Chef AJ’s Black Bean Soup
Easy Black Bean Soup created by the one-and-only Chef AJ comes together quickly because it’s made with convenient canned black beans and loaded with wholesome ingredients like sweet potatoes and onions and perfectly seasoned with warm spices. Everyone is going to love this vegan, oil-free, gluten-free, and vegetarian soup.
This black bean soup recipe is chock full of simple wholesome ingredients and versatile enough to be served as lunch or dinner for the family or to feed a whole crowd. Whoever you serve it to, it’s going to be a big hit!
Black beans are such an amazing legume that can be used to make so many recipes like this delicious soup as well as Black Bean Burgers, brownies made with black beans, and lots of other dishes. We have a whole list of vegan black bean recipes that you should check out! While you’re at it, check out this video of me on Chef AJ Live (this recipe author) demoing a recipe for black bean chili!
Reasons you will love this recipe
- Healthy and Oil-Free: This vegan black bean soup is made without any added oils, making it a low-fat, heart-healthy choice for a nutritious meal.
- Rich in Protein and Fiber: Packed with black beans, this soup is high in protein and fiber, promoting satiety and supporting digestive health.
- Easy and Quick to Make: Ready in about 40 minutes, this vegan black bean soup is perfect for a quick, hassle-free meal that’s both delicious and nourishing.
Ingredients you will need
One of the best things about this recipe is the crazy healthy ingredient list. Talk about fiber, protein, and phytonutrients!
- Black beans- Take advantage of the convenience of salt-free canned black beans or make your own from scratch.
- Vegetable broth- Water can be used in place of vegetable broth if desired.
- Veggies- Fresh vegetables like corn, garlic, onions, sweet potatoes, greens, and mushrooms are on the list.
- Spices- It’s warm spices that include cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, and chipotle powder that really make this recipe.
Tips and Suggestions
- Broth- To save money without losing any flavor, use 1/2 water and 1/2 vegetable stock.
- Texture- To give more texture, set aside half of the beans and add to the soup at the end.
- Make less- This makes a lot of soup, but the recipe can be cut in half.
How to make vegan black bean soup
The recipe card at the bottom of the page has the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions.
STEP #1: Start by gathering all of the ingredients. There’s no need to cut any of the vegetables up because the soup will be blended once cooked. If you’re using salt-free canned beans, it is not even necessary to rinse or drain them.
STEP #2: Place the water or vegetable broth in a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and add the cooked beans, 1/2 of the frozen corn, garlic, onion, sweet potatoes, bok choy, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, and greens.
STEP #3: Simmer uncovered for approximately 30 minutes.
STEP #4: Remove from the heat and use an immersion blender (or a regular blender) to carefully blend. Be careful because the soup is going to be very hot. Wait for it to cool a little if needed. If you’re using a regular blender, process one or two cups at a time until pureed.
STEP #5: Stir in the cumin, oregano, chipotle powder, lime juice and zest, and the remaining corn. Combine well and serve. See toppings and serving suggestions.
Recipe from the cookbook, “Unprocessed” (2022), by Chef AJ. Published here with permission. See the ‘About the Chef’ section below. You might even try pairing this soup with Chef AJ’s Waldorf Salad.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chopped cilantro, lime wedges, Homemade 5-minute Vegan Sour Cream, chives
Pepitas (pumpkin seeds), and avocado slices are all great topping ideas.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 5 days. It freezes well too.
For those of you new to the whole food plant-based lifestyle, we’ve created a FREE 7-Day Plant-Based Menu Planner to help you get started!
If you try this recipe, please let us know how you like it by rating it and leaving a comment. We love to hear from you!
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Chef AJ’s Black Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 6 cups water or salt-free vegetable broth
- 3 15-ounce cans salt-free black beans (or 4.5 cups freshly cooked)
- 16 ounce bag frozen corn
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup red onion
- 1 large sweet potato peeled if not organic
- 1 cup baby boc choy
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 1/2 cup oil-free salt-free sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 cup greens kale, collard, mustard, chard, or combination
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 table spoon oregano
- 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- zest of 1 lime optional
Instructions
- Start by gathering all of the ingredients. Believe it or not, there’s no reason to cut any of the vegetables up because the soup will be blended once cooked.
- If you’re using salt-free canned beans, it is not even necessary to rinse or drain them.
- Place the water or vegetable broth in a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and add the cooked beans, 1/2 of the frozen corn (1 cup), garlic, onion, sweet potatoes, bok choy, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, and greens.
- Simmer uncovered for approximately 30 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and use an immersion blender (or a regular blender) to carefully blend. Be careful because the soup is going to be very hot. Wait for it to cool a little if needed.
- If you’re using a regular blender, process one or two cups at a time until pureed.
- Stir in the cumin, oregano, chipotle powder, lime juice and zest, and the remaining corn. Combine well and serve. See toppings (below) and serving suggestions (above).
Video
Notes
- Broth- To save money without losing any flavor, use 1/2 water and 1/2 vegetable stock.
- Texture- To give more texture, set aside half of the beans and add to the soup at the end.
- Make less- This makes a lot of soup, but the recipe can be cut in half.
- Storage- Keeps in the refrigerator for about 5 days. It freezes well too.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
About the Chef
CHEF AJ is a chef, culinary instructor, and professional speaker, Chef AJ is well-known in the health and wellness community. Her successful daily YouTube broadcast, Chef AJ Live!, has 146,000 subscribers and 1,500 videos.
Chef AJ received her certification in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University. As Executive Pastry Chef at Sante Le Brea Restaurant in Los Angeles, she became famous for her desserts (free of gluten, sugar, oil, and salt) and has an upcoming release of these recipes. She is the creator of the Ultimate Weight Loss Program which has helped hundreds of people achieve optimal health through her delicious recipes and straightforward (while humorous) coaching style.
She co-authored with Glen Merzer The Secrets to Ultimate Weight Loss (2018) and Unprocessed (2010 & 2022) and contributed 75 recipes to Glen’s book Own Your Health (2021). She has been eating a plant-inclusive diet for over 43 years. For more information visit her website ChefAJ.com.
Follow Chef AJ
Thank you for the wonderful blog post! Would you like to be a guest on my show and do a cooking demo?
Love & Kale,
Chef AJ
Yes ma’am! I would love to do a cooking demo on your show! We are currently smack dab in the middle of a huge renovation project (the entire house–gutted and down to the bones and now building it back brand new with additions) but, if you could schedule me out as far as late June, we will be finished and I can show off my new kitchen on your show, lol. Just let me know if that works for you, and thanks so much for asking me.
BTW, I really appreciate your being willing to let us share a couple of recipes from your new book with our EPB followers. I can’t tell you how excited I am about it. Fabulous book!