This Carrot Black Bean Soup is a hearty and filling vegetarian soup. It’s loaded with black beans, tender carrots, diced tomatoes, and zesty spices. Plus, it’s ready in under 30 minutes making it a quick and easy meal option.
The Best Black Bean Soup
This is the recipe you need if you’re looking to mix up your vegetarian dinner options. There’s no harm at all in increasing the number of vegetarian meals that you eat throughout the week! It’s actually encouraged! As long as it’s filling and nutritious, it’s a winning dinner in our book.
We love this veggie-filled Carrot Black Bean Soup because it’s unique, filling, and flavorful. If you like hearty black bean dips and zesty salsa, then you’re going to LOVE this soup. It’s loaded with diced carrots, celery, and onions, plus tomatoes. And then it’s seasoned with chili powder, cumin, and oregano for a bit of Mexican flavor.
This soup gets bonus points with us because you can make it in under 30 minutes. Plus, the ingredients are easy to have on hand for a quick last-minute dinner.
Why You’ll Love This Easy Soup Recipe
There are lots of reasons to love this vegetarian black bean soup and here are just a few!
- The ingredients are simple, affordable, and easy to store. We love that we usually have all of these ingredients on hand to whip up this recipe at the last minute. Plus, they are easy to find and not expensive which makes it a great family-friendly option for all.
- The soup doesn’t take much time to make. The soup is great because it’s ready in under 30 minutes.
- You can add fun and flavorful toppings. This is the part that the little ones love the most! They love it because they can add crunchy and fun toppings like tortilla chips, avocado, and green onions.
Recipe Ingredients
Here is what you need to make Carrot Black Bean Soup. For more specific information regarding amounts and recipe instructions, please scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Olive Oil
- Yellow Onion: You can also use sweet or white onions.
- Carrots: The carrots add texture and a bit of earthy sweetness.
- Celery: When combined with onions and carrots, celery provides a great foundation of flavor for the soup.
- Garlic: We recommend using fresh garlic for this soup. In fact, you can add more if you really like garlic flavor.
- Chicken or Vegetable Broth: Use vegetable broth if you want the meal to be 100% vegetarian.
- Black Beans: Make sure that you drain and rinse the beans before using them.
- Diced Tomatoes: We used mild Rotel tomatoes so that it wasn’t spicy and it’s kid friendly. You can use spicy Rotel tomatoes if you want to add a little heat.
- Chili Powder: Use more or less depending on how hot you want the soup to be.
- Cumin: We love the way that black beans and cumin pair together! Don’t skip this spice, it’s worth adding!
- Oregano: You can use dried oregano for this recipe as it’s a spice that’s often used in Mexican cooking.
- Bay Leaf
- Salt and Pepper
Optional Toppings
- Tortilla Chips
- Sour Cream
- Avocado
- Cilantro
- Fresh Diced Tomatoes
- Green Onions
- Shredded Cheese
How to Make Carrot Black Bean Soup
This soup is so easy to make because it’s easy to prep and ready to eat in under 30 minutes. The basic steps are as follows:
First, cook the onions, carrots, and celery. Sauté the ingredients in a large dutch oven until they are tender and fragrant. Then add the garlic after a few minutes and continue to cook but do not brown the garlic.
Then add the other soup ingredients. And bring the soup to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
To make the soup thicker: You can use an immersion blender to blend the soup for a few pulses to make the broth a little thicker.
Lastly, serve the soup with your favorite toppings! And don’t forget to add flavorful toppings like sour cream, tortilla chips, and green onions.
Tips & Variations
Here are some tips and tricks to keep in mind when making this recipe.
- Small dice for quick cooking. Chop the carrots into small diced pieces so they cook quickly.
- To make the soup spicier: Add red pepper for heat or use hot Rotel for a lot more spice. We used mild Rotel tomatoes because they add flavor but not a lot of spice (making it more kid-friendly, too!).
- Add more vegetables: You can also add chopped bell pepper and corn for more veggies.
What To Serve with Black Bean Soup
We love to eat this soup on its own or pair it with an easy side dish. And here are some of our favorite suggestions.
- Serve this soup with an easy sandwich. A good idea would be our Air Fryer Grilled Cheese because the kids will love it and it’s another quick and simple recipe.
- Make simple quesadillas to go on the side. The kids love dipping them into the soup!
- Add an easy salad for a quick dinner or lunch option. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. We like to toss together some greens, diced tomatoes, corn, and cucumber for a fast and healthy salad option.
- Rolls, cornbread, or crusty piece of bread. Soft rolls, a crusty piece of warm french bread, or these Herb Air Fryer Crescent Rolls would all be delicious!
How to Store & Reheat Leftovers
Store any leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Then, when you’re ready to reheat, you can heat the soup up in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Can I Freeze This?
Yes, you can freeze Carrot Black Bean Soup. We recommend freezing the soup in individual freezer bags so that you can store them flat in the freezer. Plus, they make a great quick and easy lunch or dinner idea!
Carrot Black Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 3 cans, 15 oz black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can, 10 oz Rotel
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Optional Toppings:
- Tortilla Chips
- Sour Cream
- Avocado
- Cilantro
- Tomatoes
- Green Onions
- Shredded Cheese
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven, or soup pot, heat oil over medium heat.
- Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté for 5 minutes and then add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.
- Add remaining ingredients and bring soup to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Optional: Use an immersion blender a couple of times to make the broth a little thicker. (This is completely optional and does not change the flavor as much as it does the texture.)
- Serve hot with your favorite toppings!
