By Lori Meszaros, Recent Arizona State University Nutrition Student
Growing up in Arizona, Mexican food was part of my daily diet, but I never really cared for beans. As my tastebuds have matured, however, I can’t seem to get enough!
I created this soup one afternoon when I was craving some beans but didn’t feel like making my usual black bean quinoa salad. It was a cool night, and soup was on my mind.
I love making soups from scratch, especially when I have my homemade veggie stock on hand, (you can substitute with whatever veggie stock you have on hand, but there’s nothing like homemade).
The soup is not too spicy (which made it great for my kids to try), and full of good and wholesome ingredients so you won’t feel guilty about having seconds. Beans are a power house when it comes to nutrition- full of fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and that’s why I created this soup with beans as the main ingredient!
Getting enough fiber in your daily diet is key to maintaining your health. Most people, including kids, don’t get enough fiber in their diet. If your looking for a dish that is rich in fiber to help you increase your intake, you’ve found it!
The recipe serves 4-6 adults and can easily be doubled to make extra for a weekday lunch or quick last-minute meal. The soup will keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator, or up to 3 months in the freezer, just reheat the frozen soup in a crock pot!
Ingredients
2 cans of black beans, drained
2 tbsp veggie stock concentrate
2 small tomatoes, diced
1 brown onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 chili, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 lime, quartered
1 avocado
fresh cilantro
How to prepare
- Drain black beans while you prepare the rest of the ingredients, do not rinse beans
- Sauté onion in a saucepan 2-4 minutes or until translucent and aromatic
- Add garlic and chili to saucepan and sauté another 30 seconds
- Add in tomatoes, cumin, and coriander to mixture and sauté another 1 minute
- Add half the black beans to the saucepan
- Mash the other half of the black beans with a potato masher or fork, then add smashed black beans, veggie stock concentrate and ½-1cup water to a saucepan and mix well.
- Bring to a boil, then lower temperature to a simmer
- Simmer black bean soup for at least 20 minutes
- Garnish with avocado, diced tomatoes, cilantro and lime wedge
- Serve with chips or warm tortilla
If you want to make this dish even heartier, try adding some cooked ground beef!
Notes
- Vegetable stock can be substituted for veggie stock concentrate and water- just use ½-1 cup vegetable stock.
- Vegetable bouillon cubes equivalents, 1 cubes = 2 tbsp veggie stock concentrate