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MEET THE KROCKS: We are a married couple who started on a life-changing whole food, plant-based weight loss journey in June 2018. To date, we have lost over 290 pounds combined and we aren’t done yet! Read Our Story
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Before we switched to a whole food, plant-based diet, we spent years trying to lose weight with things like portion control, calorie counting, etc. One of our favorite recipes to make while counting calories was a delicious black bean soup from one of Rocco DiSpirito’s cookbooks. It was a simple recipe and became a staple in our kitchen for several years.
When we made the switch to plant-based, I knew this recipe was one that we could pretty easily “convert,” but we started making a lot of chili and veggie soup and just sort of forgot about it.
Recently, we have started digging out some of our old cookbooks for inspiration, and we decided to try out our own version of the black bean soup. The original recipe was super simple because you used things like ketchup and salsa in it. We tested it out a few times and finally landed on our very own whole food, plant-based version!
The key here was finding good replacements for your average everyday ketchup and salsa, which can be loaded with tons of added ingredients, sodium, sugar, etc.
We decided to make a quick batch of our homemade Spicy Ketchup, but we left out the Tabasco sauce & cayenne pepper since the soup already has spice in it. We also used a tablespoon of maple syrup to sweeten the ketchup (instead of the dates) so we didn’t have to get the blender out. You can definitely use any store bought brand of ketchup you are comfortable with instead of homemade.
For the salsa, we love Trader Joe’s Fire-Roasted Tomato Salsa, which is the only one I’ve ever found without any added salt. If you can’t find that one, just get the lowest sodium version you can and avoid added sugar as well.
Brian added a few extra spices (of course). The most surprising for me was the cocoa powder. I’ll admit, I was a little worried when he grabbed for that one, but it ended up adding a really nice, rich layer to the soup.
Check out the video here and get the full recipe below.
Recipe: Easy Black Bean Soup (Vegan, Oil-Free)
Ingredients
- – 6 x 15oz cans of black beans (+ their liquid); no salt-added if possible
- – 2 cups vegetable broth (we use Better Than Bouillon to make ours)
- – 1 x 16oz jar of salsa; no-salt added if possible (we get ours at Trader Joe’s)
- – 1 cup ketchup (we used our homemade Spicy Ketchup but left out the Tabasco sauce & cayenne pepper)
- – 1/4 cup chili powder
- – 2 tsp smoked paprika
- – 1 tsp garlic powder
- – 1/2 tsp cumin
- – 4 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- – 1/2 tsp salt (OPTIONAL)
Directions
- Add TWO cans of beans (with ALL of their liquid) to a blender (or bowl/stainless steel stock pot if you have an immersion blender).
- Strain the remaining FOUR cans of beans over a large bowl to separate the beans from their liquid. Add ALL of the liquid to your blender and set the remaining beans aside.
- Add vegetable broth to the blender (with the two cans of beans and liquid from ALL six cans) and puree until smooth.
- Heat a large stock pot to medium-high.
- Add blended bean mixture to the stock pot, followed by all of the remaining ingredients (including reserved black beans). Stir to combine.
- Bring to a simmer, stirring FREQUENTLY. The beans can start sticking to the bottom and burning if you don’t keep stirring it!
- Once at a simmer, reduce heat and simmer, stirring FREQUENTLY, until thickened (about 10 minutes).
**This recipe makes approximately 3.5 quarts (14 cups) of soup, which is about 6 servings for us. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for several months.
We used to serve our black bean soup with fat free sour cream, so Brian started experimenting with a vegan version using silken tofu. It is basically just a block of silken tofu blended with some lemon juice and red wine vinegar. I never really loved sour cream to begin with, but I do like this blended into the hot soup. It adds an extra creamy layer to the soup!
Sometimes we get fancy and add some chopped red onion to the top as well. But honestly, this one is delicious all on its own and makes a great, filling lunch.
Watch the video here & be sure to leave us a comment below if you try it out!
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Hi Brian and Jessica,
Wondering about the salsa from Trader Joe’s. Is it fairly spicy? I was wondering if maybe I could just add less of it since I don’t want it very spicy? Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Joan
I think the Trader Joe’s salsa is pretty spicy BUT when added in to everything else, I don’t find the overall soup to be exceptionally spicy. But then I do like spicy things. You can definitely try it with less salsa or a more mild one!
This was fabulous, especially with onions and tofu sour cream! I’ll be making this a lot! You’re recipes are so dependably good. Thank you!
Thank you Marisa! That means a lot. We really test them and only share them when they are something we REALLY love. 🙂
If I was to make the black beans myself, how much liquid would I need to add to the pot when making the soup? This recipe sounds wonderful. We have company coming on Sunday. I would like to make this recipe!
Hi Patricia! I will have to try it out – I’m not actually sure. We will test it out – or let us know if you do!
I suggest cooking the dried beans separately then following the recipe as stated. A can of beans is around 1 3/4cups cooked. I halved the recipe so i needed 5 1/4 cups cooked. I made a lb of dried beans (which makes about 6 cups, so 3/4 cups more than the recipe) then added more diluted broth to thin it some (and to account for their un-drained cans.) Hope this helps because this recipe is DELICIOUS!!!
Oh my goodness! How can this be so delicious and so simple? The recipe was brilliantly conceived. Perfect flavors and textures. I had mine with avocado, jalapeños and my homemade soy yogurt. Addictive!
And Jessica, if you miss sour cream try making soy milk yogurt. I do mine in my instant pot and strain it in a Greek yogurt strainer. It really ticks all the boxes and is great with oatmeal and berries too. It’s been a real life-saver for me since plain yogurt was about the only thing I missed after going PB. Thanks for another great recipe.
Thanks Libby! Great to hear that you loved it. Thanks for the tips 🙂
Just made this wonderful black bean soup! Thanks for sharing, I served it over rice. It’s delicious!
Great idea with the rice!
I’ve left this comment online after a video, but you may not have seen it, so: I looked at the list of your recommended kitchen tools & ordered the Griddler, but I wanted my very own stuffed PEEF. I ordered it on Amazon, but you didn’t get a cut because He Is Not On Your List. I think other people would like to have a PEEF too, so you could profit from it if you include him in your link!
He is on there now 😀 Thanks!
12/4/19. I love your videos. you have improved my eating habits, in particular with the salads. i made this black bean soup and it was fabulous. i did change up a little. i pureed celery, onion and garlic and added. and 1/2 lime. i went and bought the cocoa (expensive) and have no idea if that made a difference. i would use a little less salsa next time because it was borderline spicy for me, however great job guys and thanks for the recipe
Thanks Karen! Great ideas! Thanks for watching us 🙂
What a quick, easy, flavorful soup! I had to make a couple of substitutes. I substituted a can of Rotel tomatoes for salsa. I cut the chili powder back to 1-1/2 tablespoons because Rotel is spicy for me. I cheated with bottled Chili sauce instead of your ketchup recipe. Next time I will make it with your ketchup recipe. So good!
Awesome! We are all about the substitutes 🙂
I was suspicious of a soup with out a bunch of veggies, but I always try things the way its written at the first time. It was really good! And my kids appreciated the lack of more veggies than the beans. Thanks!
Glad you tried it out!!
Oh, black bean soup, you are my fave! And a note about Better Than Bouillon. It is also my fave commercial concentrate, however I reconstitute it at 75% or less- i.e., instead of 1 tsp. concentrate per 1 cup water, I use 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. per 1 cup water. It is way too salty for me when reconstituted at the recommended rate.
Great tip! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I tried this recipe last night and we loved it! I think next time I will leave more of the beans “whole” instead of blending them. I’m wondering if there is a way to print the recipe so I can keep it handy instead of having to always pull up YouTube? Thanks! I love all your videos and new cooking ideas.
I figured out the printing part! 🙂
Awesome! Thank you so much for watching and commenting 🙂
This is the second recipe I’ve tried from your site and it is the second WIN! It is delicious, especially the next day just as you both say in the video. I love it best over riced cauliflower. Thank you for all your hard work! I am benefitting greatly!
I just made this soup and it was soooo good. I never used smoked paprika before so I only used 1 tsp instead of the 2. I also added a bag of frozen corn. This recipe will be made time and time again! Thanks so much for sharing!
I love using hummus as a replacement for sour cream! I’m sure your smoky hummus would be great!
OMG this soup is AMAZING!! So hearty and flavorful! I used Moe’s medium salsa and topped it with scallions and tofu sour cream. We loved it! Thank you!
I have been trying a new recipe from your videos each week, and I love the super smoky hummus and the garlicky kale. I’m actually prepping some for this weeks lunches today. I also made your easy black bean soup recipe today. I couldn’t find a no salt added salsa, so I put 1 can of Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, diced red onion and diced green peppers in my Vitamix and blended. I followed the rest of the recipe exactly and it was perfect! I love the flavor so much, it is definitely my new favorite meal! Thank you for sharing your adventures and recipes.
Awesome! Glad you are enjoying the recipes. Good idea for the salsa swap!
Since I do dishes by hand I try to save on dirtying many. I use my immersion blender for the beans in the pan I’m cooking in.
Love the recipe as is!! Made a fresh pot this morning and using some as a potato topping for my breakfast. The only change I made was to save on dirty small appliances. I used my handy dandy potato masher to mash the beans. Always enjoy using it. My Mother gave it to me when I got married 61 years ago. An immersion blender would work well too. Thank you for this great recipe! Now if I could get my husband on board with this way of eating!! I’ll be cooking him some hamburger to put in his soup. 😭
Mmmmm…made this tonight with Rancho Gordo beans (so I cooked them from dried). SO yummy! Served over brown rice and topped with a little nutritional yeast.
Ooooh great idea serving it over brown rice! Sounds delicious!
Would you please share your dry beans to water ratio for this recipe. Thank you!!
I’ve made your black bean soup 4 times (including today’s batch) and can’t say enough good things about it! It’s just so stinking good!! I have to admit to one difference though. I buy my salsa at Aldi’s and the jar has 24 ounces in it and I use the whole jar instead of measuring out 16 ounces. Every time I think I should measure and make some chips from corn tortillas to eat with the rest. Someday I’ll do that. Thanks to both of you for sharing your adventure and just being real about it all. My husband refuses to eat like this so I fix meat and sweets for him. The rest of what he gets is WFPB. Keep sharing please.
Glad you are enjoying this one 🙂 We haven’t made it in a while, but now I want some!
Loved making the soup my husband had 2 bowls and raved about how it’s now his favorite soup and wants it at least once a week … This batch will last two days but it’s so easy to make.
We love your videos!!!
Brian/Jessica, this recipe is outstanding! I made the mistake of using a sweet salsa which made the soup a tad on the sweeter side but other than that, it was so good. I’ll make it again but will use a different salsa next time. Every recipe I’ve tried of yours has been delicious.
I sure wish you’d publish a cookbook.
Thanks again – Nancy Coleman
Loved this soup and make it frequently!
Would you please share your dry beans to water ratio for this recipe. Thank you!!
I’m a little late to the game. Just made this for the first time. Everyone really enjoyed it. Definitely making it onto the regular rotation. Going to see if I can figure out how to do this with dried black beans. Its a shame to use so many cans when I have pounds of beans at home. Thanks for the inspiration and the recipe!