cooking thursday: recipe for spicy black bean soup

I don’t know about you, but I love soups any time of year. I started playing around with this recipe last summer and it has become one of my favorites! In my opinion, it’s almost (almost) as good as Panera’s vegetarian black bean soup — my all-time favorite! Although I have not tested this recipe in a slow-cooker, I’d bet that you could throw everything in and let it simmer away while you’re out.

Spicy Black Bean Soup

2 15-oz. cans of black beans
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 c. diced onion
1 fresh jalapeno, minced
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder

cilantro, lime wedges, extra chopped onions, and plain yogurt or sour cream

Pour the canned beans along with their liquid into a medium sauce pan. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Gently bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for one hour. Add more water or broth as necessary.

For a creamy soup, use an immersion blender or add soup, in batches, to a blender until it reaches your desired consistency.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro, onions, yogurt or sour cream, and lime wedge. The squeeze of lime adds a lot of flavor and freshness to the soup. It’s good without it, but it’s better with it 😉

Be sure to visit Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom to check out other delicious recipes!