Black Bean Soup with Chipotle Crema

This hearty Black Bean Soup with Chipotle Crema is simple, delicious and easy to make. The chipotle crema adds a wonderful and complex smoky flavor to the soup. Don’t skip the crema or the toppings!!! They add a world of flavor! If using dried beans, you will need time to soak up the beans (8 hours to overnight) plus at least 1 additional hour of cooking time.

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings servings

Calories 210kcal

Author Kathy McDaniel

Ingredients

For the Soup

1 pound dried black beans OR 3 (15.5-ounce) cans canned black beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
¼ cup tequila
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 Poblano pepper, roasted, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro plus more for garnish
Juice of ½ lime,about 2 tablespoons or to taste
Salt and black pepper to taste

To serve

Tortilla chips
Avocado slices
Chopped cilantro
Chipotle Crema (recipe follows)

Chipotle Crema

½ cup Mexican crema or sour cream
1-2 tablespoons chipotle sauce or 2 chipotles in adobo sauce,seeded and finely chopped with 1 to 2 tablespoon of the adobo sauce.
½ teaspoon lime juice

Instructions

If using dried beans, pick over them to remove any stones or debris. Put them in a bowl and add enough cold water to cover them by at least 2 inches. Soak for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Drain well. Give them a rinse with cold water and drain once again.
In a medium pan or Dutch oven over medium high heat warm the olive oil. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic cloves and cook stirring frequently for about 4-5 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Add the tequila and cook for a few minutes or until almost all the tequila has evaporated.
Add the beans, stock, poblano pepper, cumin and oregano and bring to a boil.
If using dried beans, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for about 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until the beans are tender and cooked through.
If using canned beans, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add 1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro, lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and using an immersion blender blend the soup until almost all the beans are pureed. (I like to leave a few chunky bits so the soup is not a complete puree) or if using a blender or food processor, puree half of the soup and return it to the pot. Simmer for another 5 minutes over low heat and serve with the chipotle crema, tortilla chips and avocado slices. Garnish with chopped cilantro if desired.

To Make the Chipotle Crema

Whisk together all the ingredients. This can be made a day in advanced and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Nutrition