Fat Free Vegan Black Bean Soup Recipe

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Have you ever tried something that was almost good and knew immediately that it could be great? I have…many times.

A few days back Hubby and I stopped by Whole Foods to grab a few things, and wandered into their soup-bar section.  Some of the smells coming from soups were amazing, while others not so much.  After checking out a few options I made my way to a pot of Adobo Black Bean Soup.  It smelt divine. I asked their friendly staff for a taste–it was good. I wanted some! However, I wanted better ingredients and an improvement on the taste of what I had.  I wanted to take what they had and make it better.

$4.00 later I was munching on a small cup of soup.  However, the more I had of it, the more I was turned off by its sweetness–a couple of culprits responsible for that were molasses and sugar=YUCK! Adding sugar to soups should be illegal.  (Not to mention that combining beans and sugar put me at a risk of experiencing a “gas attack”–when high fiber food, such as beans, is combined with simple sugars, such an outcome is unavoidable!).  The soup was also a bit too spicy for my taste.

As with anything else that is almost good I had to make this soup REALLY GOOD. I got home, pulled my ingredients together, brainstormed my cooking strategy and three hours later* a masterpiece was born! It is DELICIOUS! It is perfect without any sugary additives.  So, for your indulgence and mine, here is the…

*it does not take 3 hours to make the soup–the time was spent preparing everything, getting ingredients ready and taking care of life in between.

Fat Free Vegan Black Bean Soup Recipe

Makes about 4 quarts [16 cups] of soup

 

Fat Free Vegan Black Bean Soup Recipe
Author: 
Recipe type: Soup
Cuisine: Vegan
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 4 cups black beans
  • 12 cups water
  • 2 bay leaves*
  • 28 oz crushed tomatoes, jarred or canned
  • 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1.5-2 tbsp Himalayan sea salt (or to taste)
  • ½-1 tbsp chili powder (depending on how much heat you want)
  • ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 3 tbsp cumin powder
  • ¼ water to sauté vegetables
  • 2 carrots, finely chopped
  • 4 springs of green onions, including white parts, finely chopped
  • ½ large onion, finely chopped
  • 4-5 stalks of celery, finely chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
  • ½ cup finely chopped cilantro
Instructions
  1. Pre-soak beans overnight and rinse before cooking. If you don't have time to pre-soak them, it will increase cooking time, but make sure to wash them thoroughly before cooking anyway.
  2. Pour 10 cups of water into a large cooking pot, add beans, salt and bay leaves and bring to boil.
  3. Cook until beans are tender, almost falling apart (pre-soaked beans cooking time might be 60-90 mins, while unsoaked beans will take 2-2.5 hrs. to get there)
  4. Add tomatoes and remaining 2 cups of water.
  5. Add: soy sauce, salt, chili powder, cayenne pepper and cumin powder, and continue cooking.
  6. Meanwhile, preheat a skillet on medium heat, add remaining ingredients: onions, carrots, celery and bell pepper. When you hear them sizzle, use ¼ cup of water, splashing as needed, to sauté. Bring to medium-high heat, sauté, stirring, for 1-2 minutes, reduce heat to medium and sauté for another 5 minutes.
  7. Remove ingredients from the skillet and add to boiling soup.
  8. Bring everything to boil.
  9. Add cilantro.
  10. Cover cooking pot, reduce heat to low and continue cooking for another 20-30 minutes.
  11. Cover cooking pot, reduce heat to low and continue cooking for another 20-30 minutes.
Notes
*pre-soaking, boiling beans with bay leaves, and removing white foam off the top, while boiling occurs--all reduce the "gas" effect of beans.

Enjoy! Soup is at it’s best after sitting for a few hours or overnight, and when served with whole wheat homemade bread, and possibly a spoonful of vegan sour cream.  Mmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!  GOOD!

If you make the soup, let me know what you think.  Adjust ingredient quantities as needed.

Bone Appetite!

Cookware: I cook my meals in my favorite World’s Finest 7-ply cookware set. Compare it to compatible products sold at only private demos (I have been to those too!) that would cost you thousands of dollars more.  This is a winner!  I’ve had my set for over 9 years now and love it! 

Share!

Enjoy the recipe, and make sure to share it with other via social share buttons around this recipe.  Let’s make this world a healthier place one delicious spoonful of soup at a time.

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