This flavorful black bean soup recipe is made with simple ingredients, and it can be used for more than just soup!

Deeply flavored black beans in a warm broth is such a delicious and warming meal. This black bean soup recipe makes a large amount so it is great for feeding a large group or to have throughout the week.

The prep time for this recipe is fairly quick, but it does need awhile to simmer before it is ready to eat.

What types of beans to use?

I recently found a new love of cooking with dried beans. They are more flavorful, they have less preservatives, and they are typically cheaper than canned beans.

For this recipe, you are adding in so much flavor to the broth that the beans can soak up while they are cooking. I find it adds more depth of flavor and you can really control the taste.

With all that being said, if you really don’t want to use dried beans you could substitute 3 cans of black beans in step 4 and let everything simmer for about 30 minutes.

How to make dried black bean soup?

To make this recipe you want to cook the vegetables with olive oil in a large pot. Then add the beans with water and seasoning to the same pot and bring to a simmer.

One of my favorite parts about cooking with dried beans is that you don't need vegetable broth. Since you are adding onions, garlic, carrots, and seasonings, you essentially make your own broth. You can just use water and all of those flavors with create a flavorful broth while it cooks.

The part of this recipe that takes time is simmering the beans. This can take any where from 1.5 - 2 hours. Depending on how old the beans are, the cook time is different. I would taste them at 1 hour are see how the are doing.

How to use leftover black bean soup?

So you have the black bean soup, but you don’t necessarily want to eat the same thing everyday. I get it. You can use these flavorful beans in a variety of other ways. Here are a few ideas of how you can use these black beans in other recipes.

Black bean quesadilla
Taco salad
Mashed on toast
Rice and beans as a side dish
On a baked potato

You can store extra black bean soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

What to serve with black bean soup?

You can have black bean soup as your meal, but if you want to add a little something extra, here are a few of my favorite thing to pair it with.

Fresh Bread

I love serving this soup with toasted bread or a french baguette.

Side Salad

Any type of salad works great with this soup. One of my favorites is this Simple Kale Salad. If you want a larger salad with the soup, this Tempeh Taco Salad pairs great!

Tortilla Chips

You can serve tortilla chips on the side or crunch up tortilla chips to add to the top of the soup. You could also serve with warm corn tortillas on the side. Have some salsa or guacamole to make it even better!

What toppings to use on black bean soup?

The topping of the soup can really change up the flavor. Here are a few of my favorite toppings you can use. I usually use whatever I have on hand.

Fresh Cilantro
Dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt
Cheese
Sliced green onions or red onion
Lime wedges
Diced red bell pepper
Avocado slices or guacamole

Black Bean Soup Substitutions

There are a few alterations you can make if you need to.

Make it spicy: If you are a fan of spicy food you can add in extra chipotle chiles from the adobo sauce. You could also add in a couple dices jalapeños in step 2.
Used canned beans: If you don't like cooking with dried beans, you can easily swap it out with canned beans. Just use 3 cans of drained and rinsed black beans and use 4 cups of vegetable broth or chicken broth instead of water. Add them at the same step but instead of simmering for 1.5 hours just simmer for 20 minutes.
Don't have chipotle peppers: If you don't have chipotle chilis in adobo sauce you can use chili powder instead. Use 1 tbsp of chili powder or chipotle powder in place of the chipotle peppers.
Add in extra veggies: If you want more vegetables to make a hearty soup try adding in bell peppers, celery, or other types of chili peppers.

This is such an easy vegetarian soup recipe that is a constant go to for me. Make a pot for the week and enjoy flavorful black beans throughout your meals all week!

Let me know what your favorite vegetarian soup recipes are in the comments!