Soup’s On! Black Bean Cocoa Lime Soup

OOPS I did it again! Black beans + chocolate…THE SEQUEL!

Black bean soup was a major staple in my diet when I made my vegetarian diet a healthy diet, and it still is one of my favorite things! It’s so yummy and it’s usually really healthy. Protein, fiber, veggies, tastes great with chips and salsa. Word.

When it comes to canned black bean sou, I always stick with the Amy’s Organics. I’ve tried a few other canned options, and none are as good as Amy’s. I could really get into this — the hardness of the beans plays a big factor; yep, that’s a sign I’m way too into soup — but just trust me on this one.

Canned soup is great, but making your own black bean soup has a major perk…it’s CHEAP! I mean, at $2.50 a can, Amy’s wasn’t putting me in the poor house, but this is still less expensive. Beans are a cheap and the spices and veggies are pantry staples/things you can easily use again. None of these ingredients should break the bank, although I did charge a red pepper once because I was so broke, so…ya know. But you can make a big batch for under $10 and freeze it for a broke-ass day come November. And I love Amy, but I’m kicking her ass based on the reduced amounts of sodium alone.

And really, you can’t even compare, because this chocolate-and-lime-infused take on black bean soup is deadly.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large carrot chopped

1 stalk celery chopped

1 cup diced bell peppers

4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used the Hershey’s Dark Chocolate again; I highly recommend this!)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 cups low-sodium canned black beans (about 1.5 cans)

1 lime

Method

Swirl the oil around in a medium saucepan and add the onion.

Saute on low heat until onions are caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, and celery and cook for 5 minutes.

By the way, it took me forever to find a decent broth, once again! Even the ones labeled “low” and “reduced” sodium still had way too much for my liking. After reading all the nutrition facts, I finally ended up going with this one.

Add the vegetable stock, cocoa powder, and cumin.

Stir well and simmer for 10 minutes. It will start to smell delicious at this point. Also, that dark chocolate makes it so dark! Duh? Yes, but I love it every time.

While it’s simmering, zest the lime. Confession: I hate zesting limes. Things that grate freak me out — this includes the Pedi Egg and cheese graters. But I overcame my fear tonight and zested that thing until it was nearly bald, and did not zest any fingers in the process.

Confession: when I zested the lime, I had a major inclination to pour some tequila straight in the soup. Pavlovian response? In all honesty, if I had any Jose lying around, I definitely would have.

Stir in the black beans and add the lime zest.

Cook for approximately 20 minutes over low heat.

While the soup is simmering, I made my homemade guacamole. (The recipe is here.) I haven’t made it in a while and forgot how good it is! It’s so worth making from scratch. I just hacked at everything and then put it in the Magic Bullet until it was smooth.

The last step for the soup is to transfer it to a blender to puree or use an immersion blender.

Most black bean soup isn’t blended — and that’s why most black bean soup isn’t mind-blowing. Blend, blend, blend.

Then the soup gets topped with chopped green onions, salsa, a dollop of plain yogurt (or sour cream), and Mexican cheese if you want!

I also added salt and pepper (I prefer to salt things when they are done, rather than while they are cooking, to save on sodium) and crushed red pepper. I like spicy food, so I would have been happy to just add red pepper and jalapenos right to the pot, but my mom is so sensitive to spicy food. If I buy “medium” salsa instead of “mild,” she’ll repeatedly fan her face throughout the meal, gulp water, and comment, “Oh my god, this is making my nose run!” while sniffling non-stop. If you don’t have to worry about that sort of thing, feel free to make it spicier.

The soup is so dark and so thick — to be honest, it looks quite swampy — but it is so good! The chocolate just adds so much depth, and it’s got a little heat and spice. Don’t neglect the garnishes either…even that small bit of yogurt gives it a touch of cool and the onions give it some zest and crunch. I served the soup with baked tortilla chips, the guac, and TJ’s peach salsa (um, not so into that as a salsa, but I think it would be awesome as a jelly replacement). I added more guacamole right to the soup once I started eating it, and that was a win.

I can’t believe I’ve never made my own black bean soup before! It tastes so much better this way. I didn’t know what I was missing! I know I get excited about a lot of stuff, but if I could be a sommelier of black bean soup, I would be. And, well, Amy’s is now Franzia — good in a pinch, great when you’re in college. This recipe is like the expensive wine you swirl around, smell, taste, and then want to be classy and sip slowly, and maybe you do go slowly…but you keep at it at your slow/classy pace, and before you know it, you’ve entered a slow/not classy stupor.

I entered a bit of a stupor (a soupor?) after this meal! It was just so flavorful and satisfying. Maybe it was my good-but-tough pre-dinner run, or just the mental exhaustion that happens when I do math all day….or maybe that’s just what happens when you stop doing the soup equivalent of “slapping the bag.”

Tagged as: black beans, chocolate, cooking, guacamole, healthy recipes, Mexican, soup, vegetarianism