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Black Bean Soup

January 11, 2010 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom 20 Comments

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black bean soup

We had the pleasure of eating at Panera a few times in December and through the holidays with family and friends. I kept ordering their Black Bean Soup. Perhaps because it warmed my tummy. Perhaps because it went great with a salad.

But something was amiss. I loved the consistency, the warmth, but it lacked ZEST. I *big puffy heart* Panera.  I do.

But I prefer a little zest in my black bean soup!

Since we are in the middle of the #pantry challenge, I thought I’d use up some of my free cans of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies…to make a copycat version with a little more zip and zest…

Giving the soup just the kick I think it deserves!

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Black Bean Soup

Since we are in the middle of the #pantry challenge, I thought I'd use up some of my free cans of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies...to make a copycat version with a little more zip and zest...
Prep Time10 minutes minutes
Cook Time1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
Servings - 4 servings

Ingredients 

  • 2 cups dried black beans soaked
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
  • 10 oz. can diced tomatoes and green chilies undrained
  • 2 Tbsp cornstarch
  • dinner rolls side dish
  • frozen veggies side dish

Instructions

  • Soak black beans overnight in a bowl full of water. If you forget to soak, as I often do, then add the beans to boiling water, remove from heat and let soak for 2 hours. Once soaked, drain and rinse. More on cooking dried beans here.
  • Add the soaked and rinsed beans to large saucepan and cover with 2 inches of water. Add the chopped onion, crushed garlic, cumin, lemon juice, and salt in with the beans.
  • Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook for about an hour.
  • After an hour, add the homemade chicken stock and the undrained can of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies. Let the soup simmer for another 30 minutes, or until the beans have softened.
  • Then add the cornstarch. Sift and whisk at the same time to keep from getting clumpy in the soup!
  • Warm the dinner rolls and veggies, as directed.
  • Serve Black Bean Soup with rolls and veggies

 

 

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Filed Under: Beans Recipes, Budget Friendly Recipes, Side Dish Recipes, Soup Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tagged With: peas

Comments

  1. The Happy Housewife says

    January 11, 2010 at 6:28 pm

    I guess we both had beans on the brain! I love that beans are so healthy and so cheap, when people tell me you can’t eat healthy for less, I always ask them if they like beans! I am always amazed at how far they stretch and how little they cost. So filling too!
    Toni

    Reply
    • Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom says

      January 11, 2010 at 8:12 pm

      @The Happy Housewife,

      Right on girl!

      Reply
  2. Nicole says

    January 11, 2010 at 6:40 pm

    Yummy that sounds sooo good thanks for sharing!!

    Reply
  3. The American Homemaker says

    January 11, 2010 at 9:40 pm

    I did beans today too LOL

    Reply
  4. angie says

    January 11, 2010 at 10:03 pm

    black beans was something I thought I would never eat then I tried them in a recipe and thought wow not half bad

    Reply
  5. Liz@HoosierHomemade says

    January 11, 2010 at 11:05 pm

    Yum! I love Panera too! I usually get the Broccoli Cheddar Soup there.
    Thanks for hosting!
    ~Liz

    Reply
  6. Amy's Stocking Stuffers says

    January 12, 2010 at 12:12 am

    I eat the black bean soup at Panera’s all the time too. What I love is that their U Pick 2 can be really healthy and low-cal/low-fat. I get the black bean soup, the classic cafe salad, and either the whole grain baguette or an apple, depending on my mood. I’m doing Weight Watchers and this meal is VERY good for the plan!

    Reply
  7. Alta says

    January 12, 2010 at 8:42 am

    I am always in love with black bean soup. Love that you added Rotel! Yum! And by the way, I saw your book on the shelf at Albertson’s yesterday! Way to go!

    Reply
  8. Queen of the House says

    January 12, 2010 at 8:55 am

    Oops! My first post had the wrong title….now I left 2 of the same recipe, when I tried to fix it. Sorry about that! Anyway, I love your idea of how to add corn starch to a recipe….never thought of that, but wow, it makes sense! Thank you for all of your great ideas! 🙂

    Reply
  9. lynn says

    January 12, 2010 at 12:34 pm

    I cannot wait to try this – I LOVE black bean soup, but have never tried to make it!! THANKS!

    Reply
  10. Heather says

    January 12, 2010 at 2:09 pm

    First time posting to your $5 Challenge, love this idea! We have started a $10 or less challenge this year, so I loved finding your blog. I forgot to put in the name of the recipe: Deluxe Turkey Burgers and Baked Carrot Fries, next to my name, sorry! This is an extra special blog entry because my guest blogger was my daughter. Nothing better than cooking in the kitchen with your kids. Look forward to reading back through all of your great recipe ideas.

    Reply
    • Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom says

      January 12, 2010 at 3:48 pm

      @Heather,

      Loving the baked carrot fries concept! Off to read more 🙂

      And welcome!

      Reply
  11. Faith says

    January 16, 2010 at 11:11 pm

    I made this soup using dry black beans, more garlic, diced (canned) tomatoes and beef buillion & water (didn’t have ANY stock) and leftover Thanksgiving ham (chopped) from the freezer. Tt was DELICIOUS. EXCELLENT. FANTASTIC! Even hubby raved – best black bean soup he’s had in a longgggggg time if not ever! (We don’t have Panera around here!) I’ve been wanting to make homemade black bean soup for a while now but didn’t have a good recipe to try – until I saw it on your blog this week. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! (And hubby thanks you too!) It was quick, easy, healthy and filling – and cheap! I felt like a good wife & mommy that day! 🙂 Thanks again!! Love your blog!

    Reply
    • Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom says

      January 17, 2010 at 1:33 pm

      @Faith,

      Yeah! So glad you enjoyed it…and great idea to use up some ham from the freezer!

      Erin

      Reply
  12. Tatiana says

    January 18, 2010 at 7:05 pm

    Just made this soup and it was awesome! I love the spicy kick at the end when you take a bite! We had whole wheat tortilla cheese crisps with it!
    So good, thank you!!

    Reply
  13. Liz says

    July 10, 2011 at 4:06 pm

    I make black bean soup all the time! I’m lazy and like to use very few ingredients!
    I use:
    1 can salsa from the dollar store
    2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed (from the dollar store-65 cents each).
    2 cups chicken broth

    Heat the salsa for 5 minutes in a sauce pan the add the other ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes.
    You can put a spoon of sour cream and salsa on top if you like.

    Reply
  14. Sarah says

    May 13, 2012 at 3:17 pm

    You’re 100% right; it DOES lack zest. I work there, and I wish we offered it with a salsa/sour cream. We do have a black bean salsa blend for our BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad, and I’m now considering mixing them together…

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Week of 8/7 Meal Planning | Thankfully Thrifty says:
    August 8, 2011 at 6:42 pm

    […] Black bean soup. (I’m hoping my hubby will want to take this for lunch as […]

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  2. Week of 8/21 Menu Planning | Thankfully Thrifty says:
    August 21, 2011 at 6:00 pm

    […] Leftover black bean soup and sweet potato fries (baked, not […]

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  3. Q&A Grocery Spending | Thankfully Thrifty says:
    September 14, 2011 at 5:46 pm

    […] these vegetarian meals that you can rotate through. Some of my favorites include tomato basil soup, black bean soup, and a meatless breakfast dinner. There are some really very tasty meals that you can enjoy without […]

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