Black Bean Soup Recipe (Restaurant-Style) • Food Folks and Fun (2024)

4.41 from 22 votes

Recipe Cost $ $5.53

Serving Cost $ $0.92

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 50 minutes minutes

6 servings

This is the best homemade, from scratchBlack Bean Souprecipe out there! It is even better than anything you’ll have at a restaurant!

For the Beans:

• ▢ 1 pound dried black beans rinsed and picked over
• ▢ 4 ounces ham steak rind trimmed
• ▢ 2 bay leaves
• ▢ 5 cups water
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon table salt

For the Soup:

• ▢ 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 2 large onions minced (about 3 cups)
• ▢ 1 large carrot minced (about ½ cup)
• ▢ 3 ribs celery chopped fine (about 1 cup)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon table salt
• ▢ 5 – 6 medium garlic cloves minced
• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoons ground cumin
• ▢ 2 tablespoons chipotle sauce
• ▢ 6 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• ▢ 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ▢ 2 tablespoon water
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lime juice

Garnishes:

• ▢ Lime wedges
• ▢ Minced fresh cilantro leaves
• ▢ Red onion finely diced
• ▢ Avocado diced
• ▢ Sour cream

For the Beans:

• In a large saucepan over medium-high heat add the beans, ham, bay leaves, water, and baking soda. Bring to a boil.

• Stir in salt, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer briskly until beans are tender, 75 to 90 minutes (if necessary, add another 1 cup water and continue to simmer until beans are tender). Do not drain beans.

• Remove and discard bay leaves. Remove ham steak, cut into 1/4-inch cubes, and set aside.

For the Soup:

• Over medium-high heat, add oil to a large heavy-bottomed pot until shimmering but not smoking.

• Add onions, carrot, celery, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and lightly browned, 8-10 minutes.

• Reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic and cumin; constantly stir until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.

• Stir in cooked beans, bean cooking liquid, chipotle sauce, and chicken stock. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.

• Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, to blend flavors, about 30 minutes.

To Finish:

• Ladle 3 ½ cups of soup into food processor or blender, process until smooth, and return to pot.

• Stir together cornstarch and water in small bowl until combined. Gradually stir in cornstarch mixture into soup.

• Bring the soup to boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, to fully thicken.

• Off heat, stir in lime juice and reserved ham.

• Top with garnishes and serve immediately.