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This Easy Vegan Black Bean Soup is one of those meals you’ll want to make again and again. It’s cozy, flavorful, and made with simple ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. With bold spices and a hint of lime, this healthy vegan black bean soup is hearty enough for dinner yet light enough for lunch, and it comes together in about 30 minutes in one pot.
Why You’ll Love This Black Bean Soup
What makes this soup really special is how flexible it is. You can leave it chunky and rustic, lightly blend it for creaminess, or go all-in with a smooth, velvety texture. It’s naturally vegan, gluten-free, and packed with fiber and plant-based protein, making it perfect for weeknight meals, meal prep, or a comforting lunch. Bonus, you can serve it cold as a delicious black bean dip too!
As soon as the cooler weather starts rolling in, I am all about cozy soups. I love this chicken soup, or really any of these other ones, but every once in a while, I’m craving something hearty, yet healthy, and this black bean soup definitely does the trick!Â
- One-pot comfort — easy prep and minimal cleanup.
- Healthy & satisfying — rich in fiber and plant-based protein.
- Flavor you can customize — mild to spicy based on your taste.
- Meal-prep friendly — keeps well in the fridge or freezer.
This soup starts with a classic veggie base of sautéed onions, carrots, and celery, adding rich flavor without heavy ingredients. Layered with garlic and warming spices like cumin and smoked paprika, it tastes like it simmered all day, even though it’s ready in just 30 minutes.
Ingredients You’ll Need
*Scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe and ingredient list!
- Oil: I use avocado oil to sauté the veggies and seasonings, but any oil will work.
- Yellow Onion, Carrot, and Celery: Creates a flavor base for the soup and adds a boost of nutrition.
- Jalapeño: I leave the seeds in the jalapeño for more heat, but if you have a lower spice tolerance, remove them.
- Garlic: Use freshly minced garlic for the best flavor.
- Seasonings: A simple blend of salt, chipotle powder, cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, coriander, and ground black pepper adds so much earthy, spicy flavor.
- Lime Juice: Adds a fresh tanginess that cuts through the flavor of the black beans.
- Vegetable Stock: You can use store-bought veggie stock or make it homemade!
- Black Beans: I used canned, drained, and rinsed black beans to keep it simple, but feel free to soak and cook your own black beans if preferred.
- Garnishes: Cilantro sprigs, cotija cheese (omit if vegan), and avocado slices.
How to Make Black Bean Soup
- Sauté the veggies: Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery, and cook until softened. Stir in jalapeño (if using), garlic, and all spices — cook for about 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the beans and broth: Pour in the vegetable stock, black beans (rinsed), and lime juice. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10–15 minutes so the flavors meld.
- Blend (optional): For a creamier texture, blend part of the soup with an immersion blender, or transfer a few cups to a blender and purée before returning it to the pot.
- Serve: Taste and adjust seasonings, then ladle into bowls and top with your favorites — fresh cilantro, creamy avocado, or a sprinkle of cheese.
Tips for Success
No immersion blender?
Use a standard blender in batches to achieve a creamy texture.
Adjust the heat:
Skip the jalapeño or chipotle powder for a mild soup, or add adobo sauce or hot sauce for more heat.
Texture tricks:
Blend more for smoothness, or less for a chunkier, rustic feel.
Boost nutrition:
Stir in greens like spinach or kale at the very end.
In a rush?
Use canned beans. Using canned beans in this soup keeps the prep time super low! Convenience is key!
This soup is forgiving, flavorful, and easy to make your own — one of the reasons it’s such a kitchen staple!
How to Serve Black Bean Soup
This soup is delicious on its own, but it shines with sides like warm cornbread, tortilla chips, or crusty bread for dipping. For a heartier meal, serve it with a scoop of rice or a fresh salad. Wanting to bulk your meal up a bit? Serve this soup Mexican street corn salad, taco rice casserole, or chipotle mushroom tacos!
Leftovers thicken as they cool, which makes them perfect for lunches throughout the week or for reheating on chilly nights.
Black Bean Soup FAQs:
Yes! This recipe is naturally vegan and gluten-free — just skip cheese or use dairy-free toppings.
Absolutely — soak and cook them first, then add to the soup in place of canned. *See note in the recipe card.
Blend part of the soup to your desired texture — you control how smooth it becomes!
No, you don’t! If you have a lower spice tolerance, remove the seeds, as they make it spicier! Or, you can simply omit the jalapeños completely.
Oh yeah, it is! This black bean soup is vegan, packed with veggies, and high in fiber and protein from the black beans! There is literally no part of this soup that isn’t healthy.
How to Store Your Black Bean Soup
Leftover black bean soup will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Leftover soup can be served in a couple of different ways:
- As a soup. Warm the soup on the stove with a splash of veggie broth to thin it out.
- As a dip, omit the broth and warm the soup on the stove to thicken further. Serve the thickened soup as a black bean dip with tortilla chips!
Tools Used For This Recipe:
Looking for more soup recipes? Here are a few of my favorites:
Watch The Video:
Easy Black Bean Soup (VEGAN!)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 1 celery stalk diced
- 1 jalapeño fine dice with seeds (optional)
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 or 2 teaspoons chipotle powder choose your heat level, or omit. We use 2
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 quart 4 cups vegetable stock
- 3-14.5 ounce cans black beans drained and rinse
- for garnish: cilantro sprigs cotija cheese (optional: leave out for vegan) and avocado
Instructions
- Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot add oil, onion, carrots and celery and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add jalepeño (if adding), garlic and all seasoning and spices and cook for 1 minute to toast them (be careful not to breathe in any spicy steam).
- Add in lime juice, vegetable stock and black beans. Raise the heat to high to bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and continue to cook for 10-15 minutes, until the vegetable stock reduced and the soup has thickened slightly.
- If you want to puree the soup (we do), reserve 1-2 cups on the side. Using  an immersion blender, puree the soup. Stir in the reserved soup.
- Garnish with cilantro, avocado and cotija cheese, if using.
Notes
- When reheating leftovers, add a drop of broth to make it less thick.
- Want a black bean dip? Don’t add broth when reheating, and it will go from black bean soup to a nice, thick black bean dip.
- Using Dried Beans?
- First things first, you need to figure out how many dried beans you need! Generally, one 14.5-ounce can of beans contains 1.5 cups of cooked beans, and 1.5 cups of cooked beans can be made from about ¾ cup of dried beans. SO, for this recipe, you will need 2¼ cups of dried black beans to supplement the 3 cans called for!
- To cook dried beans, place the dried black beans into a bowl along with enough water to cover. Let them soak overnight. When you’re ready to cook, drain and rinse with fresh water, then measure out 4 cups of water for every 1 cup of beans. For this recipe, you will need 9 cups of water. Pour the water into a large stockpot and bring it to a boil. Add the beans, then lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 1.5-2 hours, or until tender.
I don’t typically eat spicy food so I only used 1/2 jalapeno without the seeds and it added the perfect amount of flavor to this great recipe. We loved this soup!
love this, I eat black beans almost every day as part of the legume component of my diet, but they’re pretty one-note flavorless, so I really appreciate a much better way to get my black beans, even if I don’t have it as often, the extra flavor helps
YES! So happy.
Super simple and delicious!! Will definitely become a soup staple in my house.
Excellent soup — didn’t have jalapenos at the store so used poblano’s; also didn’t have chipotle powder — but was still a very good soup! Will make again.
I didn’t think I liked black bean soup. But I had remembered this recipe and made it for my husband. I liked it too! I used the upper range of spices and we thought it was perfect.
This was great! I toned down the spices a bit and it was still very flavorful! I also added some sour cream. I would definitely make it again!!
Pretty dang delicious! Upped the carrots and celery and added goat cheese instead of cotija. Amazing!
YUM! Such a cozy and yummy recipe!
Love how quick and easy this is! 🙂