This Hearty Black Bean Soup is just what you need on a cold and dreary day! Made with ham drumsticks, sweet potatoes, peppers, onions, cumin and chili.
The best remedy for wet, cold and stormy weather? This hot and hearty black bean soup.
Check out how to make this Black Bean Soup recipe
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Black Bean Soup
The ingredients for black bean soup
Soup like this is mostly an improvisation. The ingredients of the foundation are black beans, smoked ham, knuckle or knuckle, onionsand Spices. But you can even replace the leg or leg of ham with some good bacon or a thick piece of ham.
Starting with dry beans means you can (after a good soak) cook them with the ham for a long time to allow the flavor to really penetrate the beans.
You can use either a smoked ham shank or a ham shank for this soup. Ham drumsticks usually have more meat. If you can’t find shanks or knuckles, you can use a half pound of ham steak, cut into chunks, to flavor the beans, or a quarter pound of bacon, cooked first to remove the fat.
Thick Black Bean Soup
I love black bean soup when it’s thick, almost like a stew. If you like it thinner, feel free to add water or more chicken broth to this recipe.
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Do you have a pressure cooker? Use it to save some time
Do you have a pressure cooker or instant pot? If so, you can easily make the black beans and ham shank in a pressure cooker, greatly reducing the overall time it takes to make this soup. If you’re using a pressure cooker, you don’t need to soak the beans.
We’ve covered the topic of pressure cookers in a separate article (see No-Soak Quick Beans in the Pressure Cooker). For this black bean soup recipe, simply add the beans, ham, bay leaves, baking powder, salt, and water to the pressure cooker. Cook under high pressure for 20 minutes with natural release for 10 minutes.
How to Freeze Black Bean Soup
This black bean soup freezes well. Just freeze it in individual servings (here’s how) for up to three months.
If you remember, the night before, put as many servings as you like in the fridge to thaw, then reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave. If you have forgotten, you can also transfer the frozen soup straight into a saucepan and reheat, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally.
What to serve with black bean soup
Serve bowls of this soup with fresh cilantro, sliced avocado, and a scoop of sour cream. Add homemade tortilla chips for dipping!
More soups that warm you inside and out
- Creamy pumpkin soup with smoked paprika
- Slow Cooker Taco Soup
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Pressure Cooker Chicken Soup
- Tuscan Bean Soup
Black Bean Soup
Do you have a pressure cooker or instant pot? You can just skip the soaking of the beans and use a pressure cooker to cook the black beans faster. See instructions in step 1.
While the beans are cooking in step 1, prepare the onion, sweet potato, carrot, celery, garlic and red pepper.
ingredients
For the soup:
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1 lb dried black beans(about 2 cups), rinsed, soaked in 4 liters of water overnight or 6 hours, drained
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1 lb smoked pork knuckle or shank
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2 bay leaves
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5 cups water
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1/8 teaspoon baking soda
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1/2 teaspoon Salt
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4 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
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1 large yellow onionfinely chopped (2 cups)
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1 Middle sweet potatochopped into 1/2 inch pieces (2 cups) (can substitute 2 large carrots)
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1 carrotfinely chopped (1/2 cup)
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1 celery ribfinely chopped (1/2 cup)
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1 teaspoon Salt
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4 Garlic cloveschopped
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1 tablespoon ground cumin
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2 teaspoon chili powder
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2 cups chicken broth (Add 2 teaspoons salt if using unsalted broth)
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1 tablespoon molasses
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1 Red pepperroughly chopped
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3 to 4 tablespoon lime juice (can substitute lemon juice)
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Salt
Serve:
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Chopped fresh coriander
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sour cream
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avocadopeeled and chopped
method
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Cook the beans with the ham shank/leg:
Place beans and ham or shank in a heavy-bottomed 4-quart saucepan. Add 5 cups water, bay leaves, salt and baking soda. Bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook until beans are tender, 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves.
Quick Cooking Instructions: If you have a pressure cooker, you can save time by placing the unsoaked dry beans and ham shank in a pressure cooker. Add 5 cups of water, 2 bay leaves, baking soda and salt. Boil under high pressure for 20 minutes, perform natural depressurization for 10 minutes before fully depressurizing. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
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Remove leg of ham, mince ham:
Remove the ham or knuckle from the pot. Remove the ham from the bone and cut into small, bite-sized pieces. Put aside.
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Boil the vegetables and then add the spices:
While the beans are cooking, heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed 6-8 quart saucepan over medium-high until oil is hot but not smoking.
Add the onions, celery, carrot, sweet potato, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium, add cumin, chili powder, and garlic. Cook for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
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Add the beans, bean liquid, molasses and the peppers:
Once the beans are tender, add the beans, their cooking liquid, chicken broth, molasses, and paprika to the saucepan with the onion mixture.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Puree one third of the soup:
Using a hand blender, puree about a third of the soup. Or put about 3 cups of the soup in a blender and puree, add back to the soup.
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Garnish and serve:
Place the reserved ham pieces back into the soup to serve. Add 3 tablespoons lime juice. Adjust the spices to suit your taste. If it’s on the sweet side, add a little more lime juice. Add more salt to taste.
Serve with side dishes.
Note that the soup may continue to thicken. If you want it thinner, just add some water to desired consistency.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 437 | calories |
| 17g | Fat |
| 57g | carbohydrates |
| 18g | protein |
