my version of black bean soup

My version is definitely different than the regular black bean soup but this black bean soup has no pork fat. Cumin gives the soup its great flavor.

I love reading old cookbooks {I'm talking old Junior League cookbooks from the 60's}.

Honestly, I just like reading any cookbooks.

But the older ones are great because you can just tell how much passion these people have about their food and preparing their food and sharing it with everyone.

And they love their butter. Love. It.

I mean, you must sauté everything in at least half a stick of butter. Right?

I love with something calls for lard or shortening.

Health food in its prime right there...

Anywho, I could wax poetic about the beauty of old cookbooks not just because of their comedic factor of preferred fat choice, but they really do have excellent recipes & I love the feeling I get when I make one of the recipes from one of those cookbooks, especially when I know the person who submitted the recipe {Nan!}

but the point of all that is to get to a common soup recipe you find in an old southern cookbook: Black Bean

I'm sure there are some people rolling in their graves with how I make my black bean soup, but I just can't buy salt pork or pork fat or whatever. I just can't do it.

And I mean, what about my readers that follow a vegetarian or vegan diet? What are they supposed to do?

Solution: make a variation of black bean soup.

I'm not trying to make an exact replica of the beloved black bean soup from Recipe Jubilee

I'm making my own. {I'll leave the real black bean soup making to my dad. He makes a mean black bean soup!}

I make my black bean soup with cumin, so it has some spice to it. It's mighty delicious.

So if you want/need an alternative to the tried and true black bean soup from back in the day, try this one. It's my tried & true one, and I wouldn't let you down, would I?

Black Bean Soup

My version is definitely different than the regular black bean soup but this black bean soup has no pork fat. Cumin gives the soup its great flavor.

Print Rate

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 4

Author: Meme

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 TBSP oil olive or avocado
• ▢ 1 large onion diced
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 8 ounce can no-salt added tomato sauce
• ▢ 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans
• ▢ 3 cups water or low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• ▢ 1 tsp cumin
• ▢ 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• ▢ 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

• Heat oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven.
• Sauté the onion in the oil for about 7-10 minutes, until tender & lightly browned.
• Stir in the garlic & cumin, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
• Add in the tomato sauce, black beans, and water. Stir well.
• Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer {uncovered} for 25 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally.
• Season with salt and red pepper flakes.
• Remove from heat, and mash some of the beans into the soup. {I like mine smoother, so I use an immersion blender}.
• Serve with optional toppings, if desired.

Notes

*Optional toppings: diced bell peppers, shredded cheddar, plain yogurt, cilantro, or hot sauce

Did you try this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment & recipe rating below. Bonus points for tagging @memeinge & #livingwellkitchen on Instagram! THANK YOU! xo

Meme