Black Bean Soup with Black Rice has an earthy flavor from both the beans and black rice but gets its zing from hot chilies and smoked salt!
Hearty Black Bean Soup with Black Rice – A Comforting, Flavor-Packed Recipe
The earthy flavor of black beans and black rice, simmered with smoky salt, chili peppers, and warming spices, makes this hearty soup the perfect dish for a crisp fall or winter night.
The direction you want to take the flavors of the black bean classic will depend on the warming spices you will choose to add.
Black Beans
There are beans and then there is Black Beans! Their flavor is richer and more complex than most other beans, mild yet earthy, with a creamy texture that melts into a bowl of soup.
- Nutritional Benefits: Black beans are high in plant-based protein, fiber, folate, and iron, making them a smart choice for heart health and digestion.
- Cooking Tip: While canned black beans are convenient, cooking dried beans from scratch gives you more control over flavor. Add garlic cloves and a pinch of smoked salt to the pot while cooking for an irresistible depth of taste.
The flavor is a little more earthy, yet mild and quite honestly I just love how beautiful they look served in a bowl along with black rice.
Black Beans Dried Or Canned
While you can buy black beans already cooked in a can, dried black beans are very easy to cook.
When cooking the dried beans, I find I am able to impart even more flavor by tossing in a few cloves of garlic and adding a smokey salt.
For a scrumptious spread for sandwiches, or burritos I created a Black Bean Wrap with a Spinach Glaze.
This wrap came about from extra black beans I prepared for this black bean soup.
Black Rice
While it was once said that Black Rice used to belong only to the upper class, it is now affordable to most anyone, and the flavor is defiantly ‘top shelf’!
While black rice is rich in antioxidants, fiber and many other health benefits, I cook black rice simply for the flavor.
The flavor is almost nutty, slightly roasted in taste. When black rice is cooked, it takes on a beautiful earthy color and deliciously satisfying flavor.
Black rice may take a little longer to cook and become softer than par-cooked white rice, but it is so worth the extra time.
A Soup Made To Be Dark, Deep, and Delicious
The first time I made this soup was for a Halloween dinner party, I wanted something dark, bold, and dramatic. Since then, it has become one of my favorite fall and winter soups to cozy up with.
Unlike many traditional black bean soups that rely on ham hocks or smoked meats, this recipe builds flavor from the beans, rice, smoked salt, and spices themselves. The result is a vegan black bean soup that tastes meaty, smoky, and rich, all without any meat.
For another impressive ‘black’ food presentation, I love to make Squid Ink Pasta, with squid, for a Halloween dinner party.
Blackened Smoked Salt
Smoked salt is my new favorite ingredient when cooking meats, soups and stews. The smokey flavor makes it extra special instead of just salty.
Smoked salt, like most other herbs that take on a smoke flavor, has been smoked with a variety of types of wood, for several days.
I know this simply because I love to smoke my own peppers, then dehydrate and grind it into Smoked Paprika.
Smoked salt is easy to find now and certainly worth adding to your pantry.
If the smoked salt is Hawaiian lava salt, the color will be even deeper and makes for a beautiful finishing salt, well, maybe not in this black bean soup, since its already black, but certainly over your egg salad sandwich!
Black Cumin In My Black Bean Black Rice Soup
I am not a fan of brown cumin from the cumin seed, but that’s just me. But black cumin? Oh my, the taste and smell is totally different.
Black cumin, also known as nigella sativa, has a sweeter taste than brown cumin, almost a citrusy caraway-like flavor. Much more refreshing.
When black cumin is ground, it looks almost like pepper but more black. I used black cumin in a variety of my Mediterranean recipes, but find it quite delicious alone in an omelette.
In keeping with my black beans, black rice, black salt in my exotic tasting soup, I just knew black cumin what exactly what it needed.
Chili Peppers
When making this scrumptious black ‘everything’ soup, I knew it needed color from one particular place… Heat!
While you can use dried chili flakes in this soup for a little heat, freshly chopped chilies, which I often have an abundance of in my freezer from my summer gardens, give the soup not only heat, but a that fresh almost tangy flavor that you can’t get from dried flakes.
Black or White Bean Soup
For a fun contrast in black bean soup, I made a white bean soup, with milder flavors, and served them both at a home gathering.
These two Black or White Bean Soups with their earthy flavors are protein-packed, and deeply seasoned with cumin, garlic, and fresh cilantro, and finished with a squeeze of lime.
How To Make Black Bean Soup
This black bean soup couldn’t be easier and is a one-pot no-fuss recipe that anyone can master.
All you need is a big pot with a lid, one that will hold at least 10 cups of water and several cups of dried ingredients that will swell when cooked.Â
- Soak the beans (if using dried), overnight soaking helps reduce cooking time and makes beans easier to digest.
- Combine ingredients. Add beans, black rice, garlic, smoked salt, cumin, and fresh chilies to a large pot. Cover with water or vegetable broth.
- Simmer low and slow. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let it simmer for 1–1.5 hours, until beans and rice are tender.
- Thicken the base. For a creamy texture, scoop out a cup of cooked beans and rice, blend until smooth, and stir back into the pot.
The result? A thick, rich, and dark black bean soup with layers of smoky, earthy flavor.
Serving Suggestions
- Top with fresh cilantro, avocado slices, or a drizzle of lime juice for brightness.
- Pair with crusty bread or warm tortillas.
- For extra heat, sprinkle with chili flakes or hot sauce.
Ingredients Needed
- Black beans, dried or to speed up the cooking, canned black beans can be used.
- Black rice, not to be confused with wild rice, which is actually a grain from a grass species. The rice will cook faster if left to soak in water for 30-minutes, drain and add to the recipe.
- A mirepoix of onions, celery and carrots. The classic base of any great soup or stock.
- Garlic, preferably freshly pressed with its natural juices.
- Smoked salt is a lovely added flavor and in keeping with the black presents of the soup.
- Black Cumin, not to be confused with brown cumin. Black cumin, also called Nigella seeds, has a slightly peppery flavor with notes of onion and oregano.
- Thai chilies, or chilies with the level of heat you are most comfortable with.
- Fresh herbs, preferably all three of these, oregano, thyme and rosemary.
- Olive oil for sauteing and to add a drizzle when ready to serve.
- Water, preferably boiled before hand so it is ready when it is time to add to the sauteed mirepoix.
Equipment Needed
- Soup pot with a lid (my all time favorite), keeping the beans moist while cooking rather than dry out.
- Cutting board, chopping knife, measuring cup and measuring spoons, all the basics in most every kitchen.
- Immersion blender or food processor. The immersion blender allows you to puree the soup without transferring it to the food processor and back again to warm.
- Stovetop or burner
More Luscious Soup Recipes To Love
The moment the temps drop, I move into soup season; the moment spring arrives, I move into cold soup season. Guess I love the diversity of soups!
Here are just a few of my favorite soup recipes, from spring time planting to autumn harvest.
- Asparagus Ends Soup – with olive oil and basil, makes for a delicious soup, helping not to waste the woody ends of fresh asparagus.
- Butternut Squash Soup – Don’t let this velvety smooth coconut milk Butternut Squash Soup fool you, it’s Flavor Rich with garam masala, chili’s, turmeric, ginger and tahini!
- Immune Support Onion Soup – slow simmered in natural medicinal properties from onion, turmeric, ginger, fresh herbs and mushrooms.
- Carrot Ginger Red Lentil Bisque – loaded with antioxidant spices and autumn flavors.
Black Bean Soup with Black Rice
Equipment
- large soup pot with lid
Ingredients
- 2 cups Dried black beans
- 2 cups Black rice
- 4 Celery stalks
- 1 Large Onion
- 6 Large Carrots
- 3 Garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp Smoked salt
- 1 tbsp Black cumin
- 3 Thai chilies
- 1 tbsp Dried Oregano
- 1 tsp Dried Thyme
- 1 tbsp Dried Rosemary
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 10 cups Water
Instructions
- Boil water in a kettle so hot water is ready to add to the sauted ingredients, helping them to continue to cook quickly.
- Finely chop the onions, celery and carrots.
- Heat a large soup pot with the olive oil, toss in the onions, celery and carrots and give a stir. Allow them to cook with the lid on just until the onions become transparent.
- Add the remaining ingredients and give a stir. Slowly pour in the boiling water, lid on and bring to a boil.
- Once the mixture begins to boil, lower to a simmer, keep the lid on and cook for an hour or until the beans are soft.
- To thicken the sauce, puree a cup of the cooked beans and rice mixture and add back to the soup.Â
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Notes
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.