Best Black Bean Soup
Updated Feb. 28, 2024
- Total Time
- About 2 hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:10 servings
- 1small (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo (see note)
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 2carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2onions, peeled and chopped
- 4garlic cloves, minced
- 1cup red wine
- 2jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
- 1pound dry black beans (do not soak)
- 2quarts mild vegetable or chicken stock
- 1tablespoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
- 2bay leaves
- 1tablespoon kosher salt
- 1teaspoon ground black pepper
- Red wine vinegar, to taste
- 1small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- Freshly squeezed juice of 2 limes
- Salt
- Sour cream or Mexican crema
- Whole cilantro leaves
- Thinly sliced fresh chiles
- Sliced avocado
For the Soup
For the Pickled Onions and Garnishes (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
Empty the can of chiles into a blender or food processor. Purée until smooth, scrape into a container, and set aside. Put on a teakettle of water to boil, and keep hot.
- Step 2
In a large, heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add carrots, onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Step 3
Pour in wine and let simmer until pan is almost dry and vegetables are coated. Add jalapeños and cook, stirring, just until softened, 2 minutes. Push the vegetables out to the edges of the pot and dollop 2 teaspoons of chipotle purée in the center. Let fry for a minute and then stir together with the vegetables.
- Step 4
Add beans, stock, oregano and bay leaves. Stir, bring to a boil, and let boil 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, partly covered, stirring occasionally and adding hot water as needed to keep the soup liquid and runny, not sludgy. Continue cooking until beans are just softened and fragrant, 1 to 2 hours. Add salt and pepper and keep cooking until beans are soft.
- Step 5
Meanwhile, make the pickled onions, if using: In a bowl, combine sliced onions, lime juice and a sprinkling of salt. Let soften at room temperature until crunchy and tart, about 30 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Squeeze dry in paper towels and refrigerate until ready to serve. If desired, chop coarsely before serving.
- Step 6
Adjust the texture of the soup: The goal is to combine whole beans, soft chunks and a velvety broth. Some beans release enough starch while cooking to produce a thick broth without puréeing. If soup seems thin, use an immersion blender or blender to purée a small amount of the beans until smooth, then stir back in. Continue until desired texture is reached, keeping in mind that the soup will continue to thicken as it sits.
- Step 7
Heat the soup through, taste and adjust the seasonings with salt, pepper, drops of red wine vinegar and dabs of chipotle purée.
- Step 8
Serve in deep bowls, garnishing each serving with sour cream, pickled onions, cilantro leaves, sliced chiles and avocado as desired.
Tip
- If chipotle chiles are unavailable, use 1 tablespoon each ground cumin and ground coriander. Add to vegetables at the same point in the recipe, in Step 3.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
Marc Hamilton
I soak the beans overnight in a dark lager, usually Dos Equis, which adds additional earthy flavors.
b
Why puree an entire 7 oz. can of chipotle chiles in adobo if you only need two tsps? I would use one with some adobo and freeze the rest in a ice cube tray, for other uses.
Julia Moskin
Hi all, I've researched the question of why some of you made this recipe and were frustrated by beans that never got soft.
Since there is acid in the cooking liquid here (from the wine), if your tap water is hard there may have been a reaction that prevented the beans from softening.
To be safe, you can add the wine later, along with the stock. And if there is any question about the hardness of your water, use distilled.
Hope that helps.
Julia
daniela
To be honest, my Latin American friends and I have giggled a lot about Bittman's recipe. This is how a French-trained chef might make black bean soup, but this is how you make it for real from Brazil to Guatemala, where black bean soup is part of everyday cuisine: black beans, a full head of garlic (remove at end), lots of fresh thyme, bay leaves, and then salt and pepper to taste. That's it. No red wine or carrots -- get out of here with that! ;-)
Demetroula
I made this soup this afternoon, skeptical about not pre-soaking the dried beans. Sure enough, even after cooking for 2-1/2 hours, the beans (which are not terribly 'old') were still too firm -- edible, but not lusciously soft. We were under a time constraint and ate the soup anyway -- the flavours were delicious -- but next time I'll definitely pre-soak the beans for at least several hours, if not overnight, as I do with all my other black bean recipes.
Denis
Just use a potato masher instead of a blender. It will give you the requisite amount of bean bruising you need with more control.
OldMyke
Bean shortcut to soaking overnite. WASH AND DRAIN THEM A COUPLE OF TIMES. BRING 6 CUPS WATER TO BOIL. ADD BEANS. BOIL 2 MINUTES, COVER POT, TURN OFF HEAT. LET STAND AT LEAST 1 HOUR UNTIL NICELY PLUMP. Been doing this since the 80's. Chop & sautee the following:1 head garlic, 1-1/2 green bell pepper, 3 med onions. Chop, seed and add 4 plum tom's, - simmer 10 min. Keep in fridge. Use 4 heaping tblsp + bay leaf for black bean soup. Wonderful and easy. Add heat to taste.
Linda
I cooked this for two and a half hours and the beans were still hard. It really ruined it for me. Rather than chalking it up to the possibility of hard water as in the response, when so many people report the same problem wouldn't it be better to just alter the recipe to include soaking the beans. Just sayin'.
George Hubbard
Black bean soup was always on the menu of a long-gone restaurant. I enjoyed it frequently, but wondered why it seemed better toward the end of the week. The chef's answer? Keep the pot going all week, adding sherry as needed to thin. Genius! (Rest in peace, Willy & Paul.)
Elias
Yes, I can vouchsafe for this, chipotles do keep a long time. For a real treat make grilled cheddar cheese sandwiches with schmears of the abobo on the bread with sliced red onion and tomato, really divine, for an extra kick add cilantro as well.
Evan
I like to add dry roasted coriander and cumin seeds, cooled and ground to accentuate the smokiness of peppers and beans. Also chopped tomatoes add a lovely sweet tartness.
Patricia
You can also use 2 t of the adobo sauce from the chipotles and keep the rest in a glass jar FOREVER!
kingjon
America's Test Kitchen did a comparison of cannelloni beans but I suspect their findings would apply to all varieties of beans. They preferred canned beans to dry beans. They found many dried beans were too old and desiccated to be made tender by soaking and simmering. They judged in general the beans used in canned beans to be fresher and of superior to those dried. This maybe why many of you are having a problem with hard beans. They're favorite brand was Goya, at least for cannelloni beans.
LP
Made in 40 mins with dry beans using my new 'instant pot'!
Marti_J
I question the dry beans and I hope Ms. Moskins will answer this. Your recipe says "add dry beans and stock." I *love* using dry beans, but I always soak and drain, hoping to avoid any unhappy side effects. So... if I pre-soak and add the reconstituted beans, is there an adjustment to be made to the stock, amount of stock, other flavorings (ie stock concentrate in some form) to be made?
I used stored dry black beans last winter that only softened after three days of simmering.
mary in knoxville
For anyone who doesn’t have the ingredients red wine, chipotle, or carrots, don’t be deterred. All the other ingredients guarantee a delicious outcome. Black bean soup is simple fare.
Joe
Instant pot: sauté mode until you add beans and broth and seasoning; then, high pressure for 40 minutes. Release steam as you see fit. Use immersion blender to smooth out as you like and adjust seasoning. I usually add a teaspoon or so of kosher salt with the broth, along with the oregano and bay leaves, before sealing the pot. I make this every two to three weeks. I keep chipotle in adobo in my freezer, and skip the whole blender thing, just mincing 2 tsps. of chile. Jarred jalapeño is fine.
Annie
Really delicious! I cooked as written with one exception - I cook alcohol-free - so instead of wine, I used a rich, robust chicken broth for that step. The dried beans took about 2 hours to cook without soaking, and I continued to add boiling water throughout the process. The flavor is so so robust - loved it.
Amanda
The first question that came to my mind, when reading about undercooked beans, is when did you add the salt? I always add salt after beans are cooked to taste as I was told that adding salt earlier prevents beans from cooking. Unsure if that is true, but maybe.
Lois H.
I just made this for dinner (minus the jalapeños) and it came out perfectly. I didn’t presoak the black beans, so I just let the soup simmer for an extra hour. Delicious!
Llyn Mc
I soaked the bean overnight and also gave them a quick soak in boiling water while the veggies were cooking. I used distilled water. No other changes. Love this recipe.
Kathy
I followed directions on this exactly, and like others, my beans never completely softened. Three hours in and getting hangry I decided to get out the immersion blender and try to make the best of it. I ended up with a gritty mess. Aside from the texture, the flavors were way off. We ate it because we were hungry but I had to do a considerable amount of improvising to make it palatable. Why is this recipe still listed?
adjustments
Less salt… Soak the beans if using fresh beans, but can use canned beans. Add corn. Top with Greek yogurt and diced red onion and avocado, spritz lime on at the end. Do not skip the wine.
PKLotus
Made this for the second time today. I realized I had old blk bns to use up so used abt 1/2 old half new. The old ones didn’t soften. So if that is an issue, ck age of beans. Also, I added wine & chipotle after the beans were (finally) soft. Also ck out the Jacques Pepin video on YT. That cooking time is more inline with my experience. This soup is AMAZING. Great depth of flavor. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
suzanne
I found the red wine flavor pretty off-putting and would skip that step next time.
HollyM
I love this recipe so much, and have for years. But I live at high altitude, and even using Julia's tips for adding red wine later with the broth and using distilled water (yes, our luscious tap water straight from the Rocky Mountains is notoriously hard), and freshly purchased Rancho Gordo black beans, I am STILL nursing this soup to doneness nearly three hours later. I should learn. Will soak overnight from now on. And it's soooo good, so I will keep at it.
Amy G
Just made this. Unlike many of the commenters, I didn't have any problems with the beans softening. I used old dried Goya beans. I live at sea level, don't have hard water, and didn't add the wine until later in the recipe, as recommended in the notes. Flavors were amazing, especially after letting the soup sit for 4 hours before serving!
Rose
I was skeptical about the red wine and skipping the overnight soak-- but I made this exactly as instructed and it turned out *delicious.*
Michael O'Keefe
I ended up throwing in a whole 7 oz can of Goya chipotle salsa. Was delicious.
Home Chief
Definitely need to presoak the beans; 4 hours and those beans ain’t soft
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