20 Minute Black Bean and Lime Soup
If you’re looking for a fast and delicious dinner, this 20 minute black bean and lime soup is here to save the day. It’s inexpensive, child-friendly, and quick and easy to make. Perfect for a tasty week night meal, black bean and lime soup is a surefire way to make everyone at the table happy. Trust me, this simple soup is sure to become another favorite in your house.
Black bean and lime soup
Black bean and lime soup is a flavorful and filling meal that is as tasty as it is easy to make. It is made of nutritious ingredients like vegetables, black beans, and aromatic spices all perfectly combined to create a hearty, chunky soup that is enhanced with the bright flavor of lime zest and juice.
This soup not only warms your soul, but it is also a nutritional powerhouse.
This 20 minute lime and black bean soup is rich in fiber, full of vitamins from the carrots and celery, and low in fat and sodium. It definitely has a place in healthy and balanced diet.
To cut a long story short, this zingy and nutritious black bean and lime soup deserves a spot in your meal rotation.
Ingredients
The exact amounts of the ingredients are listed in the recipe below, but here I’ll briefly go over each component of the soup.
- Olive oil – olive oil is a great, flavorful oil that complements the vegetables in this soup perfectly.
- Onion and garlic – These classic alliums provide a solid flavor base for the soup. When sautéd, the onions and garlic give off such a delicious aroma, it instantly makes you excited for the soup.
- Celery and carrot – These inexpensive and nutritious vegetables add flavor and nutrition to the soup. Carrots are loaded with vitamin A and celery has been used as both a food and a medicine for centuries.
- Cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper – Cumin and paprika are spices that are used in cuisines around the world because of their fantastic flavor profiles. Cayenne pepper is an optional spice in this recipe but can add a nice tiny touch of spice to this simple soup.
- Black beans – Canned black beans are the back bone to this soup. When slightly blended they provide a nice chunky texture. Furthermore, canned beans are an economical and convenient, making this soup both affordable and fast to make.
- Vegetable broth – Vegetable broth complements the vegetables in the soup and fills each bite with veggie flavor. Using a product like better than bouillon makes having quality vegetable broth on hand at all times easy and convenient.
- Lime zest and juice – To add a burst of bright flavor and zing to your 20 minute black bean soup, lime juice is a perfect addition to round out all the flavors. Adding some lime zest and a few tablespoons of lime juice really take this soup to the next level and make it stand out.
How to make black bean soup
Get out your soup pot or dutch oven and get ready to make your new favorite week night dinner.
- Sauté your veggies: Heat up some olive oil in a soup pot, then add in the onion, carrots, and celery. Season with a healthy pinch of salt. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for 30 more seconds, and enjoy the delicious aroma that will fill your kitchen.
- Bloom the spices: Dump in the cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Stir it around and let them coat the vegetables with their flavor. Heating the spices up helps enhance their flavor. Blooming the spices takes less than a minute but trust me, it enhances their flavor and is worth the little extra time.
- Add the beans and broth: Pour the beans and broth to the mix and bring it all to a gentle boil. Then lower the heat and simmer the soup for 10 minutes, making all those flavors besties and softening those veggies to perfection.
- Add zest and juice: To amp up the magic that is this soup, add in the zest and juice of two limes. Yes, two limes.
- Blend until chunky: With all the flavors married and veggies cooked, you can now switch off the heat under the soup. Grab your trusty immersion blender and blend the soup until chunky. Alternatively, you can carefully ladle half the soup into a blender and pulse until chunky, then pour back into the soup pot.
- Eat up: This soup is so good, you’ll definitely want to make it a weekly part of you life.
What to serve with black bean and lime soup
This 20 minute black bean soup is good on it’s own, but is even more fantastic when served along with these sides and toppings.
- Tortilla chips. Salty, crisp tortilla chips and black bean and lime soup are a match made in soup heaven.
- Sour cream. A dollop of cooling, tangy sour cream is a favorite addition to this chunky soup around here. I bet you’d love it too.
- Cheddar cheese. If you add the cheese when the soup is still nice and hot, it will get so delicious and melt, ready to perfectly swirl into the soup with your spoon. Really, does anything sound better than that?
- Green onion and/or cilantro. For some beautiful color and a fresh kick, green onion and cilantro make a perfect topping.
- Quesadillas. It may take a little extra effort to make some quesadillas to go with the soup, but if you’re especially hungry they will be a welcome addition to the meal.
20 Minute black bean and lime soup
Equipment
- Soup pot or dutch oven
- Immersion blender or normal blender
Ingredients
- 2 TBS olive oil
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 3 carrots cut into small pieces
- 2 stalks celery cut into small pieces
- 3-5 cloves garlic smashed and roughly chopped
- 1 TBS cumin
- 2 tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper optional
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 15 oz cans black beans drained and rinsed
- 4 cups vegetable broth I like to use better than bouillon
- 2 limes zest and juice
Instructions
- Heat your soup pot or dutch oven over medium-low heat. Once hot, pour in the olive oil.2 TBS olive oil
- Add in the onion, carrots, and celery to the pot. Season with a generous pinch of salt. Stirring often, sauté for 5 minutes.1 onion, 3 carrots, 2 stalks celery
- Add garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds, stirring the whole time.3-5 cloves garlic
- To the pot, put in the cumin, paprika, optional cayenne pepper, and salt. Stir and cook for 30 more seconds.1 TBS cumin, 2 tsp paprika, ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp salt
- Next, dump in the black beans and broth. Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low, and let simmer for 10 minutes.4 15 oz cans black beans, 4 cups vegetable broth
- Turn off the heat and add in the zest and juice of two limes.2 limes
- Either blend the soup until chunky in the pot with an immersion blender, or carefully ladle half the soup into a blender and pulse until smooth-ish but still slightly chunky. Pour back into the soup pot. Stir the soup to incorporate the blended soup with the unblended soup.
- Taste and check for salt. Stir in more salt if needed.
- Ladle a portion into a bowl, add toppings of your choice and enjoy.
