My slow cooker black bean soup is hearty, flavor-packed, and basically cooks itself. A few ingredients, a couple of minutes of prep, and the slow cooker does the rest. It’s the perfect cozy, hands-off meal that’ll keep you warm all winter long!
I love, love, LOVE making my spicy black bean soup when cold weather hits. It’s one of the most delicious and satisfying soups you can make, and it goes with all kinds of fun toppings. But this winter I have a new love: slow cooker black bean soup! It’s just as delicious as the original, but with even less effort.
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If you’ve made my other slow cooker soups, like my slow cooker lentil soup and slow cooker split pea soup, I’ve got good news: this one is just as easy. But it does require a bit more planning because dried black beans need soaking. Sure, you could use canned, but I decided to take advantage of the long simmer time and go with dried, which are cheaper and taste better anyway!
The veggies and seasonings are just a touch different from my traditional black bean soup recipe. Since the soup will be cooking for a while we’re using harder veggies like carrots and celery. Having said that, this recipe is very customizable, so if you want to experiment with different spices or vegetables, go for it. It’s pretty foolproof and always delicious!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Below you’ll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Dried black beans. Prefer to use canned? See the FAQ section below!
- Vegetable broth.
- Onion.
- Carrots.
- Celery.
- Garlic.
- Spices. You’ll need ground cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, and a bay leaf. You can find them all in the spice aisle of pretty much any grocery store.
- Lime juice. Use freshly squeezed juice — the flavor is so much better than bottled!
- Salt and pepper.
Tip: Don’t forget the toppings! Fresh cilantro, scallions, diced onion, vegan sour cream or cashew cream, guacamole, and sliced avocado are all excellent on black bean soup!
How It’s Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Soak the beans. They will need a minimum of four hours soak time, but preferably eight to twelve hours. Drain and rinse them when they’re done.
Tip: The beans will soak up lots of water, so use plenty! You want the water level at least three times as high as your beans.
Step 2: Cook the soup. Load up your slow cooker with the soaked beans, broth, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and spices. Cover and cook for about 3½ to 4 hours on high, or 6 to 7 hours on low.
Step 3: Blend. This is optional, but if you like a thick, creamy soup, blend about half of it. You can use a conventional blender, or an immersion blender like I’m doing in the photo.
Step 4: Season. Add some lime juice and salt to finish your soup.
Step 5: Serve. Your slow cooker black bean soup is ready to go! Ladle it into bowls, and don’t forget the toppings. If you love carbs like me, serve your soup with a scoop of rice, a crusty piece of bread, some vegan cornbread, or a vegan corn muffin.
Variations
- Make it spicy. The recipe as written will give you a very flavorful, but also very mild soup. Add some cayenne pepper or your favorite hot sauce if you like a little heat.
- Chipotle black bean soup. This will also give you a spicy soup, but it’ll be intensely smoky, too! Add a diced up canned chipotle pepper or a few tablespoons of the adobo sauce the peppers are packed in.
- Add veggies. Throw in some chopped kale, spinach, diced red bell pepper, or broccoli when the soup is almost done cooking. You can also add thawed frozen veggies like corn.
- Add hominy. If you’ve never had hominy before, this is a great recipe to try it in! Grab a can in the international foods aisle at your store, drain and rinse it, and add it when the soup has about 30 minutes left to cook. And if you love it, be sure to give my vegan pozole a try — hominy is the star ingredient!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yep! This recipe includes no gluten-containing ingredients.
You can! You’ll need three 15-ounce cans. Drain and rinse them before adding them. Reduce the broth to about 3 cups (add more later, if needed), and reduce the cook time to 2 to 2 ½ hours on high, or 4 to 5 hours on low.
Leftovers of this soup keep very well! Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to three months.
More Vegan Slow Cooker Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup
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Equipment
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1 (3-quart or larger) slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried black beans
- 5 cups vegetable broth, plus more if desired
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, sliced
- 2 medium celery stalks, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 Bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
Instructions
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Place the dried beans into a large bowl and cover them with water. You want the water level to be at least three times as high as the beans — they'll soak up a lot of it! Let them soak overnight, 8 to 12 hours.
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The following day, drain and rinse the beans. Add them to a 3-quart or larger slow cooker, along with the broth, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, and bay leaf. Stir everything well, cover, and cook for 3 ½ to 4 hours on high, or 6 to 7 hours on low, until the beans are very tender.
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Uncover the pot. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Optionally, blend about half of the soup either using an immersion blender or by transferring it to a blender, then returning it to the slow cooker. Always use caution when blending hot liquids.
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If you'd like the soup to be a bit thinner, stir in some additional broth or hot water. Stir in the lime juice, then season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
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Ladle into bowls and serve.
Nutrition
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