Reviewed: Jan. 1, 2009

This made for a pretty tasty soup. I did make a few changes. I started out with a "mirepoix", which was basically sauteeing the onion, carrot, and some celery together in olive oil and a bit of butter. I used pre-shredded carrots from the store. I added the garlic after about 10 minutes, and really cooked everything down until it was quite caramelized. It takes about 25 minutes to do that. Then, deglazed with a carton (approx 4 cups) of chicken stock, making sure to scrape the yummy stuff off the bottom of the pot. Then added the spices and a can each of black beans, and a can of corn with red and green peppers in it (a can of Southwestern Niblets, I think it was).I didn't have any tomatoes on hand, so I pureed the other can of black beans with 2 small cans of tomato sauce. Dumped it in, let simmer as directed. Then I removed the cover and let the soup reduce a bit. My secret for a bit of extra richness is a tablespoon or so of the best balsamic vinegar you can get. I served this over a chunk of cornbread in the bottom of the bowl. It was a hit!

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DIVIANA

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Livermore, California, USA

Living In: Tracy, California, USA

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Reviewed: Dec. 26, 2008

This is a pretty good bean soup recipe. I did make a few changes. I increased the garlic to about a tablespoon of crushed and upped the cumin to two teaspoons (as an increase was recommended by another reviewer). The only canned beans I had on hand were Kidney and Pinto, so I put in the Pinto and pureed the Kidney beans with the stewed tomatoes. I also decided to add a small can of green beans I had on hand, thinking it would be a nice touch. It turn out tasty, though we did add a bit of salt to our soup bowls. I very much recommend the increased amounts of cumin and garlic, as it would have been a little on the bland side without it.

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musicaldragon

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fremont, California, USA

Living In: Portland, Oregon, USA

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Reviewed: Dec. 25, 2008

Very yummy. You can add pretty much any veggies and it works well.

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Kevin VC

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Reviewed: Dec. 19, 2008

I did not like this at all - even after I added all of the ingredients, it didn't taste much different than just opening the can of black beans that I serve with tacos. After following the recipe exactly and not being impressed, I added a few extra ingredients, and still wasn't thrilled. Will not be making again. Thanks anyway for sharing.

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Maria

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Dec. 15, 2008

I doubled the cumin, and reduced the vegetable stock to 2 cups. It turned out great!

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Jodi

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Dec. 14, 2008

Wonderful soup! I've made it several times and it's a favorite between me and my boyfriend. I revised it a little by adding 3 cloves of garlic, 1/2 each a red and green bell pepper, 8 small sliced green onions and a pinch of cayenne pepper. I also upped the cumin and chili powder a pinch.

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Lizzy

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Reviewed: Dec. 14, 2008

This was great! I took other reviewers' suggestions and I used about 3 cups of chicken broth instead of veg stock. I also added broccoli and cauliflower. The soup still seemed thin, so I added an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce. This is a great basic recipe!

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Joy

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Oskaloosa, Iowa, USA

Living In: San Antonio, Texas, USA

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Reviewed: Dec. 8, 2008

Used one can of vegetable broth, added red pepper, used frozen corn. Also pureed part of soup that had been cooking in pot. Very good!

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cjss

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Reviewed: Nov. 3, 2008

This is a great soup - nicely sweet and very healthy. On occasion I have successfully used vegetable bouillon for the stock and I have also successfully used regular canned tomatoes with 2 tsp of sugar when I didn't have stewed tomatoes.

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LFeeley

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Reviewed: Nov. 3, 2008

Delicious!! This is a great recipe that you can alter to fit your taste. Used 2 cups low sodium chicken stock. I just happened to have yellow and red peppers on hand so I threw in some. Also per suggestions I added cilantro and green chilies and topped it off with greek yoghurt since I did not have any sour cream. I will definitely make this again. Leftovers make a great quick lunch.

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Stephanie Rashel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Oct. 31, 2008

I made some changes: doubled the cumin, only 3 cups of vegetable stock instead of 4, 3 cans of black beans and a 14oz can of corn. It was good but not super unique.

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Lisa

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Reviewed: Oct. 28, 2008

Delicious and easy!! I make it for dinner and use the leftovers for my lunches.

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LAURA4288

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Reviewed: Oct. 5, 2008

I've experimented with lots of black bean soups and this one is definitely the best. Be sure to use stock instead of broth. It's one of those soups that is excellent the day you make it and the leftovers get even better. Very good.

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EDWYER

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Reviewed: Sep. 28, 2008

I made this recipe with a few variations. I used 2 (not 4) cups of BEEF stock, and I added 1 lb. browned ground beef. At the end, instead of stewed tomatoes, I used Rotel-style tomatoes with chilies to puree with the second can of black beans. Spicy and delicious!

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dgwdsmith

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Reviewed: Sep. 24, 2008

I never had Black Bean soup before but we are vegetarian and trying to find new recipes (sick of the same things every week). I put all the ingredients into my slow cooker at noon (two cans whole beans, 1 can we pureed in food processor with a can of roasted diced tomatoes), added two cups water and two vegetable brother bouillon cubes as reviewers suggested... sauteed onions and garlic in olive oil for about 5 mins before adding to crock. Added some chili flakes, cayenne pepper and some chopped red bell peppers, in addition to the listed ingredients. We were so suprised at how GOOD it turned out with tortilla chips as garnish and grated colby jack on top!! This is replacing chili in our "dinner rotation". Next time will be adding some minute rice near the end to thicken it up a little. Was just as excellent the next day for lunch. Thanks for the recipe!!!

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AliciaVR6

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Reviewed: Sep. 24, 2008

Although we have almost made it a stew instead of a soup, it was still very delicious. We added half a cajun pepper, to spice it up just a little more.

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Richard

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Reviewed: Sep. 19, 2008

I made this recipe because my family loves black beans, but it was pretty tasteless and not quite the consistancy that I like in a soup. I won't be making this again unless I make some major changes.

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Stephanie

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Lawton, Oklahoma, USA

Living In: Lake Jackson, Texas, USA

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Reviewed: Sep. 14, 2008

This was pretty good. It was not smooth enough maybe that was my fault. i will try again.

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CVOORHEES

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Aurora, Colorado, USA

Living In: Riverton, Utah, USA

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Reviewed: Sep. 12, 2008

Ricas

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Comerio P.R.

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Glen Spey, New York, USA

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Reviewed: Sep. 4, 2008

This is fairly tasty and certainly easy enough. Dinner was ready in about a hour hour which is great. My kids loved it and all went back for seconds. My only issue is it definitely needs salt-about 1 tsp. We topped it with shredded cheese and had a crusty bread to sop up the broth. A good hearty meal.

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