Reviewed: Nov. 25, 2007

An excellent soup!! The only changes I made was to use half chicken broth/half veggie broth and I added some pearl barley for fiber.

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Pat K

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Reviewed: Nov. 17, 2007

This has been a favorite for us for a couple of years. I add another tsp of cumin and at the end I add fresh organic salsa for an extra zip to the taste. I also like to let it sit for awhile (1/2 hour?) to let the flavors mingle. Easy, tasty, and excellent when you have bread to go with it!

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Jada

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Aloha, Oregon, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 13, 2007

I gave this recipe a five-star rating after I added some spice. This is an excellent for base for black bean soup. You can definitely play around with it to suit your tastes. I followed the advice of another cook and added some worsteshire sauce and a healthy dash of balsamic vinegar. I was weary of the vinegar at first, but it really adds a nice 'zip' without the apparent taste of the vinegar. I definitely doubled or tripled the amount of cumin and chili powder and used cayenne pepper instead of red pepper flakes. I just kept adding it as it cooked so I didn't make it too hot in the beginning. I also used 3 cloves of garlic and even added more garlic powder during the simmering or the soup as well as an extra carrot. The soup turned out great, not too runny and pleasantly creamy. I ate mine with blue corn tortilla chips while my brother loaded shreadded cheddar and sour cream with tortilla strips on top of his soup! Thanks for this great, healthy recipe.

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Trish

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Kansas City, Missouri, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 12, 2007

This turned out just as I hoped. I don't think carrots are necessary for this recipe and I won't use them next time. I also added 1/2 diced red bell pepper for extra flavor. The amount of spice was perfect for this soup.

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ylep4f

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Reviewed: Nov. 8, 2007

not bad, very filling.

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OSHSCOTCH

Home Town: Brooklyn, New York, USA

Living In: Los Angeles, California, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 30, 2007

Family loved it!

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lusciouslisa119

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Reviewed: Oct. 28, 2007

This is quite good and simple to make. I incorporated some of the suggestions from the other reviews adding fresh cilantro, more garlic and using 2.5 cups chicken stock -- this was perfect. Adding anymore stock would have made it too watery.

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Spudicka

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Reviewed: Oct. 23, 2007

Great and easy to make. A hit with the whole family (even my two year old). The only change was to add a little more beans, cumin and garlic.

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Tracy

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada

Living In: Jericho, Vermont, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 21, 2007

Outstanding! I even turned this into a slow cooker soup and it was incredible! Just sautee onion/garlic before adding to crock pot.

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AmberM

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Wilbraham, Massachusetts, USA

Living In: Billerica, Massachusetts, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 14, 2007

This soup was so delicious! I added a can of V8 juice and 2 bay leaves to give it more of a hearty flavor. Also, a couple shakes of crushed red pepper flakes adds a little kick without making it too hot. Oh, and the fresh cilantro is a must. Thanks for the suggestion. This is certainly a recipe to make over and over.

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Chelsea

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Reviewed: Oct. 13, 2007

This recipe was quite good. Although I had to make a few changes to give more of a long-cooked soup taste. I added about four celery stalks and 10 oz. of frozen spinach while sauteeing the onions/garlic, used 2.5 cups of water and 3 tsp of beef bouillion instead of the vegetable broth, put in an additional can of whole black beans, added some dried thyme and rosemary, and some worcestershire, habanero tabasco, cayenne pepper, and balsamic vinegar. After all these changes (I kept adding ingredients until it tasted right to me), it turned out to be a FANTASTIC soup. I served it with chipotle tabasco and mozzarella cheese. I would highly recommend these changes!!

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nicolealine

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Oct. 12, 2007

I wasn't crazy about this one. I think because almost all of the ingredients were canned my soup ended up tasting like canned soup :-( The addition of a dallop of sour cream and fresh avacado did help though.

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LAINO1

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Reviewed: Oct. 8, 2007

I make this soup all the time. It's incredibly easy and relatively fast, mostly depending on how fast you can cut the vegetables. I like to add celery and cook it with the onions/garlic/carrots for 7-10 minutes, depending on how soft I want the carrots.

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Yael

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Sep. 23, 2007

Wonderful and easy. I always use three cans of beans and a bit less broth than the recipe calls for. Perfect with diced avocado and/or fresh salsa on top. Thanks for the recipe!

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newcook

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Reviewed: Sep. 14, 2007

Very good soup! My entire family loved it and gobbled it up. I did add more cumin, chili powder, and garlic, like the other reviewers. I also used chicken broth since that is what I had on hand.

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SARASQ

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Reviewed: Sep. 10, 2007

absolutely fantastic! the only thing i changed was using chicken stock instead of veggie stock. delicious! thank you so much for sharing this recipe!

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jedisue

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Buffalo, New York, USA

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Reviewed: Sep. 5, 2007

This soup was so simple and delicious. I really didn't think it would have as much flavor as it did. I did add extra cumin and also added a can of diced green chiles. Next time I will definitely add another can of black beans. This is a keeper!

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MELSY

Home Town: Niles, Illinois, USA

Living In: Wauconda, Illinois, USA

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Reviewed: Aug. 28, 2007

I substituted a roasted red pepper for the carrots. It turned out well!

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Kendra M.

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Aug. 1, 2007

Great for a quick and easy meal served with salad.

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GINAH1

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Chicago, Illinois, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 19, 2007

This recipe was delicious and very simple! I took the advice of some of the others. I increased the chili powder by a teaspoon, added 2 extra garlic cloves, and cut back on the vegetable broth. I added some extra corn as well. The carrots didn't get soft as quickly as the recipe said they would, so I had to increase the end cook time by about 8 minutes. The soup seemed like it would freeze great as well (not that you'll likely have leftovers). I will make this again and share the recipe with my vegan friends!

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