Slow Cooked Black Bean Soup

Friday, October 9, 2009 by Marianne 4 Comments

Do you know what I’m lovin’ right now? My slow cooker!  It makes getting supper on the table after a long day of work a snap.  With a little prep, dinner’s ready to go when you get home.

The night before I planned on making the soup, I soaked some dried black beans and chopped up some veggies:

One of Bill’s gorgeous peppers!

I put the chopped veggies in the fridge and set out my other ingredients…

In the morning, I drained the beans…

…combined the rest of the ingredients…

…turned the slow cooker on and went about my day. When I got home, all I had to do was chop some garnishes…

…purée the soup…

…and serve!

Slow Cooked Black Bean Soup
Recipe courtesy of Cooking Light

• 1 pound dried black beans
• 4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth – I used vegetable broth
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 chopped pepper
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 serrano chile, finely chopped – I used 3 chipotles for that yummy smoky flavor
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• Cilantro sprigs (optional)

Sort and wash beans; place in a large bowl. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans; cover and let stand 8 hours overnight. Drain.

Combine beans, broth, and next 5 ingredients (through chile) in an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 10 hours. Discard bay leaves. Stir in juice and salt. Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 6 bowls; sprinkle each with 2 teaspoons chopped cilantro. Top each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons sour cream. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Happy Friday everyone!