Black Bean Soup

Yumna Jawad

Updated Nov 27, 2025

5 from 1 vote

Black bean soup simmered with onions, carrots, celery, and cumin. Quick weeknight dinner using canned beans and ready in under 40 minutes.

Jump to Recipe ▼Pin
Prep Time 10 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Comments
4

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

Save this recipe!
Type your email & I’ll send it to you!

Jump to Section

My Black Bean Soup is So Good!

This black bean soup is as simple as it gets, but still super filling and tasty. It’s got Mexican-inspired flavors that I love, plus onions, carrots, celery, veggie broth, and four whole cans of black beans. It’s basically a pantry meal that tastes better than you’d think. Since making this black bean soup recipe, I’ve realized how versatile beans can be, especially in soups. This one’s packed with protein and loaded with veggies; it’s so easy to tweak with whatever you’ve got on hand.

Black Bean Soup Ingredients

Ingredients for recipe: celery, carrots, cumin, garlic, salt, pepper, vegetable broth, onion, and oil.
  • Olive oil: I like the taste of olive oil but any neutral cooking oil will do!
  • Vegetables: I like to use white onion, carrot, and celery for this black bean soup recipe.
  • 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, too.
  • Seasoning: I like to keep this black bean soup simple with salt, pepper, and cumin! But bay leaf and red pepper flakes will also be good.

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.
Black bean soup recipe.

Black Bean Soup Recipe

Author: Yumna Jawad
5 from 1 vote
A simple black bean soup using pantry staples like canned beans, broth, and veggies. Naturally thickened without cream and ready in about 30 minutes.
Pin Print
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Servings4 servings
Email This Recipe
Enter your email and I’ll send this directly to you. Plus you’ll get new recipes from me every week!

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

Instructions

  • In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, heat oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the carrots, celery, and onion, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper and cook for 5-7 minutes until the vegetables are softened and the onion is translucent.
  • Add the garlic, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the black beans, vegetable broth, cumin, and remaining salt and pepper. Stir well and bring the mixture to a boil.
  • Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 25-30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Use a potato masher to mash some of the beans directly in the pot while keeping some whole.
  • Serve warm with fresh lime juice and Greek yogurt.

Equipment

Notes

My Top Tip: 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 the wait. 
Storage: This soup will last about 4 days kept in the fridge in an airtight container! Just reheat on the stovetop when you’re ready to eat. 
Freezing: Freeze this soup 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!
The nutrition label is for soup only and does include an optional topping. 
Yield: 6 cups.

Nutrition

Serving: 1.5cups, Calories: 454kcal, Carbohydrates: 72g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Sodium: 913mg, Potassium: 1145mg, Fiber: 25g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 7694IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 116mg, Iron: 7mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

Did You Make This Recipe?
Leave a comment below!

Recipe Tips

  1. Drain and rinse your black beans. Make sure you remove the viscous liquid that comes in the can with your beans. I like to add the beans to a colander or fine mesh strainer and rinse them until any foaming/bubbles subside.
  2. Mash the beans carefully. 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 gives you that creamy-yet-chunky texture!
  3. 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 the wait.
  4. 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.

Serving Ideas

FAQs

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 not to over-blend.

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

If your soup is too thick, you might’ve over-blended your 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 Soup & Chili Recipes

5 from 1 vote

Rate and comment

Recipe Rating




Comments

  1. Stephanie says:

    Hello Yumna! I can’t wait to make this! How would you make this with dried black beans?

    Reply
    1. Yumna J. says:

      You will need 3/4 cup of dried beans for every 15-ounce can of black beans. So, in this case, 3 cups of dried beans. I recommend soaking them overnight and your soup will likely need closer to 1.5-2 hours of simmer time on the stovetop to cook the beans fully. Hope that helps!!

      Reply
      1. Stephanie says:

        Oh my gosh, this is SO GOOD!! I know that’s what you like to hear! 😉 But seriously, I used your tips for soaking the black beans the night before (I added 1/4 tsp baking soda to the water to help them soften further) and proceeded with the recipe as written the next day. I did add a few additional spices since cumin isn’t my favorite (I did use some, I just added mexican oregano, a smidge of cayenne, and some ground red pepper) everything else was the same. It did take about an hour and a half before the beans were done, I kept water close by to make sure they didn’t burn. But I’m so looking forward to having this for dinner this coming week with some vegan cornbread. Great recipe, simple and super flavorful! 🙂

        Reply
        1. Yumna J. says:

          Amazing!! I’m so happy the soup turned out amazing for you and that your dried black beans turned out great!! Thank you so much for sharing, Stephanie. I hope you enjoy eating with your vegan cornbread! Yum!!

          Reply