Happy Monday, friends!
At the time this post goes live, I will be on the final stretch of a 13-hour road trip heading off the grid into the Smokey Mountains for a week of cabin life. I can’t say that I’m super-looking forward to the 13 hours. But after four back-to-back trips this month, I am soooooo looking forward to arriving in the land of no wifi, switching off my screens, heading out into the sunshine for some long hikes, coming home to cook some leisurely (and photo-free!) meals, cozying up with in the evenings with slippers and some good books, and spending lots of time with this guy after being apart for nearly three weeks.
Can’t. Wait. :)
So I may be happily out of touch for awhile. But of course, I wanted to leave you with a few recipes while I’m gone. The first is a crock pot version of one of my all-time vegetarian comfort meals, which always seems to perfectly hit the spot this time of year. It’s incredibly simple to make, packed with protein and healthy ingredients, naturally vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free, and it is wonderfully comforting and delicious.
It’s my Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup.
Most people just think of black bean soup as a big bowl of brown mush. But lest we ever forget, there’s usual a rainbow of fresh ingredients that go into it. The usual suspects are present — onions, carrots and lots of garlic. But I’m also a big fan of adding chopped red peppers (or a jar of roasted red peppers) to the mix, as well as some fresh jalapeno for a little heat.
Once the Crock Pot does its work and cooks everything until tender, you have the option of either:
- serving the soup as-is (brothy and chunky)
- pureeing the soup completely (uber-thick and smooth)
- or — my favorite — pureeing about half of the soup so that it’s thick and smooth but still a little chunky
Totally up to you. If you with the second or third options, you can either puree part (or all) of the soup with an immersion blender. Or you can transfer it in small batches to a blender or food processor, and puree until smooth. (Always be careful blending hot liquids, though, since they will expand in the process. I recommend pureeing in small batches, never letting your blender or food processor be more than halfway-filled.)
Then once the soup is blended (or not) to perfection, dish it up! I love just topping mine with some simple fresh cilantro and avocado, but a dollop of sour cream, some chopped red onions, a sprinkling of crushed tortilla chips, or any other toppings would also be tasty. Whatever sounds good to you sounds good to me. :)
Have a great week, everyone!
Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large white or yellow onion, chopped
- 2 red bell peppers, cored and chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
- 4 cups good-quality vegetable stock
- 4 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- optional toppings: chopped fresh cilantro, crumbled corn tortilla chips, diced avocados, sour cream and/or shredded cheese (dairy-free, if making this soup vegan)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a slow cooker, and stir to combine. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours, until all of the vegetables are cooked and tender. Remove the bay leaf.
At this point, you can either:
- serve the soup as-is (brothy and chunky)
- use a blender or food-processor to puree the soup completely (uber-thick and smooth)
- use a blender or food processor to puree about half of the soup (so that it’s thick and smooth but still a little chunky)
- Serve the soup warm, garnished with your desired toppings. Or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days, or freeze in a sealed container for up to 3 months.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
I’ve had my eye on this for months and I just made it! Absolutely delicious! Good thinking about putting half in the blender. Perfect consistency and as healthy as can be! Thanks for another great recipe!!! :)
Thank you, Becky, we’re so happy you enjoyed it!
Hi there,
I made the soup cutting in half the measurements for Cayenne and jalapeno and it’s still too hot for me to enjoy. It hasn’t cooked yet but I’m wondering how to cool it down at this point. Next time I won’t add the hot ingredients. Thanks!
Hi Laurie! We’re sorry you found this too spicy. We would try adding a little lime juice and or milk to this to tone it down (that should help)!
Could you tell me how to adapt this recipe to use dried black beans? Do I have to soak/cook them before putting them in the slow cooker? Thank you!
Hi Katherine! Yes, you’ll need to soak them the night before, but no need to cook them before putting them in the slow cooker. We hope you enjoy!
Just made this soup exactly as written other than the cumin (I ran out). I “half blended it” –
it is awesome! Great easy “set it and forget it” recipe. Thank you!
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Alyssa! :)
By the third spoonful I knew that this person is a real cook, as it has a distinctive flavor that’s very pleasurable. I just eat for health, but this tastes great too.
I would just note for others that “Prep time: 10 mins” seems HIGHLY optimistic…it takes me longer than that to mince five cloves of garlic. I’m a lonely bachelor and not a great cook, and not an experienced cook, but the prep time took me at least forty minutes and I’d say if you can do it in half that time you’d be working very fast. HOWEVER it’s worth it as the soup is delicious and will last me many days. I made the recipe with half the amount of cumin and I omitted the jalapenos. This was my first visit to this site but I will be looking for other recipes here.
We appreciate you sharing, and we’re glad you enjoyed this, Mike!
Can I use dried black beans for this recipe?
Thanks
Yes, definitely! Just make sure you soak them overnight first. We hope you enjoy!
Hey! This recipe looks so amazing. I think I may try it tomorrow, but I am concerned about the difference in our crock pot sizes… I am guessing you are using a large crock pop in this recipe and I own a smaller one, so would I half everything in the recipe? Thanks again!
Thanks, Christina — we hope you enjoy it! We used a 6-qt slow cooker for this. If you have a 4-qt, we’d cut the recipe in half. We hope this helps!
Currently cooking in the crockpot. I prepped everything last night. Omitted the jalapeño and used only a dash of cayenne due to having a little one. I could not find a good vegetable broth at my local store – with thanksgiving being right around the corner, a lot is sold out! So I used beef broth. I found tenderloin on clearance, which I added chunks to my soup. (I also discovered filet mignon comes from tenderloin, no wonder it was so tender when I cut into it!) Cannot wait to try it tonight. I decided to use the low setting for 8hrs. Do you think the meat will cook well at this setting? I’ll come back to comment once we taste it :) thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thanks for sharing with us, Sarah — we hope you enjoyed everything! And yes, the meat should have cooked thoroughly after 8 hours on low.
This was delicious. I like it smooth so after I purred it I added another small can of rinsed black beans. I cooked on high for 4 hrs and it really was perfection. Thanks so much!!
Thanks for sharing! We’re glad to hear you enjoyed this! :)
Hi! Can we make this if we don’t have a slow cooker?!
Thank you!
Hi Rabia! Yes, of course! Sauté your carrots in some oil (olive, canola/whatever oil you like), in a large pot/dutch oven over medium heat, until softened. Then add all of your peppers and onion, and sauté for about 5-10 more min. Then add your garlic and all of your seasonings, and sauté for another minute. Pour in the stock and the beans and increase the heat so everything comes to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer (on low) and cook for at least 30 minutes, and up to an hour. (Follow the steps in number 2 depending on your preference of consistency). We hope this helps, and that you enjoy!