Have you ever tried something that was almost good and knew immediately that it could be great? I have…many times.
A few days back Hubby and I stopped by Whole Foods to grab a few things, and wandered into their soup-bar section. Some of the smells coming from soups were amazing, while others not so much. After checking out a few options I made my way to a pot of Adobo Black Bean Soup. It smelt divine. I asked their friendly staff for a taste–it was good. I wanted some! However, I wanted better ingredients and an improvement on the taste of what I had. I wanted to take what they had and make it better.
$4.00 later I was munching on a small cup of soup. However, the more I had of it, the more I was turned off by its sweetness–a couple of culprits responsible for that were molasses and sugar=YUCK! Adding sugar to soups should be illegal. (Not to mention that combining beans and sugar put me at a risk of experiencing a “gas attack”–when high fiber food, such as beans, is combined with simple sugars, such an outcome is unavoidable!). The soup was also a bit too spicy for my taste.
As with anything else that is almost good I had to make this soup REALLY GOOD. I got home, pulled my ingredients together, brainstormed my cooking strategy and three hours later* a masterpiece was born! It is DELICIOUS! It is perfect without any sugary additives. So, for your indulgence and mine, here is the…
*it does not take 3 hours to make the soup–the time was spent preparing everything, getting ingredients ready and taking care of life in between.
Fat Free Vegan Black Bean Soup Recipe
Makes about 4 quarts [16 cups] of soup
- 4 cups black beans
- 12 cups water
- 2 bay leaves*
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes, jarred or canned
- 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
- 1.5-2 tbsp Himalayan sea salt (or to taste)
- ½-1 tbsp chili powder (depending on how much heat you want)
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
- 3 tbsp cumin powder
- ¼ water to sauté vegetables
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
- 4 springs of green onions, including white parts, finely chopped
- ½ large onion, finely chopped
- 4-5 stalks of celery, finely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
- ½ cup finely chopped cilantro
- Pre-soak beans overnight and rinse before cooking. If you don't have time to pre-soak them, it will increase cooking time, but make sure to wash them thoroughly before cooking anyway.
- Pour 10 cups of water into a large cooking pot, add beans, salt and bay leaves and bring to boil.
- Cook until beans are tender, almost falling apart (pre-soaked beans cooking time might be 60-90 mins, while unsoaked beans will take 2-2.5 hrs. to get there)
- Add tomatoes and remaining 2 cups of water.
- Add: soy sauce, salt, chili powder, cayenne pepper and cumin powder, and continue cooking.
- Meanwhile, preheat a skillet on medium heat, add remaining ingredients: onions, carrots, celery and bell pepper. When you hear them sizzle, use ¼ cup of water, splashing as needed, to sauté. Bring to medium-high heat, sauté, stirring, for 1-2 minutes, reduce heat to medium and sauté for another 5 minutes.
- Remove ingredients from the skillet and add to boiling soup.
- Bring everything to boil.
- Add cilantro.
- Cover cooking pot, reduce heat to low and continue cooking for another 20-30 minutes.
- Cover cooking pot, reduce heat to low and continue cooking for another 20-30 minutes.
Enjoy! Soup is at it’s best after sitting for a few hours or overnight, and when served with whole wheat homemade bread, and possibly a spoonful of vegan sour cream. Mmmmmmmmmm!!!!!! GOOD!
If you make the soup, let me know what you think. Adjust ingredient quantities as needed.
Bone Appetite!
Cookware: I cook my meals in my favorite World’s Finest 7-ply cookware set. Compare it to compatible products sold at only private demos (I have been to those too!) that would cost you thousands of dollars more. This is a winner! I’ve had my set for over 9 years now and love it!
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