Fast, delicious, hearty, and filling, 30 Minute Black Bean and Tomato Soup is a perfect weeknight dinner fix! This soup is a great crowd-pleasing, comforting dish. Unlike most soups which are served during colder temperatures, this soup is great all year long!
30 MINUTE BLACK BEAN & TOMATO SOUP
There was a time when I wouldn’t eat this 30 Minute Black Bean and Tomato Soup. You see, I didn’t like black beans. Well, not so much as ‘didn’t like.’ It was more along the lines of, “Ew! Black beans!? I’m not eating that!” You wouldn’t know it now, but I was a very picky eater, and not just as a child, but well into my adult years.
If I thought something looked kind of funny, or had a weird name, it was not going anywhere near my lips. I still feel that way about a lot of foods, but slowly, I’ve overcome my fear of differently named/looking food.
I’m glad I got past my distaste for black beans. After meeting the vegetarian, black beans became such an integral part of our diet. To be completely honest with you, there’s not many weeks that go by where a can of black beans is not present in a recipe or as a salad topping.
We will add black beans to burritos, soups, stews, chilies, salads, rice dishes, casseroles, etc. And, since we all love black beans and tomatoes, why not combine the two into a wonderful soup?
CANNED OR COOKED DRIED BEANS?
In a perfect world, I would much prefer to cook dried black beans rather than use the canned variety, but to be honest, the canned version is perfectly fine. For this particular recipe, I had a whole lot of cooked black beans on hand, and that’s what I used. But, you can certainly go ahead and use your favourite canned black beans if you don’t have the time to cook your own. Cooking dried beans can be fast and easy. Take a look at how I cook dry beans in my instant pot!
The same goes for the canned tomatoes, really. If you prefer, you can roast your own tomatoes instead of using the canned fire-roasted type. This soup is very forgiving and can be adjusted to accommodate your tastes.
Just do me one favour – serve this soup with your favourite brand of tortilla chips. Seriously, this soup is delicious just the way it is, but it’s a great soup for dipping as well!
SOUPS ARE S(O)UPER!
It’s the time of year when soups are what is one everyone’s dinner table. I’ve been known to cook soups in the dead of summer, but you can place your bets that when September rolls around, the soup pot is on the stove quite often in the Thomas-Ewing household! What are some of your favourite soups? We have lots of favourites, but some of my top favourites are as follows.
First, I love this 30 Minute Butternut Squash soup. Not only is it easy, and fast, but it’s super creamy and delicious. Next, has to be this Tomato Tortellini Soup. Oh my goodness! This one is so hearty and filling. I love soups with pasta in them! My top five soup recipes would most certainly include this Split Pea Soup. It’s vegetarian, but you can always add ham or bacon.
How about I just share two more ideas and move on? I could list dozens of soup recipes here, but you can find all of my soup recipes by clicking here. If you do nothing else, try this Chunky Vegetable and Spinach Soup. It uses a lot of inexpensive root vegetables, which makes it a homey and comforting cold, weather soup. Lastly, you must try this Beef and Pasta Tomato Soup. It is made with ground beef, but I’ve made it vegetarian style too. Just use the vegetarian beef crumbles instead of the real ground beef!
HERE’S WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
- Black Beans – You will need 8 cups of black beans. You can use canned beans or cooked dried beans. Be sure to drain and rinse well.
- Fire Roasted Tomatoes – These have lots of flavour, but you can use regular canned tomatoes as well.
- Olive Oil – The basis of almost every soup recipe!
- Onion – Regular white or yellow onion is good here.
- Garlic – Fresh chopped garlic combined perfectly with black beans and tomatoes.
- Seasonings – Salt and pepper, of course, to help season and bring out the flavours of the other ingredients. Dried Red Chili Flakes are optional, but I love the spiciness in this soup. And, dried cumin, because every Mexican-inspired dish needs a bit of cumin. Vegetable Bouillon for flavour – this, along with the water, acts as the stock.
- Worcestershire Sauce – So much flavour! You can use regular or a vegetarian version.
HOW TO MAKE THIS SOUP:
In a large heavy-bottomed pot, over medium heat, add the olive oil and onion. Sauté for 5 minutes until onion is beginning to caramelize. Add garlic and stir into the onions. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add the black beans, tomatoes, cumin, bouillon cube, water, dried red chili flakes, Worcestershire sauce, and salt. Stir well to combine.
Lower heat to medium-low. Place a lid on the pot and cook for 15 minutes, stirring once half way through. Remove the pot from the heat and either puree the soup using a hand-held immersion blender, or transfer the soup to a blender and puree in batches. Return the pureed soup to the burner and simmer for five more minutes.
When ready to serve, top with sour cream, cheese, avocado and green onions. (Optional) Serve with your favourite tortilla chips.
THIS SOUP IS MEANT FOR TOPPINGS!
If you experiment with other toppings, please drop me a message in the comments section below and let me in on your garnishing/topping secrets. Diced red onion, perhaps? Freshly chopped tomatoes? A few thinly sliced chilies or jalapenos?
30 Minute Black Bean and Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 8 cups black beans, cooked (drained and rinsed if using canned beans)
- 30 ounces canned fire roasted tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 whole vegetable bouillon cube
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
- 1 tablespoon vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup light sour cream for garnish, optional
- 1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced for garnish (optional)
- 1/2 cup white cheddar cheese, grated for garnish (optional)
- 1/2 whole avocado, diced for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a large heavy-bottomed pot, over medium heat, add the olive oil and onion. Saute for 5 minutes until onion is beginning to caramelize.
- Add garlic and stir into the onions. Saute for 2 minutes.
- Add the black beans, tomatoes, cumin, bouillon cube, water, dried red chili flakes, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and ground black pepper. Stir well to combine.
- Lower heat to medium-low. Place a lid on the pot and cook for 15 minutes, stirring once half way through.
- Remove the pot from the heat and either puree the soup using a hand-held immersion blender, or transfer the soup to a blender and puree in batches.
- Return the pureed soup to the burner and simmer for five more minutes.
- When ready to serve, top with sour cream, cheese, avocado and green onions. (Optional)
- Serve with your favourite tortilla chips.
francesca says
Hey Lord Byron, you just made my crave black bean soup, your photos are gorgeous! This to me looks like extreme comfort food in a bowl ♥
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Francesca. 🙂
Dana says
Thank you! I’m always looking for new fast and easy recipes!!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
This one is so easy and so delicious, Dana. 🙂
Jenny Garton says
Browses and browsed for a black bean and tomato soup recipe and discovered yours. It was wonderful!!! Invited some friends over and got raves review. Saving as a “keeper”!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Glad to hear it, Jenny! 🙂