Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup (Vegan)

Yes, I spent the majority of my morning taking photos of this single bowl of soup. Yes, I’ve become one of those people. And yes, I still have a long way to go to master this food photography thing. I’m a ‘newbie’ at this, but still, I’m quite proud of it. View the multiple photos below. I’ll admit that the one with the spoon isn’t the most flattering.

  

Yesterday afternoon I took my 9 year old puppy out to buy some organic, raw black beans from my favorite neighborhood store, New Seasons. I was in the mood to try out a black bean soup in my CrockPot (slow cooker), but I was also crunched for time since I wanted to go bowling with my little cousins. This recipe is so ridiculously simple and quick to make.

Thanks to Making Thyme for Help (what a clever blog name), I was able to quickly whip this up. I chopped up the veggies, dumped in the broth and water, poured the beans in, turned on the CrockPot, and then bolted out the door in a matter of minutes. Since I was in a rush, I chopped up my vegetables in huge chunks. This recipe allowed me to make ‘thyme’ to spend with my family.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dried black beans (rinsed)
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 bell peppers (cored and diced)
• 3 carrots (diced or chopped into chunks)
• 1 yellow onion (diced or chopped into chunks)
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 2 jalapenos cored and diced (optional)
• 2 tsp oregano
• 3 tsp cumin
• 3 tsp chili powder
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups vegetable broth (use 4 cups of broth and 2 cups of water if you prefer saltier soup)
• 4 cups water

Instructions:

1. Chop up all of your vegetables. I suggest you dice them. I chopped mine into giant chunks because I pureed the entire batch of soup, but you’re not going to do that because the texture will be better if you don’t.
2. Place all of the ingredients into the slow cooker, stir, and cook on high for about 8-10 hours.
3. Remove the bay leaves and then immerse a hand blender into the slow cooker and puree half of the soup. If you have giant chunks, just puree the entire batch. (If you do not have a hand blender, merely scoop out a few cups of the soup and blend in a regular blender. Just be sure that the soup has cooled before doing so.)
4. Stir the pureed and non pureed soup together. Taste and make sure it is at the saltiness/spiciness that you prefer.
5. Serve warm with avocado, green onions, and cilantro as toppings.

Note: I cut back on the vegetable broth for this recipe because canned broth tends to contain quite a bit of sodium (too much sodium in your diet could cause high blood pressure). I replaced half of the broth with water and added more water. It tastes fine that way to me; however, if you prefer saltier soup, use more broth than water.

Anyways, this soup is literally one of the simplest meals I’ve ever made. Have some soup and a side of salad and you’ll have consumed most of your recommended nutrients. Soups are my favorite things to cook because it’s really difficult to make them taste bad and it’s easy to include vegetables and legumes.

With this soup you get some protein, tons of fiber, vitamin A (helps with night vision!), and antioxidants. It has high nutrient density. Eat it up!

Side Note:

On my trip to New Seasons, I picked up a basil plant. I love fresh basil. It sits by the window in my kitchen. I think I hear spaghetti calling my name! And there’s also an honorary photo of Bella, my favorite dog. She’s currently very sad that my dad is out of town.