Go to Homepage
Get Our Cookbook

    Black Bean Soup

    • Serves: 6
    • Prep Time:  10 min
    • Cook Time:  25 min
    • Calories: 399
    Black Bean Soup recipe With Smoked Sausage sour cream, bell pepper and cilantro

    Give yourself a much needed break in the kitchen and whip up this smoky, veggie-packed black bean soup for a meal that cuts way back on prep time, not flavor.

    An Easy Black Bean Soup, Studded With Smoky Sausage

    This black bean soup recipe is so easy, we’re tempted to say it cooks itself, but that’d be crazy. So instead, we’ll just say that it’s about the easiest, tastiest thing to come out of the TMP kitchen in quite some time. Thanks to the help of canned black beans, this ridiculously simple, pretty-healthy meal comes together in literally just a few minutes.

    Ingredients laid out for black bean soup recipe, sausage, chicken stock, black beans, onion, bell peppers and cilantro.

    Can You Guess the Secret Ingredient in Our Black Bean Soup?

    We’ve put our own spin on a classic black bean soup recipe with a few lively additions: smoked sausage, bell peppers, and plenty of garlic! The result is a black bean soup that’s full of deep, bold flavors and interesting textures. And, thanks to our trusty immersion blender, it’s also the creamiest black bean soup you’ve ever had, making it the perfect meal to slurp down with your family any night of the week.

    Onion and bell peppers sautéed in a soup pot.
    Black Bean Soup With Smoked Sausage in a pot

    What Goes in Homemade Black Bean Soup?

    This scratch-made black bean soup strays a bit from what you might find in your mom’s trusty cookbook, but we’re confident you won’t hear any complaints. We’ve eliminated half the steps that a more traditional recipe might have (saving some serious time in the process) and added a few things to deepen the flavor and add even more punch to an already-delicious dish. Here are all of the ingredients you’ll need to make it:

    • Olive oil
    • Red onion
    • Garlic
    • Bell peppers
    • Chicken stock
    • Black beans
    • Cumin
    • Garlic powder
    • Dried oregano
    • Chili powder
    • Smoked sausage
    Black Bean Soup recipe With Smoked Sausage, onion and bell peppers in a pot

    How To Make Black Bean Soup

    Got about 20 minutes? Then you can make this creamy, thick black bean soup! Here’s how:

    1. Sauté the veggies.
    2. Add the beans, chicken stock, and spices and bring all that yumminess to a boil.
    3. Place an immersion blender into the soup pot and pulse it a few times until the desired consistency is achieved. We like to leave some whole beans and veggies for texture. Immersion blenders are a dream for this kind of job, but if you don’t have one, you could easily just ladle a portion of the soup into your standing blender and then add it back into the pot.
    4. Add the sausage. (Also, be sure NOT to blend your sausage- trust us.)
    5. You’re done! All that’s left is to top this rich and smoky bowl of goodness with sour cream and cilantro and chow down.
    A ladle of homemade black bean soup with sausage

    Tips for Making Homemade Black Bean Soup.

    • Why Canned Black Beans: Dried beans have their place, but canned beans are just SO fast, and this soup is all about weeknight ease. Canned black beans to the rescue! After testing and retesting, we can say with lots of confidence that the soup is just as good with canned beans as dry (and vastly quicker).
    • Keep a stocked pantry: this soup really is a pantry recipe. If you’ve got a decently stocked pantry and spice cupboard, you’ll probably have ¾ of the necessary ingredients on hand at all times. We’ve even started buying sausage and just throwing it in the freezer so that I can whip up this soup whenever the mood strikes or when I’m pressed for time and don’t want to resort to take-out.
    • Invest in an immersion blender. Immersion blenders are one of the most cost-effective, space-saving small appliances you will ever own. It may not seem like a necessity now, but once you own one you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. From spaghetti sauce, to mashed potatoes, to this creamy black bean soup—everything’s easier with an immersion blender!
    Black Bean Soup recipe With Smoked Sausage sour cream, bell pepper and cilantro

    Is Black Bean Soup Healthy?

    Still sticking to those resolutions? Make this homemade black bean soup even healthier. Our version of black bean soup from scratch may not be the healthiest out there, but we do believe it is the best! If you are trying to lighten your calorie count or are avoiding processed meats, this soup is easy to adapt into a very healthy black bean soup! Here’s how:

    • Swap low-sodium veggie stock for the chicken stock.
    • Opt for a chicken or veggie sausage made without nitrates, or leave it out entirely.
    • Skip the sour cream. Although it tastes delicious, this creamy black bean soup is a winner even without the added addition of that delightful dairy.

    4 More Quick, Easy Soup Recipes to Try!

    Homemade Black Bean Soup With Smoked Sausage, sour cream, bell pepper and cilantro in a bowl.

    Black Bean Soup + Busy Weeknight = Dinner, Done!

    This pot of soup comes together fast, is full of rich, complex flavors, and is a truly satisfying meal at the end of a long day. If you make and enjoy this black bean soup recipe, we’d love to see who you shared it with! Post a picture to Instagram and tag @themodernproper and #themodernproper so we can celebrate good food and great company along with you. Happy eating!

    Related Recipes

    Black Bean Soup

    Originally published: January 11, 2019

    • Serves: 6
    • Prep Time:  10 min
    • Cook Time:  25 min
    • Calories: 399
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe

    Ingredients

    • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 small red onion, diced
    • 4 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 red bell peppers, diced
    • 1 green bell pepper, diced
    • 4 cups chicken stock
    • 3 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
    • 2 tsp ground cumin
    • 2 tsp garlic powder
    • 2 tsp dried oregano
    • 1 Tbsp chili powder
    • 1 tsp kosher salt
    • ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
    • 1 lb smoked sausage, (fully cooked) cut in 1-inch slices
    • Cilantro, optional
    • Sour cream, optional
    • minced red onion, optional

    Method

    1. Heat oil in a large pot set over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often until beginning to soften, about 4 minutes.
    2. Add the garlic and bell peppers and cook, stirring often, until the garlic is fragrant and bell peppers begin to soften, about 2-3 more minutes longer.
    3. Add the chicken stock, black beans, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, chili powder, salt and pepper. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat back down to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
    4. Using an immersion blender or stand blender, blend 1/3 of the soup. This step creates a thick, creamy texture to the soup.
    5. Add the sausage to the soup and cook until the sausage is heated through.
    6. Serve the soup topped with cilantro, sour cream and extra onion, if desired.

    Nutrition Info

    • Per Serving
    • Amount
    • Calories399
    • Protein23 g
    • Carbohydrates44 g
    • Total Fat8 g
    • Dietary Fiber16 g
    • Cholesterol0 mg
    • sodium634 mg
    • Total Sugars4 g

    Black Bean Soup

    Questions & Reviews

    Join the discussion below.

    or

    • joyce

      Does this soup freeze?

      Yes, you can. When you are ready to eat it we recommend thawing completely before reheating.

    • Meagan Marcuccilli

      Did you brown the sausage before adding it? It looks that way in the photos.

      Yes we did! But the sausage we call for is fully cooked, so you don't have to... we only did it so that it would look that much more delicious for the photo! : )

    • Sam

      Really Good! I used chorizo instead.

      Thanks Sam, we are so glad you liked it!

    • Christie

      This was delicious and really easy to make. I made it as written except for a couple of changes; I cut the sausage into smaller pieces and cut the amount in half, and I replaced the chilli powder with 1/2 tsp chipotle powder and 2 tsp smoked paprika. It turned out wonderfully and is now a new favourite. I paired it will a cornbread which went nicely with it.

      Love to hear this is a new favorite! Thanks so much for trying it and telling us how it went Christie!

    • Marina Pavlenko

      This was some delicious business. Simple ingredients and quick to make. I knew I had to make this soup after seeing it made on your Instagram page. I browned the sausage before adding it to the soup and also added kale. To be extra, I toasted sliced sourdough bread in the oil rendered from the sausage right in the cast iron skillet. Ohhh yeahhhh :D

      Thanks Marina! We are so glad you liked it, we are loving that bread fried in the sausage oil idea, nice work!

    • Karen K

      This recipe is amazing! Super tasty, especially with the cilantro and sour cream, add some avocado on top, too!

      Thanks Karen! So glad you like it!

    • Holly

      Very flavorful and delicious. I added tomato in place of the peppers and used fresh oregano and it was outstanding, served it with a side of rice in case anyone wanted to put it over the rice. Some people did and some did not and all enjoyed it immensely.

      Yay Holly! So glad everyone enjoyed it! Thanks for trying it out.