Tender roasted butternut squash joins up with smoky black beans for this tasty and easy Butternut Squash Black Bean Soup. Creamy, hearty, and warmly spiced, it’s such a cozy soup for cold weather days.
Stop arguing with yourself, self! BOTH soups are the best thing ever! Okay, except one other possibility: helloooo, mash-up. Two great things that go great together: butternut squash soup and black bean soup – together as one.
Yes, today, the issue is finally settled. Bester than best. A black bean soup WITH butternut squash, and the result is spectacular!
Always on a mission to increase the protein quotient in recipes, I got to thinking recently about adding beans to traditional roasted butternut squash soup. Soon, I found myself dreaming of southwest flavors, and this Roasted Butternut Squash Black Bean Soup was born.
Butternut Squash Black Bean Soup Ingredients
You’re never going to guess the two main ingredients in this soup.
Okay, fine … I guess it’s pretty easy to guess.
I kept this one super simple, because that’s how I like to roll. Okay possibly also because I am a little lazy. Here are all the ingredients:
Butternut squash – roasted to glorious perfection.
Black beans – hearty, smoky, perfect. I highly HIGHLY recommend starting with these homemade black beans for that extra fist-pump of flavor, but canned black beans totally do fine too.
Olive oil – For sauteing the onion and garlic.
Onion & garlic – Classic flavor builders!
Veggie broth – I like to use low-sodium vegetable broth so I can better control the overall salt content.
Paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper – sweet paprika, ground cumin, a nice warm touch of cinnamon, and a bit of cayenne pepper for a touch of heat.
Red wine vinegar – Adds a tiny but zingy punch of flavor.
Toppings – Crunchy baked corn tortilla strips, cilantro, more butternut squash, some sour cream or cashew sour cream, and a sprinkle of paprika. All optional but highly recommended.
Basically, this butternut squash and black bean soup is the best. thing. EVER.
First, get the butternut squash in the oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Add butternut squash to a large bowl and toss with olive oil. Sprinkle with cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper and toss again until well-coated. Spread on a large rimmed baking sheet – I like to line mine with parchment paper for easier clean-up. Bake, stirring once or twice, until tender and some sides are golden brown, about 25 minutes.
While the squash roasts, start the soup. Set a medium soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil. When hot, add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and just beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute.
Add the vegetable broth and 2 cans (3 cups) of the drained black beans. Stir well and remove from heat.
When the squash is cooked, add half the squash to the soup. Working in batches with a blender or using an immersion blender, puree the soup. Return the soup to the stovetop and add the remaining can (1 1/2 cups) beans and all but 1/2 cup of the remaining butternut squash. Stir and cook over medium low until hot.
Add red wine vinegar and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt, pepper, and/or cayenne if desired.
Serve with assorted toppings and reserved roasted butternut squash.