My Easiest Black Bean Soup Recipe

I enjoy soup all year round but when the weather starts to get cooler, I start to crave heartier soups made with beans. This hearty black bean soup is thick, delicious, and satisfying and one of the easiest soups I make. 

Love This Trick

I use a simple trick to eliminate  cut down the prep. I use a jar of chunky organic salsa to replace many of the vegetables.

Think about it. Chunky salsa is made with onions, peppers, tomatoes, etc. The very ingredients that I usually prep this type of soup recipe. So, instead of cleaning, cutting, and chopping, I simply open a jar of organic chunky salsa and use the salsa with all it's chunky vegetables in my soup. 

I appreciate that it is organic, because sometimes it's difficult to find organic onions, peppers, etc. I prefer using organic when available. 

All the Prep Ingredients in One Jar

Surprisingly, chunky salsa has all the ingredients to make this delicious 3 ingredient soup. I am not specifically promoting Aldi's (in fact, the salsa flies off the shelves, and I sometimes can't even get the mild salsa) but it is the best and most economical one that I've found. It's $1.89 as of this post in 2020 (update 2023 - it has gone up in price to $2.19)  ( update: 2024 $2.89) As I mentioned, it's organic. It comes in mild, medium, or hot- so you can have it your way- and it is packed in glass, not a can. It meets all my criteria for a healthy safe product. 

Make it in the Instant Pot 

It doesn't get easier than opening the jar, pouring it into the Instant Pot, adding soaked and drained beans, vegetable broth and water. Since my uncooked beans were soaked overnight, I set the Instant Pot timer for 25 minutes. 

If I don't pre-soak the beans (which I usually do because I think it helps digestibility), I would set the Instant Pot timer for 40 minutes. 

When the soup is done, I remove the lid an partially blend using an immersion blender. This hearty, thick, easy soup is a favorite.

******If you just want to use canned beans, you can dump everything in the IP and set for 3 minutes OR use the stove top and just bring to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes..

Do You Plan a Menu for the Week? 

I don't usually create a menu plan for the week, do you?  but I thought if I did, I would make this soup every other Monday in the cooler weather. Since I keep my own individual sized bags of cooked rice in the freezer (link to see how I freeze cooked rice), I have the convenience of adding some rice to my husband's bowl which he loves. 

Ingredients: 

1 pound of dry black beans, washed, soaked overnight, and drained.

1 jar of organic chunky salsa (mild, medium, or hot) 

3 cups of vegetable broth

3 cups of water 

Optional: cumin, salt, cracked pepper, squirt of lime or lemon juice,  fresh garlic

Toppings: chunks of avocado or cooked white rice

Directions:

Add everything to the Instant Pot. Secure lid, close steam valve, and set to pressure cook for 25 minutes. When done, allow to sit for 15 or more minutes and then release steam manually according to the manufacturer's directions. When all steam is released, remove lid and blend with an immersion blender to desired consistency.

Notes: I you don't have time or forgot to soak the beans overnight, simply pressure cook for 40 minutes.

Sweet Potato Salsa Soup

I make another soup using salsa too- try my spicy sweet potato soup.

Sharing on Souper Sunday at  Kahakai Kitchen where anyone can share a soup, sammie, or salad recipe.

NOTES:

Looking for more healthy recipes?  

My blogging friend Nancy Andes at her inspiring blog, Colors 4 Health, has published a Holiday Guilt-Free Recipe Guide which you can view with the link. Nancy says, " This post features guilt-free vegan holiday recipes to savor and tips to make meals healthier, budget friendly, taste-tempting, and joyful." 

Nancy has included a recipe for my delicious and easy vegan stuffed peppers in her  Holiday Guilt-Free Recipe Guide for holiday eating.