Potato Black Bean Soup [vegan + gluten free]

Lately the weather in the San Diego area has been nuts. Rain, rain, and more rain for the past month! This is usually the “rainy” season – though I use that term loosely – but this has been more rain than I’ve seen in my 7+ years in California.

For the state, this is good news! California’s reservoirs are swelling for the first time in half a decade, and the drought we’ve been in for years might be over if Mother Nature keeps it up.

With all of the rain lately, a few things have been happening in my world.

For one, my dog has been super whiny and energetic. She literally does sprints around the house when it’s raining out, and cries at the door yet doesn’t want to go outside and get wet… not that I blame her, I’ve been missing our outdoor workouts too.

Secondly, my backyard has been getting a little out of control. A few of my trees were close to falling over last week due to flooded soil and strong winds, and we did our best to temporarily secure them. My pool looks like it may overflow with a few more big rain storms, and I have about an entire tree’s worth of leaves in there. There are also a ton of oranges that have fallen off my front yard tree and gotten smushed in my driveway. Now you guys know a few of the things on my to-do list to take care of this weekend! 

And third, I’ve been obsessed with eating soup. There’s nothing better on a chilly, rainy day than a big bowl of healthy, hearty soup with a hunk of fresh bread. Add a fire crackling + hit play on a good movie, and that’s my idea of a perfect night in.

I realized that I haven’t posted any soup recipes this winter yet, and knew that had to change this month.

Also, I was eager to try out the immersion blender that I got as a  Christmas gift. I love getting new kitchen gadgets!

Note: You don’t absolutely need an immersion blender to make this soup. But in using my immersion blender for the first time, I can say that it is much easier to use than a food processor or blender when blending soup.

Since black bean soup is one of my favorite kinds of soup ever, I was surprised when I noticed that I had exactly zero black bean soup recipes on the blog. But today that changes!

This soup takes a twist on your typical black bean soup with the addition of potatoes, bell pepper and carrots. It also gets a flavor kick from Mexican-inspired ingredients like fresh lime, salsa, cilantro, paprika and red onion.

Besides this soup being awesomely healthy, vegan, gluten free, high in fiber, and low in calories and fat, you know what else is fabulous about it? It’s ready in 30 minutes flat!

Potato Black Bean Soup [vegan + gluten free]

Foodie Loves Fitness

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings 4 -6

Calories 310 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2-15 oz cans of black beans
• 450 g potatoes of choice I used about a dozen Dutch Yellow potatoes here
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 large carrot
• 1/2 red onion
• 1/2 lime
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 1/2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
• 1 TSP paprika
• 1 TSP salt
• 1/2 TSP pepper
• Soup toppings of choice: vegan/regular sour cream and/or cheese cilantro, crushed tortilla chips, etc.

Instructions

 

• Dice the pepper, peel and dice the carrot, and mince the red onion and cilantro.
• In a soup pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add in the pepper, carrot and red onion, and sauté until the veggies are mostly tender (around 7 minutes).
• Meanwhile, peel the skins off the potatoes, then dice them.
• Once the veggies are tender, add in the broth, salsa, cilantro, black beans, potatoes and spices. Squeeze the juice of the lime into the pot. Cover, bring to a boil, then lowly simmer until the potatoes are tender, around 15 minutes.
• Use an immersion blender to process the soup until mostly smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, transfer the soup to a blender or food processor to blend until mostly smooth, then return to the pot.
• If soup isn't at desired consistency yet, cook for a few more minutes. Otherwise, immediately ladle the soup into bowls, then enjoy with your favorite toppings.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 310kcalCarbohydrates: 64gProtein: 13gFat: 1gFiber: 13gSugar: 8g

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

I hope that you try this recipe and enjoy it as much as I do! And here are a few of my favorite soups that I’ve been making a lot lately:

• Easy Orzo Vegetable Soup
• Lentil, Spinach & Tomato Soup
• Minestrone Soup <–throwback post!

Tell me… What’s the last soup you ate? Do you own an immersion blender?