Vegetarian Black Bean Soup

This Vegetarian Black Bean Soup is loaded with fresh, vibrant flavors, and lots of tasty veggies. It's both hearty and light and makes a delicious meal all year 'round.

Soup in the summer seems weird, I know. But then again, I've eaten soup for breakfast when I lived in Taiwan, and I will have ice cream in the dead of winter just because I love it. There really are no rules to what you can eat when. Like with most things in life, if you simply follow your intuition, it's unlikely to lead you wrong.

There are theories that eating things that make you sweat will cool you down. I'm not sure if I buy it, but if something is delicious, I'm willing to give it a try. And black beans have a Southwest or Cuban vibe, and in my mind, it's always summer there. So black bean soup in July suddenly seems to make perfect sense. Does it even need to make sense, though? Probably not. If it sounds good, eat it.

What makes this Vegetarian Black Bean Soup so awesome?

This particular soup has loads of veg including tomatoes, corn, bell pepper, and jalapenos. I also love to top it with some sour cream and cheese. If you want to make it vegan, you can leave those out or swap them for plant-based options. A sprinkling of fresh chopped cilantro brings a vibrant, bright flavor to this savoury situation. And with the black beans, this soup really feels like a meal. Serve it with a crunchy green salad in the summer or some spicy cornbread in the winter.

There's also some Southwest spices going on in this soup, so you can pump up the volume on the spiciness level or keep it mild depending on your taste. I find if you're serving this to guests, it's best to keep the base soup mild and let those who like it hot add a dash of hot sauce to spice things up. And if you don't absolutely need it to be vegetarian, you could make this with chicken stock for more body.

Magical Properties of Black Beans

Beans in general have been associated with magic for centuries. Bean divination is a well-known practice, and of course, we've all heard folktales of magic beans doing all sorts of cool stuff. The color can add it's own layer of metaphysical energy. Black is often associated with death and the afterlife, making black beans a good offering for the deceased.

Black is also good for banishing, and beans are often used in banishing spells, so take advantage of color magic to heighten the potency of your spell. Fill a bag or other small container with black beans and shake them to repel negative energy. (Source: The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells by Judika Illes)

For more on the magical properties of the ingredients in this recipe, check the Kitchen Magick page.

Ingredients

Here's everything you'll need to make this recipe. All the details are in the recipe card below.

• Olive oil - or your preferred cooking oil
• Onion - yellow or red, whatever you like
• Bell pepper - we like red, but use your favorite color
• Jalapenos - I added 3 because we like spice, but use your own judgment
• Salt & pepper
• Garlic - chopped or paste
• Spices - you're gonna need paprika (preferably smoked) cumin, and chili powder
• Black beans - from two cans
• Vegetable stock - or chicken stock if you don't care if it's vegetarian
• Corn - frozen, canned, or fresh cut from the cob
• Tomatoes - diced from a can is fine
• Toppings - sour cream, cheddar cheese, cilantro, all optional

Tips for making Vegetarian Black Bean Soup

This is soup, not space ships, so you can be pretty free wheeling here. We're basically just chucking stuff in a pot and heating it up. You'll want to cook your onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno with some olive oil first to soften them up. Then add in the garlic and the spices, and let that cook until fragrant. Then everything else goes in the pot, and it just all hangs out, simmering together until it's good and hot.

The key here is to taste and adjust as you go. You're free to add more salt, more spice, or whatever feels good to you. Want a slightly thicker soup? Just crank the heat up and let some of the liquid evaporate as it boils. This soup is also great leftover. Serve it nice and hot with all your favorite toppings.

No matter what time of year it is, this Vegetarian Black Bean Soup is gonna be awesome. I hope you check it out. If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a rating and a comment below so I know how it went.

Looking for more awesome soup recipes? Try this Vegan Sweet Corn & Roasted Bell Pepper Soup or some indulgent Cheesy Potato Soup.

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Recipe slightly adapted from Seriously Delish by Jessica Merchant.

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