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Monday, January 11, 2010

Crock Pot Recipe: Black Bean Soup

My husband LOVES black beans, and he recently tried the Black Bean Soup from Panera. I thought I'd try my hand at making my own version. We both really liked it! I found that the original amount of spice was a little much, so I'm going to be making a bit of a change for next time. I'll share with you what I did this time and what I plan to do next time.

Crock Pot Black Bean Soup
1 pound dry black beans
1/2 pound diced ham
5 cups of water*
5 tsp. chicken bullion *
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (I used Tastefully Simple's Garlic Garlic.)
1/2 Tbs. chili powder (I used a full tablespoon, but it was TOO much!)
1 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cornstarch

*You can substitute 5 c. of chicken broth for the water and bullion.
  1. Soak black beans overnight.

  2. Drain and rinse beans. Place in a pan, cover with water, and simmer on low for an hour.

  3. Drain beans again.

  4. Place all ingredients except cornstarch in Crock Pot.

  5. Cook on high for 4 hours.

  6. After 4 hours, use a slotted spoon to remove 1 cup of cooked beans and ham. Place them in a blender or food processor with a little bit of the broth. Puree, and return to the pot. Whisk pureed bean mixture into the broth.

  7. Combine cornstarch with cold water in a small bowl. Mix. Add to the Crock Pot. Mix with a whisk.

  8. Let cook for an additional 30 minutes or until broth thickens a bit.

We served this with homemade bread one night and homemade biscuits the next. Both were yummy!

For more great recipes, stop by:
:: Tasty Tuesday hosted by Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
:: Tempt My Tummy Tuesday hosted by Blessed with Grace
:: Tuesdays at the Table hosted by All the Small Stuff
:: Crockpot Wednesday hosted by Dining with Debbie
:: The Recipe Swap hosted by The Grocery Cart Challenge
:: Ultimate Recipe Swap hosted by Life As Mom
:: What's in Your Crockpot hosted by Smockity Frocks

11 comments:

Amy's Stocking Stuffers said...

Oh, I am DEFINITELY trying this! I love the black bean soup at Panera, and I love using a slow cooker. I even have homemade chicken stock I can use! Only change I will likely make is to leave out the ham.

Thanks!

Amy's Stocking Stuffers said...

P.S. How many servings would you say this makes? (I've subscribed to comments so I will see it if you answer here.) Thanks!

Jennifer said...

Amy, this is really good! I was thrilled since it was my first try at it. It was just a little too spicy for me! That's why I put the altered directions there.

My husband and I ate dinner twice with this, and there's a little bit left for a cup of soup for his lunch today. Beans are one of the very few things my daughter doesn't like, so she didn't have any. I would recommend doubling it if you have a bigger family or want to freeze leftovers.

Lisa@BlessedwithGrace said...

That sounds great. I have a bag of black beans that need to be cooked!! Thanks for linking to TMTT.

SnoWhite said...

that sounds wonderful!!

Unknown said...

I must try recipe and best of all it's for the slow cooker.
Geri

Brenda said...

I love black beans, these look so easy to make. I'll give this a try soon!

Diana said...

This sounds like it would be a hit at our house. We love black beans and I love my crockpot!

Danielle said...

I stopped by from MSM to tell you I really enjoyed your post. Thanks for sharing! Seeing that you like black beans here is my fav black bean dish...

soak 2 cups black beans overnight

Drain and rinse

Combine 1 small chicken breast, beans, 4 cups broth, 1 cup corn, and 1 tsp cumin.

Cook on low for 3-4 hours.

Chop chicken and return to pot. Add 16 oz salsa. Cook for another hour.

You can stir in some sour cream... but we just sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

We never have leftovers:-)

Patiences said...

I've been working on incorporating more beans into our diet, so this is definitely a must do-minus the ham...maybe I'll sub chicken.

thepatientmom.blogspot.com

Smockity Frocks said...

Thanks for participating in my CrockPot carnival. I hope you'll add my link to this post.