Ingredients

The following ingredients have 8 Servings
  • 1 pound (about 2 ½ cups) dried black beans (soaked and rinsed)
  • ½ Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion (chopped)
  • 4 carrots (chopped)
  • 4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
  • 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 Tablespoon ground chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 bay leaf
  • pinch of cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt (more to taste)
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper (plus more to taste)
  • 8 cups vegetable broth
  • For serving: chopped fresh cilantro (avocado and lime wedges)

Instruction

  • Soak the beans overnight or about 8-12 hours. Drain and rinse.
  • In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and garlic. Season with a little sea salt and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent and starting to brown, about 10 minutes.
  • Add all the other ingredients to the pot, except the lime, cilantro and avocado. Stir to make sure everything is combined.
  • Bring mixture to a boil before reducing the heat to medium and letting the soup simmer for about 2.5 - 3 hours, or until the beans are tender and creamy. Remove bay leaf.
  • At this point you can either keep the beans whole or puree using an immersion blender or traditional blender to your desired texture. I like to puree just until pieces of the beans are still visible. This makes the soup thick, but keeps a bit of the texture.
  • Taste soup and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Spoon soup into bowls for serving and garnish with avocado and cilantro. Serve with a lime wedge.