i’ve been in a soup kick lately… and the main reasons as to why are as follow:

cold weather, easy prep, i have a crock pot, nutritious, and did i mention the weather?!?

yeah, the latter one doesn’t apply to you floridians or southern californians, or wherever you are and it’s warm… you lucky, you. haha. but seriously, i think i want to move to hawaii and never move back to the main land. ha! we’ll see.

if you follow me on instagram you’ve probably seen my pictures of this amazing black bean soup! and if you read this blog, you probably saw the green lentil soup recipe here. and the reason why i mention the green lentil soup is because i used the same technique for the black bean soup.

this soup is pretty easy to make and not to mention that it’s the soup that keeps on giving. you’ll have tons of leftovers and you can even strain the beans and use them in other dishes or salads.

below i show how to make the soup and what it looks like when it’s ready to eat :)

enjoy!

start off by rinsing the beans thoroughly.

add beans to crock pot followed by water.

celery, carrots, onions, garlic, red bell pepper {not shown} and spices are next.

paprika!

chili powder.

the star of this soup – cumin.

i used coarse peppercorns. you can use regular pepper or fresh ground.

mix well and then add parsley, so it doesn’t tangle in your spoon.

once it’s done cooking, take out all veggies and puree in a food processor.

that’s my husband helping out ;)

scoop one cup of the black beans and puree with veggies in the food processor.

and add 1/4 cup of liquid from the crock pot.

add mixture back to crock pot and stir well.

sprinkle some cheese, tortilla chips and sour cream or greek yogurt. i added a dollop of this dip i made here.

best black bean soup ever

1 lb bag dry black beans {i use la preferida}
1 carrot, cut in big chunks
1 stack celery, cut in chunks
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/4 large white onion, cut in big chunks
1/4 red bell pepper, cut in big chunks
3 sprigs parsley, whole
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
6 cups of hot water
shredded cheese {mozzarella, cheddar or monterey jack works}
chopped parsley for garnish

serves 8 people

directions:

turn crock pot to high setting and let it preheat.

rinse black beans thoroughly and add to crock pot along with 6 cups of water. add carrot, celery, garlic, onion and red bell pepper. stir well.

add paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, chili powder, sea salt and black pepper. stir again until combined.

add parsley last so it doesn’t tangle when you stir all ingredients.

cook over high setting for four hours or for 6 1/2 on slow. once it’s done cooking, turn crock pot off.

take out all vegetables and put in a food processor or blender. scoop out 1 cup of black beans {including liquid} and add to food processor. scoop out 1/4 cup of liquid only and add to food processor also. blend until creamy.

add veggie/black beans mixture back to the crock pot and mix well.

serve hot with shredded cheese and tortilla chips on top. you can also add chopped cilantro or parsley, and cubed avocados!

**note: you can make this soup in an oven proof pot. cook for 3 hours or until beans are soft at 350f.**