I hope you guys don’t ever get sick of all my soup recipes because they’re some of my favorite budget-friendly meals to make! This simple Black Bean Soup is definitely one of my faves because it’s so fast, super thick, and hearty, and leaves the door open for tons of fun toppings. It’s kind of like tacos but in soup form! I think you’re going to love this smoky, rich, just-happens-to-be-vegan soup!
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“I made this last night and was so surprised at how flavorful a simple recipe can turn out! I followed the recipe to the letter and made a side of white rice. I will definitely make this again!”
Jackie
Easy Recipe for Black Bean Soup
If you have a family with different dietary needs, then this easy soup is a great place to start. In its base form, this hearty black bean soup is naturally vegan and gluten-free, but you can add several things to accommodate other dietary preferences. You can add shredded rotisserie chicken or quickly sautéed shrimp to feed those who want a little meat, stir in a dollop of sour cream or cheddar cheese for those who like dairy, or add any of the toppings listed below!
Black Bean Soup
Servings 4 about 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 1 yellow onion (about ½ cup when diced) ($0.70)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.08)
- 1 jalapeño (optional) ($0.15)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.22)
- 3 15 oz. cans black beans, with liquid* ($2.64)
- 1 15 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes, with juices ($1.25)
- 1 tsp ground cumin ($0.10)
- ½ tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- ½ tsp smoked paprika or chipotle powder** ($0.05)
- salt to taste ($0.02)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Remove the stem and seeds from the jalapeño, then dice the remaining jalapeño flesh. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño, and olive oil to a soup pot and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft and translucent.
- While the onion, garlic, and jalapeño are sautèing, use a blender to purée two of the three cans of black beans (with liquid from the can). If the beans are too thick to purée, add just enough water to make them blend.
- Add all three cans of black beans to the soup pot (one can of whole beans with liquid, two puréed), along with the can of fire roasted diced tomatoes (with juices), the cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika. Stir to combine.
- Place a lid on the pot and allow the soup to come up to a simmer. Allow the soup to simmer, stirring often, for about 15 minutes. After simmering for 15 minutes, taste and add salt to taste (I added 1/2 tsp). Serve hot with your choice of toppings.
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Equipment
- Medium Soup Pot
- Large Blender
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Black Bean Soup Step-by-Step Photos
Gather all of your ingredients.
Sauté the veggies: Start by dicing 1 yellow onion and mincing 2 cloves of garlic. Next, cut off the stem, remove the seeds, and finely dice 1 jalapeño. Add the prepped onion, garlic, and jalapeño to a soup pot with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sauté them over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Blend the black beans: As you wait for your veggies to sauté, add two 15 oz. cans of black beans (with liquid) to a blender. Set the third can of black beans to one side for now, as we want to keep them whole. Blend the black beans until smooth. Add a small amount of water (about 1/4 cup) if they’re too thick to blend.
Make the soup: Add the remaining 15 oz. can of whole black beans (with liquid) to the sautéed veggies. Now, pour the pureed black beans into the soup pot.
Pour 1 15 oz. can of fire-roasted tomatoes (with juices) into the soup pot.
Finally, add 1 tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp dried oregano, and ½ tsp of either smoked paprika or chipotle powder to the soup. Stir to combine and distribute the spices.
Place a lid on the soup pot and bring it up to a simmer. Simmer the soup for about 15 minutes, stirring often. After it’s been simmering for 15 minutes, taste the soup and add salt as needed (I added ½ tsp). Serve it hot with all your favorite toppings!
Recipe Success Tips
- This soup can be as spicy or as mild as you like. The spicy ingredients in this soup are the jalapeño and chipotle powder. If you prefer a mild soup, skip the jalapeño and use smoked paprika in place of chipotle powder. Or you can do any combination of those ingredients to adjust the heat to your liking. 😊
- Blend the tomatoes, if preferred. I know some people don’t love the texture of canned diced tomatoes, so feel free to blend them with your black beans first. You’ll still get the smoky tomato flavor but without the added texture.
Storage & Reheating
While this is a fairly small batch recipe, you absolutely can freeze the leftovers. As with freezing all other food, I suggest dividing the soup into single servings just after cooking, then refrigerating until completely cooled before transferring it to the freezer for long-term storage. The soup can be kept in the freezer for about three months. It can also be kept in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
To reheat, either use the defrost function on your microwave, transfer to the refrigerator the day before you plan to reheat, or reheat straight from the freezer in a sauce pot with a lid over low heat, stirring often.
serving suggestions
There are just so many options for fun toppings with this soup! Not only is adding toppings to soup like this fun, but it’s a great way to use up leftovers in your refrigerator. I like cornbread, shredded cheddar, sour cream, green onion, fresh jalapeño, avocado, pickled red onions, crushed tortilla chips, or pico de gallo.
More Easy Bean Soup Recipes
Our Smoky Black Bean Soup recipe was originally published 11/20/19. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be better than ever 3/31/25.
I added lime zest and it took it to the next level!
I can’t WAIT to try this one! Looks like a winner!
Another winner! I just wanted a quick Saturday night dinner, and this was perfect. I made the recipe mostly as written, except I couldn’t find fire-roasted tomatoes (so I used regular) and I misread the recipe and bought only two cans of black beans. Even with only two cans, it made a LOT of soup. I can’t wait to have it for lunch tomorrow. I also pureed the tomatoes based on a suggestion from another comment, and it helps with the texture issues if you’re not a fan of tomato chunks in your soup. I’m 50/50 on them, so I might leave them whole next time and see how it goes. Either way, definitely making again!
I made this last night and was so surprised at how flavorful a simple recipe can turn out! I followed the recipe to the letter and made a side of white rice. I will definitely make this again!
This is so great! maybe TMI but sometimes I need extra fiber if you know what I mean.. to get things moving.. and good lord does this soup do the job
It was a little sweet for me but it might have been the salsa I used. I added like a teaspoon of vinegar, more of the spices, and salt, and that made the soup the right amount of savory again! Love this recipe.
Hi! I love this recipe! To make it even more budget friendly, do you have any recommendations on how I could make it using home cooked black beans? I’m concerned about the lack of liquid from the cans. Thanks!
Beautifully adaptable and easy. Had two cans of black beans and one pinto, worked out great. Ended up just pureeing them all together at the start, leaving some whole, with an immersion blender. Added a touch of broth to thin it out. Spices really bring it all together. Thanks for sharing!
This is really good but I don’t think the calorie count is correct. It seems too low. 3 15-oz cans of black beans has over 1000 calories, so it’s not really possible that this makes 4 portions under 200 calories. It would be good to correct that.
Thanks for catching that, Katie. I recalculated the nutrition using our current nutrition calculator and it looks a lot more accurate. :)
Wow! What a wonderful, quick recipe that full of flavor and easy to make! I did, however, substitute the jalapeño for poblano, and added about a teaspoon of chili powder and chipotle powder to the onions as they cooked down, but followed everything else to the letter. This soup is definitely going into dinner rotation! Tasted great even on a hot, summer night!
I just tried this recipe when I had a lot of cooked black beans left over after making chili. It’s a terrific recipe! I was feeling lazy and didn’t want to bother chopping onions and garlic, so I just eyeballed the right amount of dried onions and dried minced garlic. I prefer recipes only mildly spicy, so I used 1/4 tsp cayenne for just a touch of heat. This is a real keeper that will be in my regular rotation.
I also added diced sweet potatoes and celery right after the onions. The first time, I served it with garlic rolls, and the second time, I served it over leftover rice. It’s a new family favorite.
Even my fussy 13 year old son loved this, and took the time later in the night to say, “Mom, that soup tonight was so good! Would you make that again?” I honestly can’t think of a better endorsement.
I make homemade black beans from scratch in a massive pot and then freeze them in portions so that I can easily add them to any meal. Super cheap and healthy! Also, I took the smoked paprika option and have no regrets.
Absolutely delicious. I left out the jalapeño due to my weak spice tolerance, but added some more paprika & cumin. I topped it off with crumbled honey cornbread, sour cream, & cheddar cheese. My partner loved it. This will definitely be a repeat recipe!
I tend not to like tomatoes in soup and chili. Can the tomatoes be omitted?
You can sub the tomatoes for an equal amount of broth (chicken or veggie), but it will change the mouth feel and consistency of the soup. XOXO -Monti
I don’t like them either (it’s a texture thing, not a flavor thing) so I just threw the can of tomatoes into the blender with the beans. Got the flavor without the icky (to me) tomato texture.
Delicious! I mixed in a cornbread muffin and some shredded cheese to serve and it was awesome!