Black Bean Soup

Vegetarian Black Bean Soup

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 8-10 servings
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Nutrition Info per serving:
Calories: 290
Protein: 17 grams
Carbohydrate: 53 grams
Fiber: 18 grams
​Total Fat: 3 grams

I made this black bean soup last week for my boys (BJ and my dad). It would have been vegan (if you care about that) had I not put plain yogurt on top and a whole wheat quesadilla with cheese. This came with a raving thumbs up from my boys and I even served as a bean side dish with enchiladas later in the week at our bible fellowship.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp vegetable oil (olive oil is a good option)
1 large white or red onion diced
2 large or 15 baby carrots cut or diced
2 ribs of celery sliced
1 bell pepper diced (any color I used green)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 small cans of green chilies
3 cans black beans drained and rinsed with water
32 ounces of water or vegetable broth
      (substitute meat broth if you prefer chicken or beef)

Spices including:
Chili pepper (4 Tbsp)
Onion powder (1 Tbsp)
Garlic powder (2 Tbsp)
Cumin (1 Tbsp)
Salt (1.5 Tsp)
Black Pepper (2 tsp)
Cayenne to taste if you like it spicy 

Chop and prep all your vegetables. 
Heat pan with oil on medium high, test heat of oil by dropping in a piece of onion diced, if it sizzles and the oil bubbles around it, your oil is ready.
Add in all your vegetables, mix around for a minute or two, add tomato paste and green chilies. Let saute for about 10 minutes. This is a way for the veggies to develop a nice flavor.

Next add in all spices and mix around and let cook for 1-2 minutes until you smell fragrances. Add water or broth, rinsed beans, let simmer for about 15 minutes. 
Your vegetables should be soft at this point and ready for the immersion blender. If you don't have an immersion blender you can carefully transfer soup to a blender to make smooth. You can also just eat soup as it, I prefer it a bit smooth.
After blending you can serve. I like to add cilantro on top, however I didn't have it this time around. I also serve with a plain yogurt on top instead of sour cream, and this time I had some left over brown rice I added on top too. 
This is a super healthy and yummy dish. Let me know once you try it. You can also play with spices to suit your taste.