Bright, zesty, and packed with flavor, this cilantro and lime black bean soup is creamy, comforting, and easy to make. Crisp tortilla strips, fresh lime, and fragrant cilantro take this simple bean soup to the next level, making it perfect for weeknight dinners, meal prep, or a cozy lunch that feels special without the fuss.
2 Masienda Corn Tortillas
Vegetable oil (such as avocado or grapeseed)
Salt
Half a bunch of cilantro
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp olive oil
½ large white onion, diced (about 1 cup)
2 medium carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ small jalapeño, minced (optional)
3 (15-oz.) cans black beans, drained, or 4 ½ cups cooked black beans
2 cups unsalted vegetable broth
½ lime, plus more for serving
Crema, for garnish
Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. You’ll need enough to fill the pan up to about ½ inch. The oil is ready when a drop of water added to the skillet sizzles immediately.
Slice tortillas into very thin (about ⅛ in) strips. Without crowding the pan, fry the tortilla strips for about two minutes or until they are golden brown and crispy. (You may need to work in batches).
Transfer to a paper towel and while they’re still warm, sprinkle with salt.
Separate the tender leaves of the cilantro from the stems. Finely chop the leaves and reserve later for garnish. Finely chop the stems.
Toast cumin seeds on a dry pan on low heat until they are fragrant (about 3 minutes). Transfer to a spice grinder or a molcajete and grind into a powder.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion, carrot, garlic and cumin, sauteing for about 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Add the cilantro stems and jalapeño (if using), and sauté for an additional 2 minutes. Add about 1 tsp of salt.
Add 2 cans of beans (reserving the extra can for later) and vegetable broth.
Reduce heat to low and simmer the mixture for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and blend the mixture using an immersion blender or standard blender, until relatively smooth but not totally uniform.
Add in the reserved can of beans and place the soup back on the heat source, cooking for another 5 minutes or until the flavors start to come together.
Add the juice of half a lime and salt to taste.
Garnish soup with crema, cilantro, an extra squeeze of lime, and tortilla chips.
2 comments
Just made it this evening. Still waiting on the families option but taste testing I like it. 👍👍
Made this yesterday. Delicious. Only change I made was cooking dry black beans in my electric pressure cooker (I soaked a pound of beans overnight in salted water with baking soda so they only needed 5 minutes of pressure cooking in my Ninja; cooked with a head of garlic, bay leaves, chicken bouillon, granulated onion, cumin and one chile de arbol). I used my highly flavorful bean broth for the liquid instead of the vegetable broth called for in the recipe. It was very satisfying. My other change for next time I make this is to use a potato masher instead of an immersion blender as I went a bit overboard and it was a bit too smooth. I think I masher will help make it creamy while maintaining a bit of texture. Definitely going into the rotation!