Mexican Black Bean Soup

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This comforting Mexican Black Bean Soup, packed with black beans, spinach, chili peppers, and corn, is super easy to make in 40 minutes. It’s healthy, full of authentic Mexican flavors, and perfect for the fall season when I want something to warm me up.

I have been making a lot of soups and stews with vegan black beans in my house lately. Mainly because as a busy parent, they are easy to prepare in just one pot, easy for kids to eat, and beans are such a versatile nutritious ingredient that perfectly adds texture to every recipe.

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law, who has turned this soup into a bit of a family favorite. Kids love it, babies love it, and husbands/partners love it too🙂. It goes hand in hand with my black bean quesadillas when we have our Mexican dinner parties. So, if you love Mexican food, you will love this authentic Mexican vegan soup.

🥘 Ingredients

My Mexican veggie soup is packed with healthy ingredients, here are the list of what I use:

Black Beans: To keep the recipe quick and easy, I use three cans of beans, drained and rinsed. You could also use dried black beans, but it will take longer to prepare. A combination of beans, such as pinto beans, red kidney beans, cannellini beans, navy beans, and black beans, is great too, instead of just black beans.

Corn: I use frozen, canned, or fresh corn. Frozen is good all year long!

Red Onion and Red Bell Pepper: These add to the deep red color and add tons of flavor. I finely dice the red onion and dice bell peppers for this hearty meal.

Spinach: When possible, I use organic spinach. You’ll need one 10-ounce package of pre-washed spinach.

Green Chiles: I choose a mild version for my kids.

Crushed Tomatoes and Vegetable Broth: There are many different types of canned tomatoes. I use crushed tomatoes and add veggie broth to thin out the soup.

Garlic Cloves And Cumin: I season the Mexican soup with 5 cloves of fresh garlic and 3 tablespoons of cumin. If you want to add more spice and seasoning, consider adding bay leaves, chili powder, chipotle chile or chipotle peppers, Mexican oregano, or serrano peppers.

Toppings: Tortilla strips, diced avocado or guacamole, fresh cilantro, shredded Mexican cheese, or grated cheddar cheese are some of my favorite toppings that taste great with this easy Mexican bean soup recipe! For a spicy bean soup, feel free to add hot sauce. To make vegan Mexican soup, just use vegan shredded cheese or omit the cheese altogether.

🔪 How To Make

It’s a matter of saute, blend, and simmer to make my hearty vegan black bean soup. Super easy!

Step 1: First, I heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, and sauté peppers, onions, and garlic until the peppers and onions are slightly translucent.

Step 2: Then, I add the spinach and cumin, cooking for an additional 5 minutes over medium-high heat.

Step 3: I add tomatoes, green chile peppers, and broth, bring to a boil, and cook for 15-20 minutes until the ingredients are soft enough to puree.

Step 4: Next, I blend the soup with an immersion blender until smooth, then I season with salt to taste.

Step 5: To complete the soup, I add whole corn and black beans and simmer on low/med-low heat for 10 minutes until all of the ingredients are cooked through.

Step 6: I serve this hearty dish with our favorite toppings and enjoy!

📖 Variations

There’s so much you can do with the Mexican black bean soup! If you want to add extra veggies or meat to the soup, try one of my easy variations:

Make it Thick: I add one can of black beans to the base of the soup and blend it into the broth to make it thicker, then I add the other 2 cans, plus the corn.

Extra veggie: Sometimes I’ll add extra veggies to the soup for a boost of nutrition. 1 cup of carrots, squash, zucchini, or even sweet potatoes tastes great pureed into the soup.

Meaty soup: If you’re not vegan, you can add 1 cup of cooked minced meat, chicken, or turkey at the end.

🍽 Serving Suggestions

This soup is quite hearty on its own, and we eat it as the main course, but when we have family or friends over for dinner, I like to pair it with different toppings and side dishes. Here are some of my favorites:

Toppings: To add texture to this Mexican bean soup, I serve it with healthy guacamole for a touch of creaminess, tangy vegan sour cream, diced tomatoes, a fresh pineapple pico de gallo, or tortilla chips. People just load their soup with their favorite toppings to make it more filling.

Side dishes: To have a full-on Mexican dinner party, I whip up these flavorful vegetarian tacos or vegan Mexican rice. And when I want something lighter, I go for a simple nachos and vegan refried beans are also great choices to serve with this hearty soup.

🧊 Storage Directions

Refrigeration: Once the vegan bean soup has cooled, I transfer it to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Freezing: I reheat leftovers in a pan over the stovetop at medium heat until bubbling or in the microwave at 1-minute intervals until warmed through.

Reheating: I love batch cooking soups as they are great to freeze. Simply let the soup cool completely after cooking and then pour it into a sealable freezer container or portion it into ziplock bags. The soup will keep for 3 months in the freezer.

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