black bean soup with homemade chips
Have we forgotten about soup for dinner?
A steaming pot of soup is the answer to many culinary conundrums.
Wondering what to do with those leftover veggie scraps? How to turn a simple can of beans into a delightful meal? Craving an affordable and delicious dinner option? Eager to add more veggies to your diet? The answer, friends, is soup!
Soup is not just genius; it's your kitchen's best friend. With simplicity at its core (like 99.9% of the time), it's the original one-pot wonder. Simply toss all your ingredients into the pot, and while it works its magic, you're free to tend to other things.
A good soup can be warming, anti-inflammatory, hydrating, and nourishing. It's also a budget-friendly, family-approved, and low-stress dinner solution.
Soup effortlessly bridges the gap between traditional and modern, making it an ideal way to introduce a plant-based meal to family members without it feeling out of place or too “new”. Soup is soup—comfort in a bowl — and all soups have some kind of veggies.
This black bean soup is one that we love. It boasts familiar flavors, reminiscent of a taco or burrito, which makes it an easy winner. Serving it with a side of crunchy chips (recipe included!) might just make it your new weeknight favorite!
Feel free to double batch this soup so you have extra for lunch the next day or for a no-cook, weeknight meal stashed in your freezer for a later date.
Dinner ideas often get the best of us (me!), leading to grand plans that sometimes end in simpler, practical meals. But let's not overlook the charm (and convenience!) of soup for dinner. It's recently found its place on my "easy" weeknight menu list. When I was busy testing the soup chapter for "Plant-Based Delicious," I served soup for dinner almost every day for two weeks, and we loved it.
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And for those worried about dinner table monotony, soup offers endless opportunities for a culinary makeover. Take this Mexican-inspired soup, for instance, paired with homemade pita chips and avocado (added after the photo!), it feels fun and celebratory. Not like a boring soup.
Here are some other easy ideas when serving soup:
Serve the soup with sourdough for a satisfying dunking and sopping up experience.
Add a dollop of something creamy and delicious like vegan sour cream, hummus, or guacamole.
Experiment with layering by placing rice or pasta at the bottom of the bowl before ladling in the soup.
Break free from tradition by serving soup in something other than a round bowl, like mugs or oblong dishes.
Let your creative side shine through with lavish garnishes—nuts, seeds, herbs, sauces, spices, homemade chips, bean balls, pasta, and grains! If you have kids, involve them in customizing their own soup for a guaranteed hit!
Fiesta Black Bean Soup & Homemade Chips
Makes 4 to 6 servings
This is a quick and easy soup that’s packed with flavor and nutrition. It’s a fun recipe too — you can add vibrant toppings and even your own homemade chips (much easier than you might think!).
INGREDIENTS
1 large red onion, diced
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced (about 1 ½ cups diced)
1 red or yellow bell pepper, core and seeds removed, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon (7 g) ground cumin
2 teaspoons (5 g) chili powder
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
Pinch black pepper
½ teaspoon sea salt or to taste
1 to 2 teaspoons chilis in adobo, chilis minced (optional but recommended)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) tomato paste
1 (14.5 oz/411 g) can diced tomatoes (fire roasted or regular)
3 cups (516 g) cooked or canned black beans, drained and rinsed (~2 x 15 oz cans)
1 cup (130 g) frozen corn kernels
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lime juice
Optional
4 sprouted wraps or pita breads (for the toasted chips)
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
Fresh cilantro
HOW-TO
In a soup pot, sauté the onion, sweet potato, and bell pepper with ¼ cup (60 ml) water for 10 minutes, stirring often, until the veggies have softened. Add water as needed, a couple of tablespoons at a time, to prevent burning.
Add the garlic and all the spices (cumin through black pepper), salt, chilis in adobo (if using), and tomato paste and continue to sauté for another minute. Again, stirring and adding water as needed to prevent burning.
Next add the black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, and vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and simmer, partially covered for 15 to 20 minutes until the veggies are tender. Add the lime juice and taste and reseason with salt as needed.
While the soup is simmering toast the chips (if using). Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking pan with parchment paper. Cut each pita bread or wrap into 8-12 triangles. Place on the baking pan and bake for 10 minutes or until just starting to brown. You might have to do this in batches. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Divide the soup among bowls and top with avocado slices and/or cilantro, and serve with toasted pita bread.
Printable Version
Happy cooking!
-Ashley
Coming soon from Rise Shine Cook:
a plant-based gift guide for those health foodies in your life (or for you to put on your own list!)
an edible gift guide full of plant-based treats that are easy to make.
a nut-free, high-protein, plant-based lasagna
my new take on shepher’s pie (you’ve never had one like this!)
Super nice. Warm and cozy with a twist of Mexican. Cilantro is a must! 💞