Alright, friends. I know that it’s the second week of November, so I should be posting Thanksgiving recipes galore. But I’m not quite feeling the turkey and pumpkin pie cravings yet. So I decided to dedicate an entire week to another highly-requested topic on the blog:
5-ingredient soup recipes!!!
Ever since I posted my 5-Ingredient White Chicken Chili recipe, you all have (a) turned it into the highest-traffic recipe on the blog right now and (b) been emailing with requests for more recipes like it. So I decided to take the challenge and put on my “minimalist” ingredient hat and see if I could simplify five classic soups. It definitely took a bit of trial and error, but I’m happy to say that there are now five delicious 5-ingredient soups coming your way this week.
First up? 5-Ingredient Black Bean Soup.
I am a huge fan of black beans soups, as is clearly noted by the Spicy Black Bean Soup, Black Bean Chili with Chocolate & Coconut, and Smoky Black Bean Chili recipes already on the blog. Black bean soups are usually quick, healthy, and full of lots of spices and flavor — which I love!! But still, the idea of an even simpler 5-ingredient black bean soup sounded intriguing.
So I made it happen. And in 20 minutes, nonetheless. (Bonus!)
Can you guess the 5 ingredients?
I initially planned to make the soup using canned black beans (although you could substitute fresh if you plan ahead and soak them overnight), salsa, cumin, fresh cilantro and vegetable broth. But once I stirred in the first four ingredients and gave it a taste, I realized that the soup was actually nice and thick and well-seasoned even without the vegetable broth!
Granted, I used the entire cans of beans, including the liquid — which is simply water and salt and perfectly safe to eat (and a perfect thickener for soup!). But if you’re one of those folks who insists on draining your beans, hakuna matata. Just add in an extra cup of vegetable or chicken broth.
So since I still had an ingredient to spare, I added in a little bit of minced garlic, since I seem convinced (along with Monica on Friends) that everything tastes better with a little extra garlic. ;)
I will say, though, that the key ingredient to this soup is salsa that you really like. If you like spicy soup, add in some nice hot salsa. If you like milder, go mild. If you really like the tomatillo flavor, you can add in salsa verde.
In the name of a true 20-minute meal, I opted to use store-bought salsa. If anyone is looking for a recommendation, I love the national brand Herdez. Their “Caesera” salsa (available in mild, medium or hot) always work well in recipes, as well as my favorite of theirs — Chipotle. It’s probably the most widely-available brand that I like so far, and it’s also some of the most affordable.
All in all, this recipe turned out to be a delicious start to our 5 Ingredient Soup Week on the blog. Stay tuned for a new quick and easy recipe each day this week!
5-Ingredient Black Bean Soup
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: About 2-4 servings 1x
Description
This 5-Ingredient Black Bean Soup is full of great flavor, and ready to go in just 20 minutes!
Ingredients
- 3 (15 oz) cans black beans, with liquid
- 1 lb. (about 2.5 cups) good-quality salsa, homemade or store-bought (I love the brand Herdez)
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, loosely packed (plus extra for garnish)
- 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 clove garlic, minced
Instructions
- Stir all ingredients together in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until simmering. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for at least 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve soup warm topped with additional fresh cilantro as garnish.
I made this the other night. The family isn’t crazy about cilantro so I used parsley instead. Everyone loved it and requested I make it again only next time, could I double it so there was enough for seconds and thirds!!
Thanks for sharing Deb, we’re glad to hear it was a success! :D
I’m one of those people who finds that cilantro tastes like soap…any suggestions on what you could substitute?
Thanks!
No problem Kami, we hear you! :) If you like parsley, you could always use that (though some people who don’t like cilantro feel the same way about parsley – personally I’m one of those people)! We think you would be fine to just leave it out all together though. We hope you enjoy!
My favorite recipe site, by far. Can’t wait to try the black bean soup tonight!
That’s so sweet of you Michelle, we’re happy you’re a fan! We hope you enjoy the black bean soup too! :)
I make this soup all the time but I blend the ingredients together in a food processor because I HATE vegetable chunks and then top with a little cheddar cheese. It’s amazing!
Thanks for sharing Todd, we’re glad you like it! :)
I made this and it’s so good!! I made it and enjoyed it yesterday and saved the leftovers. I’ve had three bowls today…so. freaking. good. I used La Victoria’s medium salsa since my grocery store only carried the mild version of Herdez. I’m thinking about trying a corn salsa next time. Do you think cubed potatoes would be a good addition? I love potatoes in my minestrone, so I’m wondering if they would do well in this soup. I’m thinking I would cube them and boil them separately for a little while before throwing everything else in the pot.
Thanks Sierra, we’re so happy you enjoyed this! And we think corn salsa and cubed potatoes would be awesome in this, good thinking! :)
Ali, I made this tonight after a week of being under the weather. I think I’m cured! It was fantastic, my husband and daughter said, “this is a keeper!” Thanks so much for the five ingredient recipes, I’m a teacher and the time and energy saved is amazing, while still allowing me to provide a great meal for my family.
I’ll try to send the pic tonight : )
Thanks again!
Thanks Steph, we’re so happy you and your daughter enjoyed this, and that you’re feeling better! :)
So if I make this black bean soup in a crockpot low 8-10, high 4-6? Anyone? Thanks.
Sure, you could cook it on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 3-4. Enjoy!
I purchased a dutch oven today and was eager to the point. I made this soup, topped it with some cheese and cilantro, dipped my black bean quinoa chips into it, and it was DELICIOUS. I will definitely be making this again in the future. Pin and saved; thanks for sharing :)
Taylor, Dutch ovens are the BEST, so that’s a purchase well-made! And we’re so happy you liked this soup – those quinoa chips sound yummy – Trader Joe’s? :)
I am making the black bean soup right now, planning on portioning it out for a healthy lunch all week. Any chance you have nutritional information? I have diabetes and that info would be helpful. Thanks for your blog. I love it!!
Hi Cheryl, thank you so much for your sweet words! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We wish we could be more helpful, but we don’t want to tell you anything that might be inaccurate and make you sick/interfere with your good health!
I made this soup tonight with medium salsa verde, but altered the proportions a bit–OMG it is so freaking good. The salsa verde added such a flavor burst! I would recommend trying it!
Thanks Jenna, we’re so happy to hear that! :)