30-Minute Black Bean Soup Recipe

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
J. Kenji López-Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
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Updated May. 05, 2021
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J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Recipe Facts

4.5

(11)

Active: 20 mins
Total: 30 mins
Serves: 4 to 6 servings

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Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • 2 green bell peppers, stems and seeds discarded, finely diced

  • 1 large onion, finely diced

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced on a Microplane grater

  • 1 jalapeño or serrano pepper, stems and seeds discarded, finely chopped

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 1/2 teaspoon dried chile flakes

  • 1 chipotle chile packed in adobo, finely chopped, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from can (optional)

  • 1 quart homemade or low-sodium canned chicken broth

  • 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, with liquid

  • 2 bay leaves

  • Kosher salt

To Serve (all optional):

  • Roughly chopped cilantro leaves

  • Mexican-style sour cream

  • Diced avocado

  • Diced red onion

Directions

  1. Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add peppers and onions and cook, stirring frequently, until softened but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, jalapeño, cumin, and dried chili flakes and cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chipotle and adobo sauce (if using) and stir to combine. Add chicken broth, beans and their liquid, and bay leaves. Increase heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a bare simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes.

  2. Discard the bay leaves. Use a hand blender to roughly puree part of the beans until desired consistency is reached. Alternatively, transfer 2 cups of soup to a blender or food processor and process until smooth (start on low speed and increase to high to prevent blender blow-out). Return to the soup and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt.

  3. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls and serve immediately with cilantro leaves, sour cream, diced avocado, and diced red onion (as desired).

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
196 Calories
4g Fat
30g Carbs
13g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 196
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4g 5%
Saturated Fat 1g 3%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 804mg 35%
Total Carbohydrate 30g 11%
Dietary Fiber 11g 38%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 13g
Vitamin C 22mg 112%
Calcium 74mg 6%
Iron 4mg 20%
Potassium 676mg 14%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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