This super-simple recipe is healthy, comes together in a cinch, and is so wonderfully full-flavored. We love it! This recipe starts out vegan, but you can customize the toppings to add dairy or even a little meat if the carnivores like.
Ingredients
1tablespoonolive oil
1large yellow onionchopped
6large garlic clovesminced
1teaspoondried oregano
1tablespoonground cumin
1jalapeño chili pepperminced, no seeds for milder heat, some seeds for medium, and all the seeds for super hot*
1 1/2cups1 15-ounce can cooked black beans, drained
1 1/2cups1 15-ounce can cooked white kidney beans, drained
1 14-ouncecan fire-roasted diced tomatoes
4cupslow-sodium vegetable broth
1/2teaspoonkosher salt + more to taste
1/8teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper + more to taste
1tablespoonfreshly squeezed lime juice
Topping ideas:
Fresh cilantro
Chopped scallions or red onion
Cheddar cheese or vegan cheese shreds
Sour creamGreek yogurt, or vegan sour cream
Chopped avocado
Sliced fresh jalapenos
Instructions
Set a medium soup pot over medium heat. When hot, add the olive oil. Add the onions. Saute, stirring occasionally, until transluscent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and the oregano, and cook, stirring frequently, for one minute. Add the cumin, jalapeno pepper, beans, tomatoes, broth, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to medium-low to simmer. Simmer uncovered until slightly reduced and thickened, about 25 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool until safe to handle. Remove about 3 cups of the soup and carefully pour it in a blender. Puree. Alternately, you can remove the 3 cups of soup and puree what's in the pot with an immersion blender. Combine all of the soup back in the original pot and set again over heat until soup returns to a simmer.
Add lime juice. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if desired.
Serve with assorted toppings.
Notes
* I suggest tasting a bit of the flesh of the pepper before deciding how much to put in. Jalapenos can really vary in heat. If the flesh is mild (sometimes it's so mild it tastes like a bell pepper!) and you want some heat, you will probably want to add some seeds. If the flesh is already spicy, you may want to omit the seeds altogether.
Vegetarian with dairy option:
Add sour cream and cheese.
Meat option:
Add cooked, shredded chicken as a topper to the meat-eaters' servings.