Vegan Spicy Chipotle Black Bean Soup

Guys, I have a confession to make. 

I’m lazy.

Even though I love being in the kitchen, now a days I find that I have less and less time to cook and put together gourmet meals every night. So on those days I like to throw together something easy that can be done in 30 minutes or less and requires minimal effort. 

Now don’t get me wrong, I by no means sacrifice flavor in exchange for convenience whenever I come up with a recipe I always try to use bold flavors that pack a punch. 

This soup recipe has a kick and packs some bold flavor it’s almost as good as a big strong man who chokes you a little bit. 

We’re going to start with the usual. Get your “mise en place” as the French would say, so dice your onion, mince your garlic and chop your jalapeños. In a medium pot over medium high heat add about 1 tbsp of cooking oil. Here’s a good tip, some people like to use olive oil for cooking but don’t realize that extra virgin olive oil has a low smoking point so if you overheat it you’ll notice it’s going to burn quickly I would recommend using just virgin olive oil. 

Sauté the onion for 3 to 5 minutes until they are translucent. Reduce heat to medium. Now you’re going to add your spices, black pepper and garlic. I know it may sound a little bizarre to add the spices before you put in the liquid but trust me on this one. By heating up the spices you release some of the natural oils and get a deeper richer flavor from them. Cook the onions with the spices and garlic for about a minute.

Add a can of diced tomatoes and the chopped jalapeño peppers. I swear I use so many Food Lion canned tomatoes they should start paying me to advertise their products. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. We are pretty much trying to soften up those peppers and intensifying the flavor of all the goodness we’ve added to the soup. 

Lastly, we are going to add a can of black beans and your chopped chipotle pepper. For this recipe I used Goya but if you’re really feeling your Mexican oats use a can of La Costeña black beans. One important thing to do is to drain and rinse your black beans. Why? Well if no one has told you before it’s because unless they are no salt added beans they are going to be salty. By draining and rinsing your beans you are able to control the salinity of your food and season to your preference. Add in your 2 cups of vegetable broth and bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. 

Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes. You basically want to make sure that everything in pot is nice and soft. Once you let everything do its thing you bring out the immersion blender. If you do not have one you can use a regular blender just be sure to blend it in batches, otherwise you’re going to end up with a mess. Blend everything until you get a nice smooth consistency, you know unlike my contour. Season with salt to taste.

The soup on its own is vegan but you’re welcome to top it off with a dollop of (vegan) sour cream crispy tortilla strips, and cilantro.

Vegan Spicy Chipotle Black Bean Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 tbsp virgin olive oil

1/2 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp cumin

1/2 tbsp smoked paprika

1 (15.5oz) can diced tomatoes 

2 jalapeños, chopped

1 (15.5oz) can of black beans, drained and rinsed 

1 large chipotle in adobo, chopped

2 cups vegetable broth

salt and freshly cracked black pepper

optional toppings: sour cream, tortilla strips, cilantro

Over medium-high heat sauté onions in cooking oil for 3-5 minutes. 

Add spices, black pepper and garlic. Cook for 1 minute. 

Add 1 can of diced tomatoes and 2 chopped jalapeños. Cook for 5 minutes.

Drain and rinse 1 can of black beans and add to pot. Stir in 1 large chopped chipotle pepper in adobo. 

Pour in 2 cups of vegetable broth and bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low.

Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes.

Using an immersion blender (or standard blender) blend soup until smooth. 

Serve in bowl and garnish with a dollop of sour cream, cilantro and tortilla strips.