Let me start by saying that I don’t like black bean soup. In fact, until last year, I couldn’t even eat black beans themselves. Over the past year, I’ve gotten better at adding them to things and I even kinda like them in my salsa.
Let me also say that the hubby loves black bean soup. Especially from Panera. So when some family friends put in a request for “healthy black bean soup”, I decided I would give it a try.
I started by scouring the internet for recipes. And let me tell you, there are a lot out there. Just for kicks, I looked up the nutrition facts for Panera’s black bean soup. 1,590 mg of sodium per serving. That was all the motivation I needed.
Being that I’m unfamiliar with black bean soup, let me tell you what I do know about it:
-the broth is black
-there doesn’t appear to be anything in it but black beans
However, all of the recipes I looked at involved onions, celery and red pepper. So I started with that. Except I left out the celery, for the sake of the hubby. Me being the genius that I am, I didn’t exactly read through the directions of all the recipes I was looking at. I was more focused on the ingredients. So I decided since I didn’t recall seeing any of these ingredients in black bean soup before, it must mean they were chopped up very small.
SO, I spent an inordinate amount of time chopping up my onion, red pepper and garlic into veeeeeery time pieces.
After sauteing them for a while, I added the chicken broth, some cumin and some cayenne pepper and half a can of black beans:
It was about this time that I realized why I’d never seen anything besides black beans in black bean soup. BECAUSE YOU PUREE IT! DUH. Had I read the directions a bit earlier, I might have caught onto this fact. But not to worry- I stayed cool as a cucumber, grabbed my immersion blender and proceeded. Messily, I might add. There wasn’t a lot of stuff in the pot at this point and it was very splatter-y…but I managed.
Finally, I added the rest of the black beans. To cut back on the sodium, I choose low-sodium black beans. I opted to drain and rinse one can, and use the liquid in the second. You could use the liquid from both, or do what I did, or you could use one can with liquid and another cans worth of beans from your freezer. DECISIONS, DECISIONS, my friends.
To thicken the soup even more, I mixed some cornstarch and water, poured it in and let it simmer. I also added some lemon juice.
The result? Not bad, but per the hubby…it needs a little work.
To kick it up a notch, here are some suggestions:
-double the amount of cumin and cayenne pepper.
-add some sweet potatoes at the very beginning and puree them up with the first ingredients
Bottom line: If you’re used to Panera’s black bean soup, your system might be in for a little shock with this low-sodium version. But with a little doctoring and a extra spices, this version can taste just as good 🙂 And you’ll be better for it!
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Black Bean Soup
Ingredients:
olive oil
½ a medium onion, diced
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cup low sodium broth
2 cans low-sodium black beans
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 ½ Tbsp cornstarch
1 ½ Tbsp water
juice of ½ a lemon
Directions:
-Heat olive oil in a pan. Add onions, garlic and red peppers and sauté until soft.
-Add broth and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
-Add half a can of beans (drained and rinsed) and spices. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
-Using an immersion blender (or a regular blender), puree until well blended.
-Add the rest of the beans, including the liquid from the second can.
-Mix the cornstarch and water together and add to the soup, along with the lemon juice.
-Simmer until thickened, 5-10 minutes longer.
-Garnish with non-fat Greek yogurt and cilantro if desired.
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So tell me, what’s your favorite way to make black bean soup healthy?
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
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sarah (sarah learns) says
i’ve never made black bean soup, but when i cook with canned beans i ALWAYS rinse them first. even if i want to add in salt later, at least i know how much i’m putting in! i can’t believe how much sodium is in panera’s version. that’s more than the new dietary guidelines say we should get in a day!
Lindsay says
exactly!! i hardly ever use cans. I buy a big bag of dried beans and cook them myself. then I freeze them and take them out whenever i need them 🙂
Kate Kutny says
Wish you’d done this last week because I “winged” a Black Bean Soup that was awesome . Froze some but the ingredients are forgotten now except for onions, garlic, tomatoes, jalapenos, black beans, cumin and corn and not blenderized. Served with corn bread. Used V8 for liquid. Topped with scallions, and low-fat sour cream.
Lindsay says
ooohh good one with the jalapenos and the corn!
locoyokel says
The key to good black bean soup is to saute the vegetables in the (brace yourself) grease of some kind of salt pork – bacon, ham hocks etc. No, it’s not cardiovascular-friendly in whopping servings, but it tastes terrific. If you can control portion size, I believe there is plenty of room in one’s diet for the real McCoy versions of black bean soup and other decadent dishes.