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The 8-Minute Black Bean Soup

The most common complaint I hear about cooking from scratch is that it takes too much time. This is just nonsense, of course. If you really want to cook healthy, you can do it in less time than it takes to go through a drive through. So today, we’re giving the naysayers no excuse. This is a healthy and delicious dinner you can start from scratch at 5:30 and have it prepared, enjoyed, and cleaned up by 6:00 sharp. And for something so quick and easy, the flavors are actually quite well developed.

I say this soup only takes 8 minutes and I stand behind that – take out your phone and time yourself as you make this recipe from start to finish. If it’s not ready in 10 minutes (I get two minutes leeway if you’re slow at chopping), send me the picture on Instagram (@OneIngredientChef) or Twitter (@AndrewOlson) and yell at me.

Black Bean Soup

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

  • 2 15 oz cans of black beans
  • 1/4 cup vegetable broth (or water)
  • 1 large roma tomato
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 lime, juice
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 avocado (optional)

Black Bean Soup Square

Step One (2 min)

Drain both cans of black beans, but do not rinse. Using a fork, loosely mash 2/3 of the beans, reserving about 1/3 cup unmashed. Combine both the whole and mashed beans in a saucepan with 1/4 cup water or vegetable broth and a squeeze of lime juice. Begin warming over medium-high heat. Meanwhile…

Step Two (5 min)

Dice the roma tomato, mince a clove of garlic, slice the green onions, and chop the cilantro. Add all of this to the saucepan (reserving a few green onion slices for garnish). Then, add spices to taste – the combo of cumin, coriander, and cayenne is perfect. If the beans weren’t salted, add a little salt as well. Give the soup a taste and adjust any spices as needed. Let this simmer for a few minutes, allowing the flavors to meld together.

Step Three (1 min)

Pour the soup into serving bowls and top with avocado slices and the reserved green onions. You can serve with a side of avo toast to make everyone happier.

Variation

Before I modified this recipe into a soup, it was originally a bean dip that I created in a pinch… All I had was a can of beans and some spices, so I mashed the beans, added the spices, and ate with tortilla chips. That variation is just as delicious. To make a bean dip, prepare as instructed above, simply omit the vegetable broth to create a thicker consistency. Serve with chips or as a burrito filling.

Black Bean Soup

Black Bean Soup Half

29 Comments

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  1. Perfectly timed recipe! I’m working from home today and was just thinking I wanted some soup for lunch. I have nearly all of the ingredients, so I’m making this later. Yum!

  2. Urg. I get so frustrated with people who say eating at home takes too long! Great recipe that proves those folks wrong. =) My man loves black beans and I’m sure he’ll enjoy this.

  3. I had a long stressful day at work and was trying to figure out what to feed my family of six. Luckily, I came across this recipe. I tripled it and with this a green sald and some sliced mango had dinner on the table in no time. The bonus was when my picky 13 year old told me it was really good! Thanks so much for sharing such a great and easy recipe and saving my sanity tonight!

    • Hey Rikelle! I’m so glad your family liked this recipe! But most importantly, I wanted to say that I’m really proud of you for not doing with 90% of parents would do in that situation: go through the drive-thru at a fast food restaurant. Instead, your family got a perfectly balanced meal with tons of antioxidants, phytonutrients, fiber, and vitamins – and it didn’t take all night. That’s awesome.

  4. Did not have green onion or lime juice and it was still absolutely delicious and filling! Would definitely make again but suggest using the lime and green onion, as it would add even more delicious flavor! The avocado was a perfect garnish on top!!

    • Awesome! That’s great, Kay. Green onions do make everything better, but it sounds like it was just fine without! 🙂 Glad you liked it!

  5. I made this last night and it was SO incredibly delicious and SO easy! I wish I had of doubled it to have leftovers. It was also really cheap! (which is important to me as a recent graduate).

    Thank you for sharing this!

    • Yay! I’m so happy you liked it, Meggs. Too bad about not doubling it, but since it’s so quick to make, maybe you can just whip up another batch? 🙂

  6. Meggs, my daughter, passed this on to me. It’s 6:49 am and I am making this for my two boys, who are vegetarians, school lunch. I’ve been trying to shift Meggs over to becoming vegan like me. Thanks Andrew. Looks like your website just might do the trick!

    • Hi Dana, oh that’s so great! I’m thrilled to hear that my website has been helpful. I hope your boys love the soup today 😀

  7. Just made this, and it turned out great! Only problem was that once I finished photographing it, it was cold 😉 I added in some corn, and it added a little bit of sweet, very yum! Thanks for the great recipe!

  8. this was delicious. I added a good amount of dried chillies and it tastes rich, full of flavour and delicious. Not to mention that black beans are excellent for regulating blood sugar. I hope that still applies if you eat the entire batch in one day…

  9. i like this soup so much that i have been cooking a big batch of it a few times a month. always excited to find simple recipes that taste great and make me feel good!

    i am crazy inefficient at chopping vegetables, so i use a can of diced tomatoes and partially drain the liquid, omit the broth and salt, and add a dab of no-chicken bouillon instead. when i wanted to cook for a big group of friends, i multiplied this recipe and everyone liked it. 🙂

  10. I made this soup yesterday, ate it all. Had to make it again. It’s that good and easy which is BONUS! I also spooned some of it on my breakfast burrito as it had gotten a little thicker in consistency by the end of the day yesterday. I just added in an egg, sauteed mushrooms and scallions, some plain greek yogurt and salsa and it was a killer brekky. Thank You for sharing!

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