With the slightly chillier weather recently, I’m in constant soup mode. Even when I’m not eating soup, I’m eating smoothie bowls or creamy sauces, so basically soups. I could eat this black bean soup all day, especially with extra avocado crema. If you’re looking for other vegan soup ideas you can check out my Roasted Fall Vegetables soup and my Vegan Chunky Celery soup, which are both equally as delicious as this.
Ingredients (makes 2 servings):
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
1 medium carrot, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 3/4 cup (1 15 oz can drained and rinsed) black beans
1 15 oz. can tri-colored beans, drained and rinsed*(see notes)
2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
juice from 1/2 lime
1/4 cup cashew cream
1/4 cup diced tomatoes
few pinches chopped cilantro
avocado crema
For Cashew Cream *(see notes):
1/2 cup softened cashews
1/4 cup water
salt to taste
For Avocado Crema:
1 avocado (about 1/2 cup)
few pinches chopped cilantro
juice of other 1/2 lime
other 1/4 cup cashew cream
salt
How-to:
- Soak 1/2 cup cashews in warm water and chop veggies as needed. Heat olive oil over med heat in a large sauce pan or pot.
- Sauté onion and carrot with a pinch of salt until soft, about 8 minutes. Add in the minced garlic, oregano, cumin, cayenne pepper, more salt and pepper for about a minute, until fragrant.
- Add black beans, 1/2 can of tri-colored beans, 1.5 cups vegetable broth, and a few pinches of cilantro to the pan, scraping the bottom to bring up any flavoring and to keep from burning. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer for 15-30 minutes (at about 15 minutes everything will be fully cooked, but the longer you simmer it the stronger the flavor will become).
- Remove soup from stove and add to blender. Puree, add in remaining vegetable broth if needed for texture, and add back to pot over low heat to reheat.
- For the cashew cream: blend ingredients after cashews have been soaking for at least 20 minutes. Reserve 1/4 cup for soup and 1/4 cup for crema. For avocado crema: blend all ingredients after preparing the cashew cream.
- Over low heat, stir in cashew cream, lime juice, remaining beans, 1/2 diced tomatoes, and mix soup until heated throughout. Taste soup and add more salt as needed.
- Top soup with avocado crema, diced tomatoes and a pinch of cilantro. Enjoy!
Notes:
- for the tri-colored beans, I found a can at Lucky’s Market, but as long as you can find a can that is a mix of black beans, pinto beans and kidney beans that will work! If you can’t find a can of tri-blend beans, use 2 cups black beans, 3/4 cup kidney beans and 3/4 cup pinto beans.
- the cashew cream makes about 1/2 cup all together. You only need 1/4 cup to mix into the soup, then reserve the other half to be used in the crema.
The Peaceful Plate 