An easy vegan Southwest Soup made with black beans, hearty vegetables, and delicious fiesta-style flavors. It's simple to prepare, protein-rich, and a satisfying lunch or dinner! (Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free.)
This tasty southwestern-style soup is filled with warm flavors and satisfying textures. Plus it's easy to make with simple, healthy ingredients (many of them pantry staples!)
The best part is everyone can personalize their bowl with their own favorite toppings. (See below for ideas & suggestions!) This makes it a nice family-friendly meal for busy weeknights or quick lunches.
Plus each serving has about 14 grams protein, plus fiber and iron. It's a crowd-pleasing & budget-friendly meal that's so easy to customize to your taste!
Ingredients for Southwest Bean Soup
For this recipe you'll simmer in a large pot on the stovetop:
- Yellow onion: Or substitute sweet onion or white onion. Red bell pepper is a nice addition as well if you'd like to include it.
- Gold potato: I use a medium/large Yukon gold potato which is about 8 ounces. You can use white potato or Russet potato if you prefer.
- Fresh garlic cloves: I like the taste of fresh, but substitute dried garlic powder if needed.
- Vegetable broth: Be sure to use low sodium if desired. If you'd like a thicker broth, add a couple tablespoons tomato paste with the broth!
- Black beans: I enjoy black beans in this recipe, but you could substitute pinto beans or red kidney beans.
- Fire-roasted diced tomatoes: Or you can substitute regular diced tomatoes if you can't find fire-roasted.
- Diced green chiles: This comes in a small 4 ounce can.
- Sweet corn: For convenience, I use frozen corn kernels, but fresh, canned, or fire-roasted, works great too.
- Fresh cilantro: We'll stir in a quarter cup of chopped cilantro at the end of cooking time for fresh, vibrant flavor.
- Ground cumin
- Chili powder: Most often I use mild chili powder from the brand "Simply Organic" or whatever is in the bulk bins at our local food co-op. The recipe is mild if using a regular/mild chili powder. But be aware chili powder can vary in spiciness depending on how much cayenne pepper it contains.
- Smoked paprika
- Dried oregano
Customizing
Make it spicy: Add more chili powder, jalapeno pepper, medium green chiles, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, or chipotle in adobo sauce. Or simply top your bowl with hot sauce to taste before serving.
Spices & seasoning: Use more or less of the seasonings you enjoy. (Or you could add ancho chile powder as well.) You can also simply use 1-2 tablespoons Taco Seasoning to flavor the broth.
Make it "meaty": Omit one can of black beans and add your favorite vegan ground beef crumbles instead. Cook these separately according to package instructions. Then stir into the soup towards the end of cook time.
Add grains: Stir in some cooked brown rice or quinoa before serving to make it even more substantial.
Serving
This is a fun family-friendly meal because everyone can personalize their bowl with their own favorite toppings! A few suggestions include:
- Avocado or guacamole
- Chipotle Crema (for smoky spice!)
- Fresh cilantro
- Sliced green onion (scallion)
- Vegan sour cream
- Vegan shredded cheddar cheese
- Lime juice or lime wedges
- Crumbled tortilla chips or corn tortillas
Storing
First, let the soup cool completely. Then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I find it keeps for about 5-7 days. Simply reheat in the microwave when ready to enjoy!
Freezing: I haven't tried freezing this meal, but I'm guessing it would do great!
For more inspiration, also browse all vegan soup recipes or easy vegan dinner recipes.
Southwest Black Bean Soup (Easy!)
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion
- 8 oz. gold potato
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 30 oz. canned black beans*
- 15 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 4 oz. diced green chiles
- 1 cup sweet corn (I use frozen)
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
Toppings of choice (optional):
- Avocado, cilantro, green onion, tortilla strips, hot sauce, nutritional yeast, chipotle crema, cashew sour cream, fresh lime juice
Instructions
- Dice onion and potato.
- In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, sauté onion for 7-8 minutes. (I use 3 Tbsp. veggie broth/water for no-oil sauté method, adding more as needed.)
- Meanwhile, mince garlic.
- When onion is translucent, add potato, garlic, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, and oregano. Stir and sauté for 1 minute.
- Add broth, black beans (rinsed and drained), tomatoes, green chiles, and corn.
- Bring to a light boil. Then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes or until potato is tender.
- Meanwhile, roughly chop cilantro and prepare any desired toppings.
- Before serving, add cilantro to pot and stir to combine. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with toppings of choice. (I enjoy avocado, lime juice, and hot sauce.)
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
Sodium content: This is omitted as I cannot provide an accurate number. I encourage you to calculate your own to provide a much more precise reading based on the exact ingredients, brands, and amounts you're using.
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Patrick B. says
I've made this recipe several times and the family loves it. So thank you. One thing though. I just noticed that you have the cook time as 20 minutes but it takes 20 minutes for the potatoes to get tender. It's about 30 minutes cook time. 🙂
Kaitlin says
Hello, Patrick! Great to hear your family has enjoyed it a few times. Awesome. And thanks a lot for your thoughtful feedback! The prep time & cook time can be a gray area to quantify, and sometimes it overlaps which is tricky. For this recipe, I was considering everything before the simmering step as "prep time" since there were still active steps involved. Then the 20 minutes of inactive simmering was "cook time". Which for me, all comes out to about 40 minutes total (but this is always an estimate and can vary a bit). I truly appreciate your thoughts and continually strive to refine my methods in the clearest, most efficient way so I will keep this in mind. Thank you!
Rhonda says
I love your website so much. It's incredibly refreshing to be able to jump to the recipe without a lot of hassle. I come back anyway to follow instructions and see photos so I don't know why more websites don't do this. Thank you for this first rate site. Please keep it user friendly. 🙂
Kaitlin says
Hello, Rhonda! Thank you so much for this thoughtful & helpful feedback. I'm thrilled to hear you say this because making the site as simple and user friendly is such high priority for me, so I'm glad that's coming through. Thanks again and I truly hope you enjoy any recipes you try!
Andy says
Could I make this in a crock pot?
Kaitlin says
Hello, Andy! I haven't tried preparing this in a crock pot, but I'm guessing it'd work great. Would love to hear if you give it a go!