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As of June 30, 2025, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) will remove the Healthy Recipes collection from MedlinePlus. You can still find many of these recipes at Delicious Heart Healthy Eating from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and at Food Hero, a USDA-supported initiative with Oregon State University Extension Service and the Oregon Department of Human Services.

For more on healthy eating, visit the MedlinePlus Nutrition health topic.

URL of this page: https://medlineplus.gov/recipes/black-bean-soup/

Black Bean Soup

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Total time: 60 minutes
Number of Servings: 12

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 small onion chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes
  • 4 cups black beans, about 2 cans (15 ounces) cooked or canned (with liquid)
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 4 cups water
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon cumin
  • 1/3 cup lime juice or juice from 1 lime
  • hot sauce to taste

Directions

  1. Wash hands with soap and water.
  2. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Stir often.
  3. Add the beans, potatoes and water. Bring to a boil; then reduce to medium-low heat. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.
  4. Add the cilantro, cumin, lime juice and hot pepper sauce, if desired. Stir and cook for 10 minutes. Serve hot.
  5. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Notes:

  • Try topping soup with non-fat sour cream, chopped cilantro and baked tortilla chips.
  • Freeze extra lime juice to use later.

Find more delicious recipes from FoodHero.org

Food Hero Be A Food Hero Cookbook

Recipes that make it to Food Hero have had a long journey getting there. Most of the recipes have been used by our nutrition educators in the field and then submitted to the Food Hero team to be considered for the website. Recipes have the criteria found at this link: https://foodhero.org/recipe-criteria.