Long-Simmering Vegan Black Bean Soup

Classic vegan black bean soup is robust and bursting with flavor. Starting with dry black beans, it simmers for a long while, with very little hands-on time. There’s nothing like a good vegan black bean soup recipe made from scratch. The slow simmering allows the beans to develop flavor and cook to a lovely tenderness. 

Just how long does it take? In addition to the soaking time for the beans, I’d say 2 1/2 to 3 hours. But you really need to do very little other than check on the soup and stir once in a while. It’s a great soup to make when you’re stuck inside for a while—blizzards and colds and such.

Can you make this in an Instant Pot? Of course, and I’m sure it will save a lot of cooking time. Though not being an IP user myself, I wouldn’t be able to tell you how to adapt it. Consult the general instructions for beans/bean soups.

This soup can be the centerpiece of a filling, hearty meal served with fresh bread, cornbread, or corn muffins. Or, skip the bread and serve with tortilla chips and salsa. I especially like this with:

• Cheesy Vegan Corn Muffins with Fresh Herbs
• Jalapeño Cornbread

Can you freeze black bean soup?

If, after eating it for two or three days you want to give it a rest, transfer to an airtight container and pop into the freezer. After a month or two, you’ll be glad to come across it again. Thaw in the refrigerator before transferring to a smaller soup pot or saucepan to reheat.

All this being said, if you can’t spare the time, you might consider this fast version — Quick Black Bean Soup. 

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Yield: 8

Long-Simmering Black Bean Soup

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The American classic, black bean soup, is robust and bursting with flavor. Starting with dry black beans, it simmers for a long while, though there's very little hands-on time.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 3 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried black beans, rinsed and sorted
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 large celery stalks, diced
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons salt-free seasoning (like Mrs. Dash or Frontier)
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika or barbecue seasoning
• 1/4 cup dry red wine or sherry, optional
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley, plus more for garnish
• Juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon or lime, to taste
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

• Peeled and diced avocado for garnish, optional

Instructions

1. Soak the beans overnight in a large soup pot with plenty of water, covered and refrigerated. Alternatively, cover with the beans with water in a soup pot, bring to a boil, then let stand off the heat for an hour. This is a shortcut version of presoaking.
2. In either case, drain the beans after soaking, and rinse. Place in a soup pot with fresh water in a ratio of approximately 3 parts water to 1 part beans. Bring to a slow boil, then lower the heat, cover (leave the cover ajar) and simmer gently for 1 hour. 
3. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, seasoning, smoked paprika, and optional wine. Simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the beans are soft. You should be able to easily press a bean between your thumb and forefinger.
4. Scoop out about 1 1/2 cups of the beans with a slotted spoon, avoiding scooping out the other vegetables as much as possible. Set aside.
5. Transfer the solid ingredients, in batches, to a food processor or blender. Use about 1/4 cup cooking liquid per batch. Process until smoothly pureed, then return the puree to the soup pot along with the reserved beans. Or, insert an immersion blender into the pot and process until smoothly pureed. 
6. Stir in the cilantro and lemon juice to taste, then season with salt and pepper. Return to low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.
7. Top each serving with more cilantro and if desired, some diced avocado. 

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 277Total Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 28mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 12gSugar: 12gProtein: 15g

Nutrition data is always an estimate depending on program used to calculate and exact products used. This is given for informational purposes only and accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

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Photos of Black Bean Soup: bhofack22/Bigstock