This slow cooker black bean soup is a delicious and easy dinner that will earn it’s place into your regular dinner rotation.
This recipe is like the southwestern cousin to my slow cooker red beans and rice. 😉
Just like the method I use in that recipe, you do NOT have to pre-soak your beans. Pre-soaking is such a pain, not because it is difficult. It’s not! But, I always forget to do it the night before.
This recipe also happens to be whole foods plant-based/ vegan.
But you don’t have to be vegan to enjoy it. My family eats it, and it is a super satisfying meatless meal. No complaints from the omnivores.
And feel free to take liberties on the toppings. Omnivores may love cheese, sour cream, etc.
Plant based toppings could include cashew cream, diced avocado, green onion, vegan sour cream, guacamole, etc. Also, you can serve this with a scoop of cooked rice to make it even more filling.
Ingredients
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Making slow cooker black bean soup
There is not much to say here.😅 The bulk of the work for this recipe is prep – chopping the veggies. 🤷🏼♀️
I just love how I can dump everything in the slow cooker, and dinner practically prepares itself.
This recipe has also been tested in the Instant Pot on the slow cooker setting. I would recommend cooking this on high only. The “low” setting on the Instant Pot tends to not get hot enough, FYI.
And of course I have an Instant Pot black bean version of this soup over here as well.
It also pairs well with either tortilla chips or a pan of skillet corn bread. YUM!
Tools Used to Make This Recipe
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Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup Recipe
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Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 can diced tomatoes undrained (14.5 ounce)
- 3 celery stalks chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper deseeded and diced
- 3 cloves fresh garlic minced
- 1 pound dry black beans rinsed
- 1 tsp salt or more to taste
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp hot sauce I used Texas Pete
- 1 Tablespoon paprika
- 2 Tablespoon chili powder
- 2 tablespoons cumin
- 2 leaves bay
- 6.5 cups vegetable stock I used 6.5 cups water + 2 Tablespoons Better Than Bullion vegetable base. Omnivores: feel free to substitute chicken stock.
- Optional toppings suggestions: lime juice cilantro, green onions, diced avocado, tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream - the possibilities are endless!
Instructions
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Place all ingredients (except for optional toppings) in the slow cooker, and cook on low for 10 hours. (Note: You can also cook this on high for 6 hours.)
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One hour prior to serving: remove the bay leaves, and use a potato masher to go in and mash a few of the beans to thicken the texture.
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Serve with desired toppings.
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Refrigerate leftovers, and keep for up to a week.
Recipe Notes
Nutritional information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator.
You may also enjoy: More of my recipes that happen to be vegan.
Laura says
How much is a serving?
Cassie says
I follow the recipe exactly and it comes out perfect every time, thanks!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Awesome Cassie! SO happy to hear you enjoyed it!
Ashley says
Love this easy and healthy crockpot recipe, it has hearty ingredients and look incredibly delicious! 🙂
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Yay! SO happy that you enjoyed it Katie.🤗
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
I am not sure about canned beans.🤔 But if you put the slow cooker on high, the recipe as written will take about 4 to 6 hours.
Christine Fuchs says
Hello! I made this on Monday. While the flavor is amazing, the beans are still crunchy/not fully cooked. Maybe it’s my slow cooker? I cooked it for 12 hours the first day, and then re-heated it for another 4 hours the following day. Again, flavor is delicious, but *sigh* crunchy beans.
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Yikes! Yes, I would try it on high heat next time. It will cook faster (4 to 6 hours). Our slow cookers may be different.
Betty says
Sorry, didn’t see that you had fixed the recipe. Thanks!!
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
No prob! I hope it turns out great for you. 🙂
Betty says
It came out fantastic! Me and my two adult kids devoured them. I paired them with a cheese enchilada casserole. Ilive in Texas, and make a lot of Mexican/Tex-mex, so it’s right up our alley! Im trying to use my crockpot more and this was a great experience for me. Thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Wonderful! I am so happy that you enjoyed it. 🙂 And thanks for taking the time to come back and leave that feedback.
Betty says
My previous comment /question hasn’t shown up here and I want to make this in a couple of days and I really need the info in order to make it. What size can of diced toms does one use for this? It does not specify, and I’ll bet the previous poster used too much toms which is what turned it watery and RED. Hello. Haha. Thanks!!!!
Betty says
Hello! You do not specify what size the can of diced toms should be. Maybe the previous reviewer used too large a can and that’s what turned it red and watery? Also are u supposed to drain the toms or put it in there with all liquid? 61/2 cups stock is a lot of liquid and adding more liquid from the toms might cause an issue. Thanks!!!
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Betty! I recently changed recipe plugins (on the back end of my site), and some of my notes that were in parentheses got deleted. I went and added that back, so thanks so much for pointing that out! It should be a 14.5 ounce can of tomatoes, undrained.
Yes, the amount of liquid needs to be a lot since the beans are uncooked and unsoaked. They will absorb a lot of that liquid. I have made this recipe a dozen times (maybe more), and it came out perfect each time.
Shelby Canuette says
Do you have to check and wash the beans? I don’t like to do that.
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Shelby! I prefer to rinse mine off. But it would not affect the recipe if you don’t.
Shelby Canuette says
Thank you.
sl says
I followed this recipe exactly and it didn’t turn out at all as pictured. Even after added cooking time my soup was watery and red rather than black. Wondering if perhaps there is a typo somewhere in the recipe? Thanks
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Hey Sarah, I am sorry to hear the recipe did not turn out well for you! You said the soup turned out watery and red? I am not sure where the red would come from…hmmm. Usually when the black beans cook, their color kind of takes over and turns everything black-ish, like in the photos. Did you use a whole pound of dry, un-soaked black beans (not canned)? If you did use dry beans, the other thing I could think of is that maybe your slow cooker didn’t get as hot as mine does on low. You could try it on high, and just keep an eye on it. On my slow cooker, I know that the beans would be soft around 5 to 6 hours on high, but that may vary on yours. The longer it cooks, the softer the beans get and the thicker the liquid gets. I hope this helps! Let me know.