Black Bean Soup

Name: Black Bean Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 large onion (diced); 3 medium carrots (peeled and diced); 3 celery stalks (diced); 1 ½ teaspoons salt (divided); 1 teaspoon black pepper (divided); 5 garlic cloves (minced); 4 (15-ounce) cans black beans (drained and rinsed); 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth; 1 tablespoon cumin; Lime (for serving); Greek yogurt (for serving)

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Two bowls of black bean soup with yogurt, lime, and green onions on top.

My Black Bean Soup is So Good!

I’ve been trying to work more beans into my meals lately, but—soaking dried beans the night before just isn’t happening most days. That’s why I love canned beans. They make recipes like this black bean soup so much easier to pull together, even when I haven’t planned ahead.

This soup is as simple as it gets but still satisfying. It’s got those Mexican-inspired flavors I love, plus onions, carrots, celery, veggie broth, and four whole cans of black beans. It’s basically a pantry meal that feels way more exciting than it should.

Since making this recipe, I’ve realized how versatile beans can be—especially in soups. This one’s packed with protein, loaded with veggies, and leaves me feeling full in the best way. Plus, it’s so easy to tweak with whatever you’ve got on hand. No fancy ingredients, no overthinking—just a good, solid soup.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Ingredients for recipe: celery, carrots, cumin, garlic, salt, pepper, vegetable broth, onion, and oil.

Olive oil: You can use avocado, canola, or vegetable oil if that’s what you have.
Onion, carrot, and celery: You want to cut them in even sized pieces.
Minced garlic: If you have a garlic press, use it! You can also substitute 2 ½ teaspoons of garlic powder.
Black beans: Any brand works! You can really use any type of bean you want in this recipe.
Vegetable broth: I like to use low-sodium vegetable broth, but you can use regular vegetable stock or chicken stock.
Spices: I’m only using cumin in this recipe to keep it simple with a short ingredient list. I think cumin adds the perfect flavor, but I’ve tested it with the addition of chipotle peppers in adobe sauce along with a bay leaf and would definitely recommend them.

Popular Additions

Make it spicier. You can added a de-seeded (or not if you want more heat!) jalapeno pepper.
Add more vegetables. Stir in a cup or two of chopped kale or spinach or frozen corn and let wilt or thaw in the soup.
Add chicken. For more protein, I’ll add shredded rotisserie or leftover roast chicken.
Add a grain. Stir in cooked quinoa or farro!

How to Make Black Bean Soup

Carrots, celery, onion, salt and pepper in a pot. — **Step 1:** In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil. Once hot, add the carrots, celery, and onion, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper.

After cooking mirepoix until softened with garlic added. — **Step 2:** Cook until the vegetables are softened and the onion is translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant.

After cooking garlic with black bean, broth, and seasonings added. — **Step 3:** Add the black beans, vegetable broth, cumin, and remaining salt and pepper. Stir well and bring the mixture to a boil.

Soup after simmering. — **Step 4:** Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer.

Potato masher in pot mashing soup. — **Step 5:** Use a potato masher to mash the beans directly in the pot.

Final soup in pot. — **Step 6:** Mash until some of the beans are mashed while others are still whole.

My Best Canned Black Bean Soup Tips

Drain and rinse the black beans. You want to remove the viscous liquid the canned black beans come in. I like to add the beans to a colander or fine mesh strainer and rinse them until any foaming/bubbles subside.
Mash the beans mindfully. For this easy black bean soup, you want about half of the beans to be mashed and the other half to still be whole. This give you a creamy-yet-chunky texture!
Don’t shortcut the simmering time. This is what will make the soup flavorful! I know 30 minutes can feel like a long time when you’re hungry, but it’ll be worth waiting for.
Go easy with the salt and pepper to begin with. Remember, you can always add more, but you can’t take it away! This will be especially true if you’re using full-sodium broth.

Black Bean Soup in pot with ladle dipped inside, small dish of lime wedges nearby.

What to Serve

Greek yogurt, lime wedges, chopped green onions, chopped parsley or cilantro
Diced Avocado
Corn Avocado Tomato Salad
Easy Vegan Cornbread

Recipe Help & Common Questions

How do I store and reheat black bean soup?

Kept in the fridge in an airtight container, this soup will last about 4 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months (thawing it in the fridge overnight before reheating). I like to use a saucepan to reheat the soup because it heats more evenly this way!

Can I use an immersion blender to mash the beans?

You can! Because an immersion blender is more powerful than a potato masher, I would just be careful of overblending.

What do I do if the black bean soup is too thick?

If this happens, you might’ve overblended the beans! I would just add a splash or two of broth or water to loosen up the soup, adding more as necessary.

Two bowls of black bean soup, one topped with Greek yogurt and chopped parsley.

More Bean Soup & Chili Recipes:

If you try this feel good Black Bean Soup recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!