Black Bean Soup Recipe

This black bean soup recipe can be enjoyed either hot or cold!

A lifetime ago, I was a South Beach Diet fanatic. In one of their cookbooks, they had a recipe for Black Bean Soup that was simply to die for. I loved it. I ate it every night for dinner for about 2 weeks straight. It was that good.

A white bowl of this Clean Eating Black Bean Soup sits on a red and white checkered table cloth and is garnished with bits of fresh, chopped tomato and a small sprig of fresh cilantro.

Sadly, I have since given away the books and completely forgotten how to make their recipe. But the good news is, I’ve come up with my own recipe for black bean soup, and I love it just as much! Topped with a little fresh cilantro, a bowl of this soup pretty much makes a full meal! In fact, if you are vegetarian or vegan, all you’d have to do is add a whole grain to make a complete protein for a fabulous Meatless Monday dinner!

I love making this from scratch in the slow cooker because dry beans are so cheap to buy in bulk. It’s also a very quick and easy recipe prep-wise simply because you just pour everything in the post, turn on the slow cooker, and go do whatever you have to do for 6 hours. When you get home for dinner, all you have to do is blend and serve.

This would be great served with a slice of whole grain garlic bread, too, and makes an easy lunch to take to work!

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Clean Eating Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup Recipe

Black Bean Soup

This delicious soup is a “fix it an forget it” type of recipe. Just toss everything in your slow cooker and forget about it until dinner!
3 from 4 votes
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Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 hours
Total Time: 10 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 18 servings
Calories: 108kcal

Ingredients

  • 8 cups vegetable broth (no sugar added, low sodium if possible)
  • 2 cups dry black beans (rinsed and pre-soaked if you prefer to soak beans before cooking)
  • 3 cups sliced carrots
  • 2 cups sliced celery
  • 2 tbsp. onion powder
  • 2 tbsp. garlic powder
  • 2 tbsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp. dried parsley
  • salt and pepper to taste after cooking
  • fresh cilantro (optional for garnish)

Instructions

Slow Cooker Instructions

  • In a 5 quart crock pot, combine all ingredients.
  • Cook on high setting for approximately 6 hours, or until the beans are soft and cooked through (or, cook on low for 8-10 hours). It’s important to know your slow cooker. Each slow cooker cooks differently. Adjust cooking times and temperatures accordingly.
  • Using a hand blender, blend the soup right in the crock pot until you achieve the texture and smoothness you prefer. If you don’t have a hand blender, cool the soup for a bit and then transfer a few cups at a time into a blender or food processor and blend till smooth.
  • Season with salt and pepper and garnish with fresh cilantro if desired.

Instant Pot Instructions

  • If you prefer to cook this faster with an IP, the only thing that changes is the settings. Set at high pressure, press the manual button and adjust cooking time to 35 minutes. Make sure the lid is secure and the vent is closed. When done cooking, blend as instructed above.

Stovetop Instructions

  • While this recipe is MUCH easier to make in a slow cooker or Instant Pot, it can also be made on the stove top if you don’t have one of the other two appliances. The difference is in the cooking time. It can take a good long while for dry beans to cook. The important thing is to keep a lid on them so that the liquid doesn’t evaporate too much during cooking. Keep an eye on this just in case you need to add more broth. This recipe was formulated for a slow cooker, but it can absolutely be made on the stove top if you have the time and patience.

Notes

Please note that the nutrition data below is a ballpark figure. Exact data is not possible.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 108kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 5g | Sodium: 451mg | Potassium: 504mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 3875IU | Vitamin C: 3.1mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 2.6mg


Recipe from the Gracious Pantry archives, originally posted 2/20/11.

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26 Comments

  1. This sounds great! I do believe it will be on my menu this week!!!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Paulissa – You’re going to love it!! Promise!

  2. This sounds perfect for me. I work and go to school and I am starting to use my crock pot more and more. This is definitely going into my recipe list! Thank you for your hard work to create these wonderful recipes!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Donna – Crock pots are fantastic inventions! I tend to use mine year round. Enjoy!

  3. Made this for dinner today – was YUM.. The cilantro really makes it kick.. used a small amount of greek yogurt for “sour cream”.. think I might try chili powder in it next time..

    thanks again!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Holly – Chili powder would be great! Glad you enjoyed it!

  4. Wow with 18 servings you can probably have two servings with the nutritional facts.

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Michelle – Beans are pretty filling. But if I’m hungry enough, yes. I’ll have 2 servings.

  5. I made this, and two cups is a ton, One was perfectly good.

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Madame – I’m glad you liked it! I use more beans because I like a thicker soup. But feel free to adjust it to your own liking.

  6. Made this as a last minute meal. It was great. I added a can of diced tomatoes (would have preferred fresh, but did not have any) and some crushed red pepper flakes for spice. It was a huge success. I also was a South Beach black bean recipe fan – knew exactly what you were describing. I would eat that soup for lunch and always want more the next day. Guess this is my new black bean soup recipe. Clean eating is easy when you have such great recipes. Thanks for your inspiration.

    1. graciouspantry says:

      Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it!

  7. kornmaiden says:

    I love soup and I especially like black bean soup.  Thanks!

  8. I will trying this recipe in January 2013, however I am hoping that in 2013 that you will have more meatless recipes for those who do not have to have meat, Thanks!!

  9. Another terrific recipe! And I was a SB fanatic too and lost the recipe, thanks for posting this one. As a newbie to clean and nutritional eating, the past two recipes have made me a fan! Pumpkin coffee creamer is tonight’s attempt. Thank you so much for all your efforts and this website.

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Cheryl – My pleasure! I hope you enjoy the creamer!

  10. Do you think I could do this on the stove on low? And for how long?

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Marybeth – Yes, you could do this on the stovetop. But I wouldn’t do it on low heat. Just cook like you usually would. When everything is cooked through, you can blend and serve.

  11. Hi there!
    First of all, your recipes are amazing! I was wondering if you had this recipe for 1 person instead of 18? Lol! 🙂 Thanks! – Brittany

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Brittany – I don’t, but you can cut the recipe in half and freeze the rest. It freezes really well.

  12. Just tried this recipe today and it was sooo delicious! I could eat black beans every day (and did for a while!) but I haven’t had a real tasty cup of black bean soup in a long time. Today it’s cold and dreary outside, plus I am feeling under the weather so this really hit the spot and was such a filling, soothing meal. I added a little bit of cayenne too which gave it an extra kick (and helped clear my sinuses!). Thank you so much for creating and sharing this wonderful recipe!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Ellen – My pleasure! I’m so happy it helped you feel better!

  13. 2 stars
    I followed this recipe, literally, to a T. I made no alterations whatsoever and it just looks like black, watery soup. There is no thickness at all. What did I do wrong? Is there anyway I can salvage this giant crockpot of soup?

  14. 4 stars
    I did 🙁 … I used my immersion blender, on low and did it very slowly and it went “watery” almost immediately. I added more beans, and then put the crockpot on low for an additional two hours (initially cooked on high for 5 hours). That did help! Maybe it was my crockpot? It tastes great! Would you recommend using arrow root powder ( or something else) to thicken it? I always worry about doing that, because it can make things more gooey, than thick.

    1. Candice – Sounds odd, but I personally would mix in a can of refried beans. That always thickens things up. Arrowroot would be too gelatinous for this. I can’t even begin to think what could have happened. I’ve made this several times and never had an issue. I can’t even fathom what could have gone wrong there. If you try it again, try cutting back on the broth by 2 cups and see if that helps. Other than that, I’m totally baffled. I’m so sorry!