Cuban Black Bean Soup
Cuban Black Bean Soup – Rich in protein and loaded with veggies and flavorful spices, this black bean soup is thick, hearty, and absolutely delicious! Oil-free, vegan, and 100% healthy recipe!
I had the weekend off and decided to make this vegan black bean soup. I’ve wanted to make this soup for some time and am so happy to finally add it to the recipe collection.
Black beans are a ‘superfood’ containing good amounts of fiber, protein, and other trace minerals important to good health. I want to incorporate more of them into my diet, and this Cuban black bean soup is a great recipe for that.
For this recipe, you will need to begin a day ahead by soaking the dried black beans. I have also included a shorter version, using canned black beans, for those who would rather have it ready within 1 hour.
Although using dried beans takes longer to put together, it’s pretty simple and delicious. My goal was to make this a black bean soup anyone can make, whether from scratch or not.
Ingredient NOTES
In this recipe, black beans are simmered with veggies and flavorful spices for a wonderfully hearty vegan soup that will surely be a new favorite!
Here is everything you will need:
- Black beans – Use dried or canned for ease (see notes in recipe card).
- Mirepoix – The usual mix of white onion, celery, and carrots creates a wonderful base flavor.
- Red bell pepper – Adds a nice sweetness and color.
- Garlic – Fresh is best, but you can substitute with garlic powder if needed.
- Bay leaves – Use fresh or dried.
- Spices – Both cumin and paprika add wonderful flavor to the soup.
- Vegetable broth – I like to use vegetable concentrate with water. My favorite is this Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base (affiliate link). For this recipe, I used 1/4 teaspoon.
- Orange – This is our secret ingredient. Bitter oranges, such as Seville, are preferred, but any regular orange will pack a punch of flavor.
- Salt + pepper – As always, to taste.
How To Make Cuban Black Bean Soup
This is a quick overview of the process with photos. The full printable recipe card is below.
- Prepare the black beans. If using dried beans, pre-cook them or cook in the instant pot. Canned beans can simply be drained and rinsed before using. Set aside until ready to use.
- Squeeze the orange. Squeeze the orange juice and set the juice aside. Keep the orange halves for the soup.
- Add ingredients to the pot. Add the beans, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, red bell pepper, cumin, smoked paprika, salt & pepper, orange halves, and water, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook for at least 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Puree the soup. Remove the orange halves and bay leaves. Using a stick blender or cup blender, puree the soup until desired consistency.
And now your black bean soup is ready to enjoy!
How To Store Leftovers
- Refrigerator: Leftovers can be stored for 5 – 6 days in the refrigerator in a covered container.
- Freezer: This Cuban black bean soup is freezer-friendly and freezes well for up to 2 – 3 months. To freeze, let cool completely and store in freezer-safe containers (affiliate link), leaving 1/2 inch head space for expansion. Let thaw before reheating. You can also freeze larger portions in large ziplock bags.
- Reheat: Simply re-warm on the stovetop over low heat until warmed through. Alternatively, reheat in the microwave using 30 – 60 second intervals, stirring after each, until warm
Serving Suggestions
This hearty black bean soup is great on its own, but can be served with various toppings and sides to make it even better! Here are a few of my favorite options:
- Toppings: When serving, topping the soup is especially amazing with Vegan Sour Cream, Pico de Gallo, and/or Fresh Corn Salsa.
- Grain: Serve with a side of Cilantro Lime Rice or brown rice. You can also stir it into the soup!
- Salad: Serve with a leafy green salad like this Southwest Chickpea Salad or Sweet Corn & Arugula Salad.
More Black Bean Recipes!
- Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili
- Instant Pot Black Beans (refried or whole)
- Vegan Black Bean Tacos
- Santa Fe Black Bean Burger
- See all vegan black bean recipes!
I hope you loved this easy black bean soup recipe! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
Cuban Black Bean Soup
A healthy, hearty, veggie filled cuban black bean soup that’s absolutely delicious!
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 40 min
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 – 6 1x
- Category: Entree, Soup
- Method: stovetop, simmer
- Cuisine: Vegan, Cuban
Ingredients
- 1 lb. dried black beans (or 4 cans – 15 oz.), rinsed and drained (see notes)
- 1 large white onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper, cored and chopped
- 2 bay leafs
- 1 – 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 – 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 3 cups vegetable broth (or water)
- juice of one orange + orange halves
- himalayan salt and pepper to taste
Garnish
- diced tomatoes
- onion
- vegan sour cream
- lime wedges
Instructions
Soak beans: The night before, rinse beans in colander with cold running water. Pick through and remove any broken or shriveled beans. Place beans in large pot with 5 or 6 cups water and cover to soak overnight.
Pre-Cook Beans: Next day, drain beans and rinse again. Place beans back in pot, add water, bring to a boil and simmer covered for 1 hour, drain and rinse.
Orange: Juice the orange and set the juice aside. Reserve the orange halves for the soup.
Cook Soup: To the pot of freshly cooked beans, add the bay leaves, garlic, cumin, paprika, onion, celery, carrots, bell pepper, water/broth, orange halves, salt and pepper, reserving the orange juice for later. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes to one hour, or until beans and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Add extra water as necessary (I used another 1 cup of water).
Puree: Once beans are tender, remove the orange halves and bay leaves. Use an immersion blender to blend soup to desired consistency. I blended about 3/4, leaving some chunkiness. You could also use a food processor/blender (this method may take two batches to complete). Blending is optional, you may like it chunky as is. Add the orange juice to the pureed soup and cook another 5-10 minutes.
To Serve: Serve alone or over a bed of cooked buckwheat, farro or brown rice. Top soup with a dollop of Sour Cream, Lime Cilantro Cashew ‘Sour Cream’ or Paprika Cashew Crema. You may also like to top it with diced onion, tomatoes, bell peppers, avocado, jalapenos, a squeeze of lime and/or cilantro.
Serves 4 generously, or 6 smaller portions.
Notes
Canned beans: If using canned beans, be sure to drain and rinse them well. Put ingredients in pot as in the instructions for ‘Cook’ but only use 2 cups water to start, bring to boil and simmer for 40 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Add more water as needed. Continue with step 3. You may also decide to saute your onions, celery, carrots & bell pepper first on medium high heat using oil of choice for about 5 min before you start with your canned beans.
Instant pot: If you have an Instant Pot, you can cook dried black beans for 25 minutes with 4 cups of water. For reference, use this Instant Pot Black Beans recipe, see notes for making plain black beans.
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This has become a family favorite for ski weekends. Great way to warm up after a cold day outside! I’ve made my own variation at times, adding impossible sausage… which makes it like a vegetarian feijoada (a Brazilian favorite which has meat).
I’ve never had Cuban food before and this recipe looked pretty easy. I’m so glad I tried it – simply delicious! Thanks for posting it!
Thank you for sharing, Rosalini!
I keep forgetting the orange. My wife and I can polish this off in 2 meals using canned beans. I now cook 2 lb of dry beans in the Instapot then add the rest of the ingredients. A stick blender is now one of my favorite tools. So delicious!
This is a really good recipe but I made some modifications. I soaked the beans for 13 hours overnight, cooked the beans beforehand and let simmer for 3 hours on low so they were soft before going into the soup. It was a little bland so I also added 1 tsp of turmeric and Coriander. Instead of the red bell, I put in a whole poblano and half a jalapeño. I added 1 cup water and 1 cup vegetable broth. I put in a full teaspoon of sea salt.