making again 'with less salt'!
opusdoodle
El Dorado Hills, CA
10/26/2014
We love this version of black bean soup and have made it twice. We used applewood smoked thick sliced bacon, 6 pieces, and two containers of low fat, low sodium vegetable broth. We added the whole red bell pepper, two whole jalapeno peppers, some oregano, thyme and a smidge of basil. We put it in the crock pot for about 6 hours on high. It has just the right amount of vegetables and beans so that it isn't too thick, but not watery. I may try pureeing part of it as someone suggested.
janderbing
Duxbury, MA
11/16/2013
This was good. I'll make it again. I agree with the changes from the other reviews. I used 2qts reduced sodium chicken stock, a whole bell pepper and jalapeño. I also added garlic and cumin. I puréed half of the soup to thicken it up. Don't add any salt. The bacon adds plenty (and I only used 6 pieces).
lauraVouletti
CA
10/17/2013
Delicious!!! Although, halfway through the recipe, I realized I didn't have jalapeño and improvised with black pepper and cayenne, which worked perfectly! I'm making this again right now and plan to do the same thing :)
14yearsofcooking
Woodside, CA
7/9/2013
I make this soup using Polish Keilbasa Sausage (about 12oz) instead of the bacon. I add three carrots, 8oz mushrooms, and I triple the amount of the jalepeno pepper. I have been making it this way for several years now, and it always is delicious!! People always want seconds (or thirds)!! Even better the second day!
Anonymous
Palo Alto, CA
2/23/2013
