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A hearty and filling Cuban black bean soup that you can make on the stovetop or in the instant pot. My Cuban black bean soup is vegan-friendly and is sure to be warm and comforting!
Ultra cozy, warm, and comforting.
A bowl of Cuban black bean soup is what got me through the crazy flu season this past December. The first time I had this soup was at a local restaurant right around the corner from home. It was just a week or so after moving into the new place and it super chilly out so I ordered a bowl of soup. You couldn’t believe the number of times I’ve been back to this place for recipe inspirations after that.
And when I went under the weather for a whole month last year, all I wanted was soup for weeks on end. At this point, I had exhausted the usual go-to flu-fighting chicken noodle, herb-loaded chicken orzo soup, and my Italian wedding soup so many times that I almost started clucking like a chicken myself. CNS is great but when you’re sick for a month, you definitely need a little variety in your soup repertoire.
In walked this Cuban black bean soup, loaded with tender black beans, a thick and hearty broth loaded with peppers, onions, and garlic and it had the most addicting sweet and slightly tangy flavor to the soup base. All it needed was a big scoop of rice and I was left with a soup-like comfort food meal that I could eat 365 days of the year.
Made as directed, absolutely delicious! Thank you!
What I love most about my homemade Cuban black bean soup is that it’s naturally vegetarian-friendly. Sure, I’ll swap the vegetable stock for a couple of bouillon cubes and water when I’m all out but for the most part, this recipe doesn’t really need any meat. Too often I’ll make fluffy white rice and add a scoop to my bowl before ladling on the soup and topping it with diced or sliced avocados. Black bean soup is so ridiculously comforting.
I know I’ve shared cheaters Cuban black beans with you before. I also took the liberty of adding cilantro and lime (which is totally not traditional) but if you wanted to turn today’s soup into Cuban black beans, you could definitely do so by cutting back on the stock a little bit, to begin with, or just simmering the liquid for longer and until the beans stew down a bit more and more of the liquid evaporates. Just be sure to hold off on salting them. The concentrated amount of liquid may not even need the salt that we add at the end when we’re making soup. And if you’re into refried beans, I’ve got you covered there as well.
Call me the black bean queen because I’m so obsessed with them.
Ingredients for Cuban Black Bean Soup
- Oil
- Dried Black beans
- Onions
- Peppers (bell peppers + Cubanelle or a Serrano)
- Garlic cloves
- Bay leaves
- Vegetable or chicken stock
- dried oregano + ground cumin
- Red wine vinegar
- Brown sugar (or muscovado sugar if you happen to have some)
How to Make Cuban Black Bean Soup
You can make the entire soup in the instant pot from start to finish.
- First, we’ll click the saute setting, heat the oil, and get the onions, pepper, garlic, and bay leaves going.
- Once the veggies have had a chance to soften, add in the black beans (just rinse them before adding them,) stock, oregano, and cumin.
- Cover the instant pot and make sure it’s on the ‘seal’ setting. Pressure cook the soup on manual and high pressure for 30 minutes. When the timer goes off, allow a 10-minute natural pressure release.
- Then, remove the bay leaves, season with red wine vinegar, sugar, and salt.
FAQs about this recipe
For the stovetop version of this recipe is you’ll need to pretreat the black beans before making the soup. There are two methods to do so:
soak the beans: if you’re planning ahead and have the time, I highly suggest soaking the beans overnight. This makes cooking them the next day a breeze, and personally, I find that they cook up much, much fast this way. All you have to do is add the black beans to a large bowl (about 3 times a much as the number of beans) and fill it up with water. Rinse out the water and repeat once more. Then, allow the beans to soak overnight (about 8-12 hours,) drain, and use as directed.
Do a quick soak: if you didn’t get a chance to soak the beans ahead of time, here’s a fix: add the beans to a medium pot and cover them with water. Bring the beans to a boil, cook for two minutes before turning off the heat completely. Allow the beans to sit covered in the water for 1 hour. Drain and use it as if you’d presoaked the beans!
I opted to serve this soup with chopped cilantro, onions, and a handful of leftover peppers for some crunch. But it’s even more delicious with rice topped with black bean soup. It is seriously the most comforting meal on a rainy day and I’m all here for it.
You can freeze leftover soup, and also meal prep the soup for boxed lunches throughout the week. I firmly believe that this soup actually tastes better as it sits. Making it ideal to make a batch on the weekend and enjoy it all week long.
Recipe Tips
- To make the soup faster: I definitely suggest using the instant pot method. That way, you don’t have to soak the beans, you can directly go from dry beans to finished soup in about an hour.
- If you’re using older beans: I’ve made a ton of black bean soup in the instant pot. And one thing that I’ve noticed is that if I’m using organic black bans or ones that I’ve had in the pantry for some time, they can take quite a bit longer to cook than freshly purchased black beans. Sometimes as much as 10 minutes longer in the instant pot!
Very Best Cuban Black Bean Soup (Stove Top + Instant Pot)
Ingredients
Sofrito:
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 ½ green bell peppers finely diced
- ½ red bell pepper finely diced
- 1 cubanelle pepper or serrano pepper finely chopped (remove ribs and seeds for less spice)
- 6-10 cloves garlic minced ( we like it with 10!)
- 3 bay leaves
Cuban Black Bean Soup:
- 1 pound dried black beans (~2 cups) rinsed, soak if using stove top method
- 5-6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar according to taste
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar or muscovado sugar
Instructions
- SAUTE: Heat the oil in a 4 quart (or larger) dutch oven or soup pot (or on the saute setting in your instant pot) over medium-high heat. When warm, add the onions, peppers, garlic, and bay leaves and saute for 5-6 minute or until the veggie soften.
- STOVE TOP: Add the black beans, 6 cups of stock, oregano, and cumin and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat too low, cover, and simmer for 1 ½ -2 hours or until the beans are cooked through and the liquid has thickened to your liking. You can also puree ½ the soup in the blender if you want it to be thicker. Season with red wine vinegar, sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir and adjust with additional salt as needed. Allow the soup to cool for 15 minutes. IT should thicken a bit as it sits. Top with chopped avocados, and serve with cooked rice!
- INSTANT POT: Add the black beans, 5 cups of stock, oregano, and cumin. Cover, make sure the vent is sealed. Cook on manual high pressure for 30 minutes. If using organic or older beans, they may require additional time. Once the time goes off, allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes. Then do a quick release to let out any remaining pressure. Stir the soup and test the beans for doneness; remove the bay leaves. You can puree 1/2 the soup in the blender if you want it to be thicker. I usually just smash using a wooden spoon on the walls of the pot until it reaches my desired consistency. Season with red wine vinegar, sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir and adjust the salt as desired. Top with chopped avocados, and serve with cooked rice!
Notes
- It’s important to soak the beans overnight. If you decide to make this soup and don’t have presoaked beans, add the beans to a medium pot and cover with water. Bring the beans to a boil, cook for two minutes, turn off the heat and allow the beans to sit covered for 1 hour. Drain and use it as if you’d presoaked the beans!
- The soup does thicken as it sits and you may need more stock to thin leftovers
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
I made a pot of this, and it’s very tasty! It’s summer in Hawaii, but I love black bean stews so I couldn’t resist lol! Worth it~!
Thank you!
It was still okay when using 2 cans of chicken broth instead of 3 (last cup of liquid was water and didn’t leave a gap when simmering) and I didn’t soak the beans for stove top, but they were still tender.
I accidentally added the sugar, cilantro and red wine vinegar early, but it’s still okay! Thankfully didn’t burn or alter those flavors.
Tbf I’ve never had issues with not soaking dried beans as long as the cook time is sufficient. I usually only soak them when I make black bean beer soup, where it’s in some beer overnight for added flavor. But maybe it’s personal preference where if you want it softer?
Anyway, this was an easy simple recipe with a warm hearty kick! Easy to make adjustments to as well. Might add a sort of meat into it next time for dad.
Beautiful recipe, delicious soup!
This sounds delicious. I would use the soaking of the beans overnight method.
Can I use canned beans?
Love this recipe. I use Mexican oregano which I think has a stronger flavor. The red vine vinegar and oregano add so much to the dish
Excellent!
What kind of onions do you use for this recipe? Do you top with uncooked red onion and peppers as well?
What did you top the soup with in the picture? Is that raw peppers and red onion and cilantro??
You say to top with avocado and serve over rice … so why does your picture show something completely different?
Made as directed, absolutely delicious! Thank you!
can you used canned blacked beans if you don’t have dried?
Has any one tried to make this recipe in the instant pot with canned black beans?
Hey don’t do this with canned beans as they’re already cooked. Just follow the stove top method and add the beans after everything else has cooked down.
I’ve made this recipe so many times along with some Cuban toast. So delicious!
Do you need to soak the beans for the instapot version too?
Hi Danielle! No need to soak the beans if you’re making this in the instant pot!