Black Bean Soup, (Vegan and Gluten Free)
It has become a custom to eat vegan food for the days of January. Veganuary, first founded in 2014, participation has increased each year. 650,000 people signed globally for ethical, health or financial reasons in 2025. This year it is estimated that more than a third of UK adults will attempt to eat vegan food only in January.
One of my favourite high protein low fat and deliciously tasty Vegan, meals to make? Is this black bean soup, it is incredibly quick. Very tasty. And you can serve it with any kind of bread or rice crates or crackers, You can top it with chopped avocado, nachos, & a swirl of plant cream.
I just came across Black bean soup 28 years ago, In a kosher cafe. In Baltimore USA, It was actually a kosher pizza house, but as I was allergic to dairy. And gluten. It wasn't the ideal place for me for me to go and eat, However, on the menu they had black bean soup. Something I'd never heard of before and was intrigued to try. Having discovered that. It was perfectly safe for me to eat, I ordered it, tasted it, and repeatedly returned to the restaurant whenever I was in Baltimore, till I learned to make this at home.
Back in the late 1990s, It was. Impossible to get black beans in the UK, I used to bring back dried black beans, and smoked paprika. Nowadays, thankfully it is possible to buy tinned Black beans and smoked paprika at the majority of UK supermarkets.
Ingredients
4 portions (this freezes well without toppings)
1 leek chopped
1 large brown onion diced
4 cloves of garlic minced
2 sticks celery chopped finely
2 carrots peeled and diced finely
2x 14 oz tins black beans rinsed drained
¾ teaspoon Maldon salt
¾ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
Juice of half a lime
¼ cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 small can of seat corn (optional)
750ml vegetable stock
Suggested toppings optional
Chopped spring or red onion/ one avocado chopped/ chopped coriander/plant cream/ nachos.
Method
Heat the oil in a thick bottom pot that has a tight-fitting lid.
Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery and leak into the pot and sauté on a low to medium
heat till the onions are translucent. Add the beans, bay leaves, thyme seasonings, ( salt pepper, coriander, paprika and chili
flakes) stir the seasonings into the beans and vegetables, add the vegetable stock, the liquid should just cover the vegetables and beans no more, (if you need extra add water.) bring to the boil, for about 3-4 minutes , then turn the heat down too low to medium, add the lime juice and chopped parsley, add the sweetcorn if want at this stage. Simmer for 15 minutes, till all the vegetables cooked but not over cooked. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
This is a thick soup, serve, after adding the toppings of choice this soup is filling, delicious and nutritious, it’s a meal and a hug in a bowl. (If you want to use dried black beans you need ¾ lb soaked in cold water over night, change the water twice. cooked in non-salted water for 2-3 hours), (that’s why I am glad tinned black beans are now available!