CrockPot Black Bean Soup Recipe


Day 42.

mmmm. soup.

I'm becoming a bit concerned that if I'm not careful this is going to be the year that I use my crockpot everyday and gain thirty pounds.

So, this past week, I had this yummy black bean soup for lunch every day.

It was filling, full of fiber and veggies and allowed me to save my allotted calories for dinner, dessert and margaritas.


The Ingredients:



  • 3 cans of black beans
  • 1 can of Itallian stewed tomatoes
  • 2 cups of broth (vegetable or chicken)
  • 2 T taco sauce (great use for those taco bell packets!)
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped vegetables


The Directions:

--chop up vegetables with a food processor or blender. I used my vitamix, because I love it. Deeply.

I had leftover roasted vegetables, and decided to use those. If I hadn't, I would have used frozen corn, peas, some carrots and some celery---anything I already had in the fridge and freezer. dump pulverized vegetables into stoneware insert.

--empty all cans into the crockpot insert. do not rinse the beans or drain the tomatoes.

--add broth and taco sauce.

--mix with spoon.

--cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 5-6. Soups taste better the longer you cook it.

Before serving, use an immersion blender to soupify the beans and tomatoes.

Serve with some shredded parmesan cheese and a dollop of sour cream.


The Verdict:

I loved this and ate it daily for lunch for 6 days.

I did find it to be a bit salty, however. Adam thought it was fine.

Next time I might look for low sodium beans and tomatoes. One kid ate her serving and asked for seconds before being distracted by something noisy on the television.

The other kid fell to the ground and said she would never eat anything that looked like dirt. She did end up eating enough to satisfy me, but it took a lot of cajoling. I need to find a way to make a pink soup.



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Posted by: Stephanie O'Dea | A Year of Slow Cooking at February 11, 2008

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What they say about this article

  1. I LOVE black beans. I dream about black beans. I am so excited to have another recipe for black beans! My family hates them unfortunately, but I will just make this and eat it all week like you did. Thanks!

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  2. oh I am SO making this. I *love* black beans. LOVE them. love the idea of a low cal. healthy lunch, saving some calories for supper ;-)

    By the way, if you ever do make a pink soup, you let me know!!! I'm thinking that woud be an instant hit at our house ;-)

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  3. Sounds good-btw, i made your oatmeal yesterday-yum! thanks!

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  4. Love it! And thanks for the good wishes/birthday wishes. I sure am enjoying your site!

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  5. Love black bean soup and this recipe sounds super easy!! I'll definitely be trying it :-)

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  6. Pink soup???

    Have you ever had beet borscht served with sour cream? That's as pink as you can get. :)

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  7. BTW -- this blog rocks!!

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  8. I just started reading your site. Do you ever make anything with dried beans? This black bean soup would be a perfect candidate I think.

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  9. Thank you, amanda!

    creole, the only dried beans I've ever used were black eyed peas.

    I'm planning on making something again---I just am not sure what. It's tempting to buy the canned ones because they are so inexpensive and are ready-to-go. But I have a whole year to fill, so I'm sure I'll get to something soon. ;-)

    xoxo
    steph

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  10. deb, lol on dreaming about black beans! are they dancing? singing?

    maria, I will most certainly post a pink soup if I ever make one.

    kelly, I'm so glad the oatmeal worked out! I think I'm going to do it again tomorrow.

    ginger, happy birthday all over again!

    CS, it *was* easy, and the flavors tasted even better the next day. and cheap, too. ;-)

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  11. The thing I love most about your recipes is that I usually have everything on hand to make them (which is very unusual). My husband and I love balck beans so I will definitely be making this!!!

    Oh, and I tried making pink soup, "princess soup" and the kids said it looked like puke. I tried a green "Shrek" soup and they laughed and talked about it a LOT but never touched it. So far only chicken noodle soup can make everyone happy.

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  12. ice cream, that's why I get turned off of recipes too. I don't mind getting a special thing here or there (especially to make a dessert) but I'd rather throw dinner together with what we buy normally at the grocery store.

    shrek soup! what a good mom you are. ;-)
    xox
    steph

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  13. I can't wait to make this one!!

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  14. Anonymous2/11/2008

    Love your blog, in fact I have to come by everyday just to see what's cookin'. I make lots of dried beans in my crockpot and they are way, way cheaper than the canned ones and have no added sodium! Bonus! Just buy a bag of beans, sort out any gross ones or dirt clods, then rinse well and put in your crockpot. Cover with water, put the lid on and let them sit overnight. The next morning, pour off the soaking water, cover with new water and cook on low all day. Now you have great cooked beans with no sodium. I freeze them in 2-cup portions and use in place of canned beans in recipes.

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  15. okay, neelhome. I think you sold me. So 2-cup portions is the same as a can? I could go check, I suppose. I'm going to do this. The kids adore munching on black beans, garbanzo and kidney beans. I always rinse the goo off, but I like the idea of knowing exactly what is in there.

    I also like the idea of freezing smaller servings for them to eat as a snack.

    mom? are you reading this? I might need to borrow your garage freezer...

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  16. Oh yummy! I am so making this for Saturday. I love to have soup out all day Sat and not have to think about lunch or dinner!

    Thanks for stopping by! Love your honesty with your experiments!

    Enjoy!

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  17. Okay...this may be a totally dumb question, but what is the "stoneware insert"? LOL!! I want to make this for my vegan friends. It sounds so very yummers!

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  18. hi wendy!

    not a dumb question! It's the part of the crockpot that the food goes into. If you have a really old crockpot there are no removable parts (other than the lid), but the new ones have a heavy removable corningware-type pot that is dishwasher and oven safe.

    xox
    steph

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  19. I made this last night for my vegan friends!! It was the BEST thing that I have EVER made for them:) Usually I stick to spaghetti! LOL! We all loved it and ate WAY too much. I did double the recipe since I am doing weight watchers. I plan on freezing it into 1 cup servings for lunches. Thanks so much for a yummy recipe.

    Oh, and I did get everything low sodium and it was perfectly salty.

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  20. I'm so happy that it worked out for you and your friends!
    yay!
    thank you for reporting back!
    xo
    steph

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  21. I made this for dinner tonight and my kids LOVED it! I used steamed yellow squash (mmm... squash) for the vegetables, added some sauteed onion and garlic, and served with croutons and monterey jack cheese. It made enough for dinner for two nights, and was SO GOOD! I give it two thumbs up! Plus, since I pureed it, the child that refuses to eat tomatoes and the child who refuses to eat onions never even saw the offending foods. Maybe I'll tell them... tomorrow.

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  22. Anonymous10/10/2008

    This is amazing! I used fresh black beans, hot sauce instead of taco sauce, cheddar cheese instead of parmesan, and beef brith instead of chicken. I substituted some items so that I could use what I had on hand, and this is the best soup I've had in a long time!!

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  23. This soup is amazing! I used dried beans that I cooked in the crockpot, and it worked out very well. The only problem was that we didn't want to eat the leftovers, because then there wouldn't be any left! Thanks for all of the awesome recipes!

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  24. HA! You should read the book Pinkalicious. For your "I won't eat dirt" child. Thanks for the recipe.

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  25. I was just introduced to your blog and am so excited about it! I just got my first CrockPot for Christmas and CANNOT wait to make this black bean soup in it...YUM!!!!

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  26. I just found your blog and I'm hooked. I'm gluten-free and vegetarian, but I love my crock pot. Now I know what to do with it! This morning my daughter (13) made the black bean soup all on her own, and she was so proud of it. It was wonderful and will now be on our permanent menu. Thanks for a great site. We're trying the Hot and Sour Tofu tomorrow!

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  27. This is very late for a comment, seeing as you wrote this blog over a year ago, but my friend amy makes 'pink soup'. so delicious. This recipe looks very crock-pottable, oui?

    Pink Soup

    1 large onion
    3-4 stalks of celery
    10 carrots (+/-)
    4-5 large beets
    ~2 T salt
    ~2 T cumin
    red pepper flakes, to taste
    up to 1/2 gallon carrot juice
    1.5 C heavy whipping cream
    canola oil
    Plain yogurt

    Directions:
    Cut up the onion, celery, and two or three of the carrots, and fry in canola oil until onions are translucent. Add the spices. peel the beets and cut into squares. cut up the remaining carrots. Add both to the onions in the pot. Pour the carrot juice to cover the veggies and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to simmer for a while, at least 30 mins. Puree the soup. when you're ready to serve, add heavy whipping cream, and heat up. serve with a dollop of yoghurt. I think it would be good with a sprig of mint.

    Serves 8.

    enjoy

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  28. I just tried this last night (I know I've been introduced sooo late to this website). IT ROCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even my husband had 3 bowls and he's a SUPER light eater. It was so easy - I left it in the crockpot all day while I was at work. It was wonderful - THANKS!!!!!!

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  29. Anonymous2/10/2010

    Love your blog. I have been here
    about ten times. Let's see, the lentil stew, cranberry roast were hits. As for pink soup - try for a beet soup recipe- earthy and sweet - swirl in sour cream and voila - pink soup. Unless of course the kids are grossed out by beets (as is commonly the case). My kids (4 boys) will eat almost anything.

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  30. mmm...sounds heavenly! Can't wai to try it!

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  31. At the last minute I decided to make this today - I picked up some green peppers and cilantro at the store before I started. I used green pepper, celery, onion, along with some leftover scallions and fresh jalapeno peppers I had. I didn't have taco sauce, so used a can of diced tomatoes, then added garlic and cumin. Midway through the cooking I added some chopped Canadian bacon, then some chopped parsley and cilantro an hour before serving. The soup was simply scrumptious. I can't wait to try leftovers tomorrow.
    Thanks again!
    -sue

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  32. Anonymous8/29/2010

    I made this tonight and it was amazing! I didn't puree it, but left the veggies chopped and the beans whole...I used up some summer squash and red peppers from my garden and my husband (who is extremely picky about soups) had seconds! Thank you!!!!!!

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  33. Yum! I made this tonight and it was de-lish!

    I used a pound of dry black beans, soaked overnight, with 2 cups of pork broth I had in the freezer. I felt like it needed a little more moisture than that, so for anyone going the dry bean route -- I'd go with more like 3 cups of broth.

    I also didn't puree it because (gasp!) I don't have an immersion blender. I'll have to add that to my wish list.

    Delicious. Thanks for the recipe!

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  34. This was soooooooooooo good - so much better than the canned soup I bought!

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  35. medlii2/20/2011

    I just started making the black bean soup this afternoon, so I will see how it turns out. As for the pink soup, I pulverized some "light red kidney beans" as part of my veggie additives and they came out sort of pinkish since the skin was red and the insides were white. So a spin on this might be to remake kidney bean soup that would turn out red to pink... Good luck!

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  36. just found your blog through googling crockpot black bean soup.
    this is so great and helpful!
    i'll be back.
    i am gonna try this soup tomorrow.
    and i am gonna link to your blog, on mine.
    thanks!

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  37. Allison2/27/2011

    I made this soup on Friday for me and my hubby...we both LOVED it! I pureed all the ingredients before I put it in the pot because I don't have an immersion blender...it might have turned out a tad bit chunkier (like, tiny chunks) bit it was still relatively smooth! I am definitely going to make this again...but maybe add more tomatoes and a tad bit more of the taco sauce for a little more kick! Thank you so much, I LOVE your blog....after having a baby, the CrockPot is my best friend!

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  38. I am making this for the fourth time (in about 2 months) tonight. It's my GO-TO recipe for the crock pot, when I need something quick and easy that we can just come home to. It's perfect. If anyone has make it with fresh beans and with canned beans - do you notice enough of a difference in taste to make it worth your while to use fresh beans?

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  39. Made this soup yesterday while Typhoon Nesat was raging outside ... luckily we never lost power! Just wanted to let you know my 7 year old and 1 year old loved it! My 4 year old said it looked like chocolate but certainly didn't taste like it :) I'm still working on his taste buds! Thanks for your fabulously easy crock pot recipes!!!!!

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  40. Anonymous10/13/2011

    So, I know this is a super old post and I'm kind of late to the party here, but I had to comment. I made this today before I left the house and was really skeptical. I figured the taste of the veggies would be glaringly obvious, even with all of the beans. I also was concerned about the lack of seasonings. Hoping for the best, I tossed it together and went about my day. I am one of those people who have super hard water, so I opted to add the canned beans instead of the dried. In the past I have had trouble with beans cooking even on the stove, so I didn't want to chance it. We just ate dinner, and WOW! This was awesome!! Even my veggie hating 3 year old and my 11 month old ate it up! Thank you so much for posting such an easy and healthy soup! Love this blog and am so glad to have found it!!

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  41. Ro-tel tomatoes work well and eliminates the need for salsa. Or I have substituted a fresh chunky salsa for 1 can of tomatoes.

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  42. Thank you for this awesome recipe! I've been wanting to make black bean soup for a while now and this one was so very simple to do since I don't have a stove. I substituted some clean eating taco seasoning for the taco sauce and used no salt added organic black beans and no salt added diced italian tomatoes since I couldn't find stewed ones with no salt added. The use of frozen vegetables is great too and since they keep for a while I can use the rest to make another batch soon. The next time I will probably add a bit of jalapeno for a kick, but this recipe is GREAT the way it is as well. Thanks again!

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  43. I have made this recipe twice. Although this last time I don't know what I did differently, I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the first time... I think it's because I made it the first time in the dead of winter and not the middle of June like yesterday!

    I shared my experience on my blog here:
    http://www.stayin-afloat.com/p/crock-pot-black-bean-soup.html

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