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Vegan black bean soup is a filling, satisfying, and budget-friendly meal that’s packed with delicious vegetables and topped with a refreshing lime salsa!
Soups are a great, easy meal to make both at home and when traveling.
Healthy, simple, and conveniently made in one pot, it’s something we regularly make when we are on the road. We especially like to try making soups in the style of the country we are in so we can have a bit of fun experimenting with new tastes.
Black bean soup is a popular soup in many parts of the world, particularly Central America. This version is inspired by Mexican flavors and topped with an amazing lime salsa to give the soup some real character.
How to make vegan black bean soup
This is a very easy recipe. The only real work is chopping the vegetables before putting them in the saucepan!
Step 1: Dice the onions, carrots, celery and bell peppers. Finely dice the garlic and de-seeded chilies.
Step 2: Pick the leaves off the cilantro and reserve for the salsa. Finely chop the cilantro stalks.
Step 3: Over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons of water to a large saucepan. Add the chopped veggies, herbs, and spices to the pan. Stir to combine, place a lid on the saucepan and sweat the vegetables for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step 4: Drain the black beans, rinse well, and add to the saucepan with the boiling water. Stir to combine. Replace the lid and reduce heat so the soup simmers and cooks for 30 minutes (60 minutes if using dried, soaked black beans).
Step 5: Just before the soup is done, prepare the lime salsa. Finely chop the reserved cilantro leaves, tomato, and salad onion. Add the lime juice, stir, and lightly season to taste.
Step 6: Serve the soup in bowls and top with the lime salsa.
Variations on this recipe
For simplicity, we use water for this soup’s base. It gets plenty of flavor from the herbs and vegetables. However, you can also use vegetable stock (or chicken stock if you aren’t vegan) to add more flavor.
This recipe will make a thick soup, almost a stew. If you don’t want the soup to be thick, just add more water or reduce the amount of beans.
For a creamier consistency, take about a cup of the soup out of the pot and puree it in a blender or food processor. Then, stir it back into the soup. This trick works for adding a bit of creaminess to any vegetable soup!
We used canned black beans for convenience in the recipe, but whenever possible, we prefer to use dried black beans soaked overnight.
If you want to try this recipe with dried beans, be sure to soak your beans overnight and simmer the soup for a full hour after the beans are added.
Don’t have all the ingredients listed? Don’t stress! As long as you have the basics, just adjust as necessary and go with what you have. The beans are the only mandatory ingredient.
How to store black bean soup
This recipe makes four large servings, but we highly recommend making a lot more and storing it. It will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for three to four days, so it’s a great option for meal prepping.
This soup also freezes extremely well! We typically have a few servings in the freezer, ready to be reheated for an easy and delicious meal.
Nutrition and health information
This vegan soup with black beans and veggies is more carb-heavy than our average recipe here on Diabetes Strong. There is really no way around that when you use beans as the main source of protein.
However, beans are actually one of the most highly recommended foods for people living with diabetes.
Beans are low on the glycemic index (meaning that they won’t make your blood sugar skyrocket) and rich in fiber. They also contain more protein than pretty much any other starchy vegetable, and they’re gluten-free.
The American Diabetes Association recommends eating dried beans or low-sodium canned beans several times per week.
Looking for more healthy vegan recipes?
We love developing plant-based recipes! Here are a few other delicious vegan meals from Diabetes Strong we think you’ll enjoy:
For even more inspiration, check out our roundup of 9 low-carb vegan recipes that are diabetic friendly!
When you’ve tried this recipe, please don’t forget to let me know how you liked it and rate the recipe in the comments below!
Vegan Black Bean Soup with Lime Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 onions
- 2 carrots
- 3 sticks celery
- 2 red bell peppers
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 red chilies, (de-seeded)
- ½ bunch cilantro
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- ½ tablespoon sea salt
- 2 15 oz. cans of black beans, (or 1.5 cups dried black beans soaked overnight)
- 1 quart boiling water
- 1 tomato
- ½ small salad (red) onion
- The juice of ½ lime
Instructions
- Dice the onions, carrots, celery, and bell peppers. Finely dice the garlic and de-seeded chilies.
- Pick the leaves off the cilantro and reserve for the salsa. Finely chop the cilantro stalks.
- Over a medium heat, add 3 tablespoons of water to a large saucepan. Add the onions, carrots, celery, bell peppers, garlic, red chilies, coriander stalks, bay leaf, oregano, black pepper, and sea salt. Stir to combine, place a lid on the saucepan and sweat the vegetables for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Drain the black beans, rinse well, and add to the saucepan with the boiling water. Stir to combine. Replace the lid and reduce heat so the soup simmers and cooks for 30 minutes (60 minutes if using dried, soaked black beans).
- Just before the soup is done, prepare the lime salsa. Finely chop the reserved cilantro leaves, tomato, and salad onion. Add the lime juice, stir, and lightly season to taste.
- Serve the soup in bowls and top with the lime salsa.
