Veggie-packed slow cooker black bean soup
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the slow cooker is great for this time of year (I swear that’s the last time I’ll say that until next October… maybe). One of my favourite things about it, apart from the fact that you can end up with a home-cooked meal after only five minutes of effort, is that if you leave it on for long enough, certain things cook down so much that they become pretty much invisible. Now obviously this isn’t always a good thing, but when you’re trying to hide vegetables – either from picky kids or just from yourself – it’s perfect. Hiding in this black bean soup, there are two big carrots (which when grated seem to almost fill the slow cooker on their own), half a bag of spinach, and a whole red pepper. The carrot especially seems to disappear into thin air. It’s a great way to pack extra nutrients into a soup without compromising its simplicity.
I left mine chunky because that’s how I like it, and seeing little flecks of green and red in my soup doesn’t put me off (considering I put the vegetables in myself, it would be a bit odd if it did). However if you really want to deny their very existence, you could always blend your soup before serving so that nobody suspects a thing.
You can serve this however you like – the soup itself is vegan, but you can add whatever toppings you fancy. I like to break up some tortilla chips into it for a bit of crunch, and obviously some cheese. Or even better, some melted cheese! Yesssss. This recipe makes 4 generous portions, and since it’s already been cooked to oblivion, it’s just as good reheated the next day – pop some cheese on top before you reheat it, and it’ll get nice and melty. It’s definitely the sort of soup that will make you smile every time you remember it’s waiting for you in the fridge.
I actually only tried black beans for the first time a year or two ago. I never really saw them in the shops until then – even now, I have to go to the ‘world foods’ section of the supermarket to find them! But now I can’t get enough, and I seem to stick another couple of tins in my trolley every time I go shopping. If you’re as much of a black bean fanatic as I am, you should also try these other black bean recipes:
– veggie burrito bowls
– black bean enchiladas with avocado sauce
– ricotta and black bean stuffed peppers
– quick black bean dip
There are more around here if you search hard enough but I think I’d better stop there, hard as it is.
- 225g carrots, grated (around 2 medium carrots)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red pepper, finely diced
- 40g spinach, chopped (do this quite finely if you’re trying to hide it!)
- 2 x 400g tin black beans, drained (240g each when drained)
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 400g tin refried beans
- 1tsp smoked paprika
- 2tsp hot chilli powder
- 200ml water
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Optional toppings: chopped fresh coriander (highly recommended!), grated cheese, crumbled tortilla chips, sour cream
- Combine all ingredients apart from your toppings in your slow cooker, and cook for around 8 hours on medium. If desired, blend before serving and add your chosen toppings.
This looked like an interesting recipe, but the pale gray print makes it impossible for some of us to read.
Hi Sue, sorry about that! I’m actually having the site redesigned later this year and one of my priorities is to make the font much darker :)
I have been making a stovetop black bean soup for years. Decided to try this one as it looked interesting and I liked that it is for a slow cooker. The stated prep time of 5 minutes seems impossible to achieve. It took me 30 minutes to prepare. I followed the recipe and didn’t make any changes. Overall, we liked the outcome. My wife thought it tasted a bit smokey. I thought it was somewhat sweet. We will probably spice it up more the next time. Good to have new recipe to throw into the mix.
Thanks Davey, glad you liked it! I’m surprised it took you 30 minutes to prepare – it’s mostly just opening tins! :)
I love this recipe because it’s full of healthy goodness and I can alter it to my family’s tastes. I use dried black beans for the value, boost the spices, add cumin and Spanish hot sauce such as Tapatillo plus lime juice. Can you tell we like Mexican flavors? Thank you for the springboard recipe! For those curious, I’ve made this basic recipe with my spin at least 10 times.
Wow you have been busy! :D I can never follow a recipe to the letter myself, so I totally understand the need to put your own spin on it haha. Glad you like it so much :)
Delicious! I did change it a lot though. I used dried beans instead of canned, and fat free refried beans I had made at home, so I had to up the amount of spice to tablespoons instead of teaspoons. If you are making this soup with beans that aren’t pre-flavored, I definitely recommend upping the amount of spice you put in. Also, consider adding some lime juice!
I was glad to have read other peoples comments before making this recipe. I assume most of the people saying the soup was bland used beans that weren’t pre-flavored as that as how they typically come in America.
Ah ok that’s interesting, the ones we get in the UK are all flavoured as far as I know! Will bear that in mind next time, thanks for the feedback :) Glad you enjoyed it!
I made this last night for dinner. It was very very bland. Addes some grated parm & my hubbs all time favorite addition to bland food Worchestershire sauce. Both helped & it became palatible. Won’t be making this again.
Sorry, I meant palatable & Worcestershire.
Hi Donna, I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this soup as much as I did! Perhaps your refried beans weren’t as flavourful as the ones I used? The ones we get here are already really tasty, and with the addition of the chilli and paprika, this soup definitely wasn’t bland when I made it! Hope you find something else here you like better :)
I followed the recipe to the letter, & it was so bland I couldn’t hardly believe it. Added some grated Parm cheese & my hubs all time remedy a shot of Worcestershire sauce. Adding these 2 items did help a bit. Was very filling but will not be making this one again.
I love this recipe. I have also made it with less liquid and put potatoes on top as “shepherdess pie”. Yum!
Oh and I don’t have a slow cooker, so I do it in a saucepan. Works fine!
Sounds great! Thanks for the comment :)
200ml converts to only one cup. Is that enough liquid?
Yes, the tin of tomatoes gives some liquid too :) and since no liquid is evaporated when you use a slow cooker, it should be plenty!
I made this tonight (stovetop style as I do not have a slow cooker) and we really enjoyed it. I added a tsp of ground cumin. Thanks for the idea, I would never had thought of adding refried beans to soup.
I really fancied black beans for dinner and selected your website. Made the blackbean and mushroom chilli. It was not only delicious but so quick and easy to make. I had all the ingredients already (even added some fresh spinach at the end). I’ve got some beans leftOver so will try the soup tomorrow. I love your website and intend to try all 60 dishes. Wonderful!
Hi Val, so glad you enjoyed it, thanks for your message! :) enjoy the soup!
Do you use Red re-fried beans or Black re-fried beans? I am making this tonight. It sounds delicious.
I don’t think we have those options in the UK, just plain old refried beans! So I guess just go with whichever is your favourite :) Enjoy!
Thanks for your quick response. Maybe I will try both over time and see which I prefer.
I have a pinning of a black bean brownie from I think it’s vegan girl. Check it out mine and my moms favorite dessert!
You should make sure that the refrieds are vegetarian, as regular canned ones use lard. Also, there is no reason to soak dried beans overnight. Just rinse and add to the pot. Cook the soup for 8 hrs. and the beans should be fine, as just simmering dried black beans for about 2.5 hrs. makes them tender enough.
Love the name of your blog!
Recipe looks great and I’ll Pin to try it later.
Wow, this recipe sounded great and then I read the cooking instructions and now I really love it! Dump everything in the crockpot and go have a cocktail. Can’t wait to try it.
Hahaha lady I like your thinking ;) I don’t really get the point of slow cooker recipes that require pre-cooking, seems to sort of defeat the point!!
Thanks Becca, this is ready and cooling off on my hob now (had to do a hurry-up stovetop version) for Friday night dinner after DH and I pick up the kids. Because there are little people involved there is no chili powder in the pot, but my bowl will have some. Cheers!
Ooh great! I really hope you all enjoy it Katharine :)
Just discovered your website, and ive enjoyed having a look around at the scrummy recipes and the gorgeous photos.
Just wondered if the refried beans add a lot to this soup? I have everything in my cupboard but those.
Thanks in advance
Hi! To be honest I think they actually do add something – they make it nice and thick. You could definitely make it without the refried beans and it will still be nice, but I do think they take it to the next level.
Cool, il wait and make it as intended ;-)
Thanks for the reply
Would I be able to use frozen spinach in this recipe or would it perhaps alter the consistency of the soup? Also do you know if this is a good soup to make in bulk and freeze for later? Thanks!
I can’t see why you couldn’t use frozen spinach! And I have no idea about freezing the soup itself but again, I can’t think of any reason why you couldn’t!
You’re so quick to respond, thank you so much! I just came across your site and am so excited to try all the different recipes that you’ve posted!
Thanks for this delicious recipe! My kids loved it and told me to make it again soon. I’m always happy when they enjoy something so healthy. And I had fun explaining to my American children what grams and tins are!
Hi Kristen, thanks so much for your message! I’m so glad your kids liked the soup and that they learned something new at the same time!! :)
wonderful recipe. Thanks for sharing.
This sounds delicious, but here in the US, tin can linings contain a hormone-disrupting chemical called BPA (Bisphenol-A) that leaches into the foods they contain. Have you ever made it with dried beans? I would imagine you could just add more liquid. Any thoughts or tips?
I’ve actually never cooked with dried beans! So I’m afraid I don’t have any tips.
Thanks for your reply; if I try it, I’ll let you know what happens. :)
That would be good! Thanks! :)
If you have pressure cooker , you can put your 1 cup of dried beans to 3 cups of water and Cook directly . I usually keep my pressure cooker open until it starts boiling and then close the lid . May be 5-6 whistles . Turn down your gas low heat for 10 min . That’s it
Dry beans will work. I recomend and over night soak and cook then for 1 1/2 to 2 hours before putting in the crock pot with anything acidic, like tomatoes, as they seem to stop the beeans from absorbing liquid. I hope this helps!
I had the exact same question, and found a few rather useful discussions at stackexchange
and at chowhound
In essence, most of the discussion seems to indicate that it is wise to pre-cook the beans. I feel obligated to mention that I’ve also read about warnings about how some beans in dried form require cooking/boiling at a certain temperature hot enough to break down any toxins (phytohemagglutinins?) that exist in the beans’ raw form (like kidney beans) and that sometimes undercooking the beans can increase the level of toxins in the bean– boiling for at least 10 minutes seems to be the most recommended solution for beans like kidneys. More info can be found here
Thanks so much! I will give it a try!
I just tossed the carrots, spinach & garlic in my food processor. Zap and I was done! It’s cooking now. WIll advise of outcome. Also thought a bit of kale wouldn’t hurt either.
I just made this and it was incredible! It was so easy to put together on a day that I woke up sick and miserable. Thank you for another great recipe.
This recipe looks delicious! Does anyone know if I use dry black beans if I would need to cook them first or simply pre-soak? It seems like an overnight soak and then 8 hours in the slow cooker would do it, but I’d hate to find out they’re still hard when it’s ready to eat.
In my exerance you need to cook the beans first. If you don’t cook them all they way first, don’t add anything acidic until the beans are tender.
i just got a slow-cooker and i have been looking for recipes, perfect!
I love a good chili recipe and that looks ridiculously good! Great job :)
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
I live for my slow cooker this time of year. I’m definitely going to have to try this recipe!
Hi Becca, really like that you chose to do a slow cooking recipe. I see that most people think slow cooking is for meat! In also love that you chose black beans, they have such a deep flavour so are clearly perfect for your method of cooking! I recently shared an unusual black bean recipe, I hope that you will take a look x
I love black beans they’re very expensive canned in Australia so I always soak and cook them from scratch but I kind of obsessed with them. This looks like a lovely soup and super quick with the canned beans.
Where’s the corn?
What do you mean – what corn?
Sounds delicious :D I’m seriously wanting a slow cooker. how big is yours? any tips on buying.. ? Also, where are you getting black beans from? I can never find them. gorgeous photography as usual!
Mine’s 3.5l – it’s this one: http://goo.gl/daK0dl
It’s the perfect size for me – I’m usually just cooking for me and my fiance so that size will do two meals for the two of us (4 portions). Also most slow cooker recipes are soups and stews and things that can be frozen if you’re just cooking for yourself, so I’d recommend that size :) plus it’s red and pretty haha. If you can force yourself to put a few tins of stuff in at like 11pm, it’s a great thing to wake up to :)
I get my black beans from Asda in the ‘world foods’ section. Not sure where else you can get them, ridiculous isn’t it!
I am having a hard time figuring out how much 40g of spinach is in US measurements, so if you have idea I would love it if you would share it! Thanks!
http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/conversions.html
I love, love, love black beans! So I am definitely going to try this recipe! I will have to go and figure out what the measurements are in grams compared to cups since I don’t know how to switch this to US measurements. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!
To be honest this particular recipe doesn’t really need much measuring :) just two carrots, a couple of big handfuls of spinach, and the 400g tins are just the normal size (like this size) :) hope you like it!
sorry, didn’t see your reply! you are fast!
Haha no worries ;) yeah I’d just go with a couple of handfuls, maybe a couple of cups if you want to do it that way? I don’t really know how cups work tbh haha, do you pack it down or not? Anyway it doesn’t really matter either way, just use however much you have on hand ;)
I made this tonight – I didn’t use the crock pot though. It was delicious! And I even forgot to put the toppings on!
Haha noooo the toppings are the most exciting bit! ;) glad you enjoyed it though! :D
I was happy to see this comment – could you tell me how you adapted the recipe so as to make it without a slow cooker/crock pot, and with just an ordinary (oval-shaped) large stew pot?
I am essentially new to cooking in general and I’ve never made a soup in my life, so I really appreciate any idiot-proof instructions you or anyone else can offer! (My repertoire of similar recipes includes chili and beef stew, but never soup!) THANK YOU!
Hey Gabi :) A slow cooker is basically just a big, slow pot, so you can do exactly the same thing on the hob and just cook it a little quicker. So I’d still just stick everything in your pot together, bring it to a gentle simmer with a lid on, and then simmer it for half an hour or so until the veg are cooked, stirring it every now and then so that it doesn’t stick on the bottom. The only reason I used the slow cooker was because it’s marginally less effort (you don’t need to stir it as much, for example), but it’s basically the same process!
Phew, okay great! I have the tiniest kitchen and I truly don’t have any room for investing in new appliances that take up space (as tempting as they are, since they make cooking in bulk so easy!)
P.S. Your blog is so great! I arrived here this past May after a friend on Facebook happened to share your avocado risotto recipe – I have made that a few times now and I love it! Now I’m finally getting around to scrolling through all your other recipes and I’m very excited to try this one out soon! I’m not vegetarian and in fact it’s a HUGE struggle for me to integrate vegetables into my diet (it’s a texture thing), so I love the fact that a lot of your recipes are on the cheesier/starchier side, haha :) Whatever works as a gateway, right?? Thanks again!!
Hahaha I do try to be healthy I swear, the cheese just always calls my name ;) I’m glad you like the risotto, it’s one of my favourites too! :) thanks Gabi!