Reviewed: Dec. 2, 2005

My husband, who hates beans of any kind and most soups, as well, absolutely loved this soup. After I made it the first time, he begged me to make it again and add chicken chunks, or use it as a sauce over a chicken breast.

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girlinwakabacho

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Reviewed: Oct. 27, 2005

I'm really not sure how to rate this one. If I rate on taste alone it would get 5 stars. But appearance is easily 50% of the experience and it was UGLY! Maybe 2 stars for appearance. I will make it again, but I need to work on the appearance. Maybe I won't puree the beans. I did make quite a few changes. Here they are...I sauteed very lean bacon (6-8 slices) in the saucepan, then removed the bacon and added all the onion, garlic, carrot,red pepper, cumin, and 1 tsp corriander. Did not use the olive oil as I cooked the veggies in the bacon fat. I did not have enough onion (only 2 cups) so I added 1/2 cup dried shallots soaked in 1 cup water after the mix was tender but not brown. I added the beans and only 1/2 cup OJ. I omitted the cayenne pepper (kids would have hated it). Then I pureed 1/2 the soup. To help it look more appealing I added 1/2 c frozen corn and 1 can diced mild green chilis. When I served it I served it I topped with a bit of shredded cheddar, crumbled bacon, and cilantro. It helped it look a touch more appealing. Like I said it tasted GREAT! I will DEFINATELY make this again. My kids hated it so next time I will add the cayenne.

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JuiceMom

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Living In: Chicago, Illinois, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 26, 2005

This is very good, but you can taste the orange juice a little too much, so the second time I made it I used 1/2 the oj called for; I liked it better. The third time I made it I sliced up two spicy smoked sausages and sauteed them first, poured off some of the fat and sauteed the vegetables in the remaining fat. I also cut back on the salt and cayenne (since the sausage had some in it) as well as halving the oj. Primo!

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Kat

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Reviewed: Feb. 6, 2005

Good recipe. We have our own version of black bean soup and it was a nice change to add the orange juice. I used 3/4 cup juice to 1/2 cup water. I think next time I'll cut that to 1/4 cup water. I will also add cilantro for some added flavor.

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EMLIZMUE

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Reviewed: Aug. 17, 2004

Would have given this 5 stars but the recipe calls for WAY WAY too much salt. I would only use half of what's called for if that. I love this black bean soup otherwise. It's good with all the oj but looks better with half. With a dab of sour cream and salsa on top it's yummy!

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GILLIS80

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada

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Reviewed: Jul. 18, 2004

I've made this soup countless times, and I've always been pleased with the result. I substitute another fun-colored pepper for the carrot and its just fabulous. Be warned though, I find it so good, that it usually doesn't make it to 6 servings - I can usually get about 4 decent sized bowls out of it. :)

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HDOEING

Home Town: Dallas, Texas, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 14, 2004

I usually follow the recipe exactly the first time but this is one where I should have followed other reviewers' advice. I have enjoyed the flavor of black beans and orange juice together in other recipes, but this one has just too much orange juice. One-fourth cup to one-half cup would be great plenty. Perhaps this is also why the soup is so unattractive looking. The color is more like refried beans. There just wasn't enough interesting flavor, and the black bean flavor was completely covered up. It wasn't bad, but was very disappointing.

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Theresa

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Reviewed: Jan. 22, 2004

Children loved this soup. Parents thought was just o.k. TOok to much time for me to make regularly.

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PRETZY

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Reviewed: Nov. 20, 2003

Didn't care much for the flavor of the orange juice. I would recommend cutting the juice back to 14 cup instead.

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SERRATO

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Reviewed: Nov. 12, 2003

I am blessed with a family who eats anything and likes almost everything, but when I made this, none got eaten. Without fail, the first word everyone said with the first spoonful was, "yuck". That's a word I very rarely hear around our house!

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1STSOPRANO

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Reviewed: Oct. 30, 2003

This is an awesome recipe! I let mine thicken up a little and served it over yellow rice! It was quite a hit!

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HCOURTNEY

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Reviewed: Oct. 20, 2003

I WASTED A HOUR MAKING THIS SOUP AND IT TASTED Bad! GOOD LUCK!

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KRISRYAN

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Reviewed: Oct. 16, 2003

Excellent soup. I absolutely loved this. So many good vitamins too and the flavor, I have been nibbling all day, as I made it this morning and tossed it in the crockpot. Next time I think I'll wait until later to puree it and only puree a little. Of course my meat eater husband suggested chorizo sausage but it doesn't need it. It's great-thanks!

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PETITE BAKER

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Reviewed: Oct. 7, 2003

This is a great recipe and you should not be scared by the Orange Juice. We like beans, so the only thing i would change on this recipe is just to add one more can of black beans. Thank you for a great soup recipe!

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ITSAVY

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Reviewed: Oct. 2, 2003

very healthy. I like to add fat to most recipes like this for taste. I added about 1 tbls of bacon fat and about 5 strips of crumbled bacon with chuncks of smoked ham. About 1/4 pound. I pureed about 1/3 of mixture and let it sit for a day to blend the flavors. The orange juice taste blended over night. excellant!

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JC12345

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: New Brighton, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Apple Valley, Minnesota, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 1, 2003

I live in Central America for 3 great years and this soup brought back great memories! I followed all the instructions exactly. Then pureed half the soup, mixed it back in with the soup that was left then cut up some left over steak and simmered on very low for about 20 minutes. This is definatley the best black bean soup I've ever tasted!!

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ANNEMARIEM

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Reviewed: Sep. 29, 2003

This was overall a good soup with good texture and flavor. However, it was much too salty. I plan to make it again, but will add much less salt.

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LISE322

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Reviewed: Sep. 28, 2003

Made exactly as written and thought it was disgusting looking...certainly didn't look much like soup, so...pureed the whole thing, added 1/2 cup of a good sauvignon blanc and some beef broth granuales in an attempt to mellow the orange juice. What came out was not only preety to look at, but absolutely delish. Will add to my black bean soup collection

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GREYGREY

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: May 11, 2003

This soup was great! I let everybody at work try it and they all loved it. It turned out thicker than I thought it would but that made it even better. Thanks.

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