Kale And Black Bean Soup
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.This easy kale and black bean soup is ready in just 45 minutes for a tasty lunch or dinner! Nutritious kale and hearty black beans offer a perfect combination of fiber-rich content and plant-based protein. It’s gluten-free, vegan, and super satisfying. The whole family will love this comforting recipe!
Most soups are pretty rich in nutrients, but this particular soup stands out amongst the rest! Kale is considered to be a nutritional powerhouse, high in antioxidants like beta-carotene and vitamin C, along with so many other vitamins and minerals. In addition to the black beans, onions, garlic, and cilantro, you have the most flavorful dish that you can feel good about serving to your entire family.
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This healthy black bean and kale soup is a great recipe any time of year, but I particularly am drawn to it on those cold weather days. It brings nourishment and comfort with every single bite. It is so easy and makes for a wonderful addition to any rotating meal plan!
👩🏽🍳 Why You’ll Love Kale And Black Bean Soup
- Healthy Option: If you have been looking for more healthy food choices, this vegetarian black bean soup is just the thing! You’ll use half a bunch of kale, helping you meet a lot of your daily values for vitamins and minerals.
- Versatile: Try this black bean and kale soup out in so many new ways! You can play around with different flavors and other vegetables. See the variations section later in the post.
- Weeknight Meal: This black bean soup with kale takes 10 minutes of prep and 35 minutes of cook time, making for a convenient weeknight meal! Even on busy days you can enjoy something healthy with so much flavor.
- Family-Friendly: Soup is a great option for families, as kids tend to like the flavor and texture! This soup does have a little bit of spice from red pepper flakes but it’s mild. Feel free to leave it out if needed!
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🥘 Ingredients
Run to the grocery store because you definitely do not want to miss out on the amazing flavors of this soup! It is one of my favorite soup recipes! See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the nutritional values!
- Oil: Use extra-virgin olive oil to saute your veggies! It is a healthy option for this soup!
- Onion & Garlic: Aromatic diced red onion and minced garlic cloves give this soup the perfect boost of savory flavor. You will use one large onion and 2 cloves garlic here, but add more garlic if you prefer!
- Spices: Combine ground cumin, ground coriander, and dried red pepper flakes for a little kick in this kale and black bean soup recipe.
- Black Beans: Use canned black beans for an easy way to speed up this soup! No need to soak dried beans overnight.
- Tomato: Adding canned diced tomatoes to the soup boosts flavor and gives extra texture to the black beans and kale soup.
- Vegetable Broth: Use veggie broth or veggie stock in this black bean kale soup! It provides much more flavor than what you would get from plain water.
- Lime Juice: I love the citrus kick that a hint of lime juice adds to this recipe! I definitely recommend not skipping this ingredient. You can also use a squeeze of lemon.
- Curly Kale: Cooked kale is so healthy and full of nutrients, making this hearty soup a favorable choice for lunch or dinner.
- Cilantro: Topping the soup with fresh cilantro takes things to the next level. Just like the lime juice, I think this is an important addition to this recipe.
- Salt: Enhance all the flavors of this kale black bean soup with just a ¼ tsp of sea salt!
🍲 Ingredient Substitutions
- Oil: Any oil can be used to saute the vegetables for this black bean and kale soup recipe.
- Spices: Try out other spices like Italian seasonings, black pepper, cayenne pepper, or bay leaves.
- Beans: While this is a black bean soup, you can play around with other beans too! Try this out with white beans like cannellini beans (white kidney beans), great northern beans, or navy beans.
- Kale: Feel free to use tuscan kale (lacinato kale), baby kale, or baby spinach. This can be a black bean soup with greens of any kind!
- Herbs: Swap the cilantro for other herbs like fresh thyme or parsley!
🔪 How To Make Kale And Black Bean Soup
This easy kale and black bean soup comes together with a few doable, simple steps! It is fuss-free and a great way to add nutrition into a busy day! Follow along with these step by step instructions on how to make this kale soup recipe:
Saute Onion: Heat the oil in a large pot, or dutch oven, and saute onions for 3-4 minutes over medium heat.
Add Garlic & Spices: Stir in the garlic, cumin, coriander and red pepper flakes, statue for another minute.
Add Additional Ingredients: Next add the can of beans, diced tomatoes and vegetable broth to the soup pot.
Boil: Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Then, simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the soup from burning.
Mash: Turn off the heat. Using a potato masher, mash the soup, crushing the black beans. This will thicken the soup.
Add Remaining Ingredients: Turn the heat to medium and add the lime juice and shredded kale. Stir the soup and bring to a simmer, cooking for another 10 minutes until you have tender kale.
Adjust & Serve: Adjust seasoning to taste and sprinkle in the chopped cilantro. Serve immediately.
💭 Expert Tips
- Alternative Tools: If you do not have a potato masher you can use an immersion blender or stand blender, blending the soup slightly to puree some, but not all, of the contents.
- Adjust Measurements: This soup serves 4 so feel free to double or half the recipe if needed! For a household of one, this may be a lot of soup to get through but could be used for meal prep all week!
- Cooking Methods: You can make this soup in a slow cooker on high pressure or instant pot, if you prefer. You’ll just need to modify the steps a bit as the cook time will vary. If you are a regular user of either, you should have no issues adapting this recipe!
- De-Stem Kale: Make sure to remove the stems of the kale before shredding as the stems are tough and don’t cook well in the soup.
📖 Variations
- More Spice: Make an extra spicy black bean soup by adding a touch of chili powder or chopped chipotle peppers. Additionally, you can adjust the red pepper flakes that the recipe calls for if you want a less spicy black bean and kale soup.
- More Veggies: Add other fresh veggies like sweet potatoes, poblano peppers, green chilies, green onions, or even a large leek!
- Add Creaminess: While the masher will help to thicken this soup, you can add additional flavor and creamy texture with some coconut milk or cream.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
Serve this flavorful soup as a hearty meal on its own in shallow bowls, or as a smaller portion for a side dish! Add delicious toppings like a dollop of sour cream, diced avocado, and of course, fresh cilantro. Enjoy with a slice of crusty bread or homemade gluten free bread! Want more inspiration? Here are a few other pairings for this healthy kale soup with black beans:
- With Main Meals: Serve the soup as a starter, accompanying a hearty main meal like this vegan meatloaf, baked vegan pasta, or healthy baked potatoes.
- With Sides: Leave the soup as the star of the show, serving with a side or two to bulk up the meal. I love soup with a side of mushroom toast or apple walnut salad.
- Veggie Starter: While this is already a veggie forward dish, serving a veggie starter is a great way to get the digestive system started and add in extra dietary fiber. I love miso mushrooms or cheesy baked asparagus before this soup!
🙌 Dietary Adaptations
This is a gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan soup! It should naturally accommodate most dietary needs but feel free to remove or swap ingredients if needed. One easy change for an oil-free option is to saute the ingredients in about an inch of water or vegetable broth.
🫙 Storage Directions
- Refrigerating: Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: For longer storage, store this soup in a freezer safe container for up to one month. Thaw in the fridge before reheating.
- Reheating: Reheat this soup in a pan over the stovetop, stirring occasionally. Alternatively, you can heat it up in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
❓Recipe FAQs
HOW DO I PREVENT THE BLACK BEANS FROM TURNING MUSHY DURING COOKING?
Avoid boiling the beans, which will reduce the risk of over cooking the beans. For this particular recipe you do not need to worry too much about this, as you will end up mashing the beans anyway! However, you will add the beans after boiling the other ingredients and simmer for just 10 minutes so that they retain their texture.
DO YOU NEED TO SOAK BLACK BEANS BEFORE MAKING SOUP?
No! This easy black bean and kale soup recipe calls for canned black beans. Save time and energy, skipping the hassle of soaking dried beans. If you really want to use dried beans, then you will need to soak them ahead of time, and adjust your cooking time as well.
WHY IS MY BLACK BEAN SOUP BITTER?
This vegan black bean kale soup might taste bitter if you do use dried beans. Dried beans that are not properly soaked can leave behind a bitter taste in your mouth. This will be avoided by soaking or boiling the beans before using them in the soup recipe. Additionally, you may find that the kale has a bitterness to it, too. Most people tolerate it just fine, especially when cooked. However, if you are sensitive to the flavor of kale, you can massage the kale before adding to the soup to release the bitterness.
DO I NEED TO RINSE AND DRAIN CANNED BLACK BEANS FOR SOUP?
For this kale and black beans soup you will rinse and drain the canned black beans! However, it is not totally necessary if you prefer to skip this step. You will want to reduce some of the vegetable broth if you do keep the liquid so that the soup remains the proper consistency.
🥣 More Easy Soup Recipes!
- Vegan Mushroom And Wild Rice Soup
- Easy Vegan Tomato Soup
- Vegan Black Bean Soup
- Vegan Loaded Potato Soup
- Creamy Garbanzo Bean Soup
- Mexican Bean Soup
- Vegan Minestrone Soup
- White Bean Soup with Kale and Parmesan Cheese
- Italian Chickpea Soup
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📋 Recipe Card
🎥 Watch How to Make It
Kale And Black Bean Soup
This easy kale and black bean soup is ready in just 45 minutes for a tasty lunch or dinner! Nutritious kale and hearty black beans offer a perfect combination of fiber-rich content and plant-based protein. It's gluten-free, vegan, and super satisfying. The whole family will love this comforting recipe!
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 178kcal
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 red onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- 1½ tsp ground coriander
- ¼-½ tsp dried red pepper flakes
- 14 oz canned black beans rinsed and drained
- 14 oz canned diced tomatoes
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- ½ bunch curly kale washed, stems removed and leaves shredded (about 2 cups shredded kale)
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a pot and saute the onion for 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, cumin, coriander and red pepper flakes, statue for another minute.
- Next add the black beans, diced tomatoes and vegetable broth.
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the soup from burning.
- Turn off the heat, using a potato masher mash the soup, crushing the black beans which will thicken the soup.
- Turn the heat to medium and add the lime juice and shredded kale.
- Stir the soup and bring to a simmer, cooking for another 10 minutes.
- Adjust seasoning to taste and sprinkle in the chopped cilantro.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Serve the soup with a dollop of sour cream or vegan sour cream, small pieces of diced avocado, fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice is desired.
- Store soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for 1 month.
- Adjust the heat of the soup by adding more red pepper flakes for a spicier soup or leave the red pepper flakes out altogether for a milder soup.
- It’s recommended to use fresh lime juice for this recipe.
- Chicken broth can be used instead of vegetable broth for a more meaty flavor if preferred.
- Make sure to remove the stems of the kale before shredding as the stems are tough and don’t cook well in the soup.
- I used approximately 2 cups shredded kale in this recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 178kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 1397mg | Potassium: 690mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 5g
I always say I want to eat more kale, but then I never know what to do with it. This was perfect! I love black bean soup, the flavors are great and the kale was a really wonderful addition! Looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch, yum.
Awesome!! So great to hear that Justine!
Such a hearty and delicious vegan soup. I love making a big pot to have extra for lunches during the week.
Thanks so much Lisa!