My husband thought it was a bit too spicy, but I loved it. If you are using dry beans, make sure to boil them first on the stovetop and then add them to the slower cooker. Dry beans do not get as tender in a slow cooker even if you soak them overnight.
I'm giving this 4 stars, not because it wasn't good, but because I did make additions to it. I'm sure the basic recipe is very good just as written. I did not soak my bean, but put them in a pan with the chicken broth and brought it to a full, rolling boil and then transferred it to the slow cooker. The beans turned out tender and perfect. I also added 2 big sprigs of epazote, which is an herb traditionally cooked with black beans, as well as 2 bay leaves. Along with the other spices I tossed in 2 packets of Goya Sazon. The addition of a can of tomatoes w/green chiles as other suggested sounded like a good idea, so that went in too along with 2 boneless, thin-cut pork chops! I left it on med-high in the slow cooker overnight (about 15 hours total). I do not feel this soup was too thin. I only mashed some of the beans against the side of the kettle with the back of a spatula.I just had a big bowl with a dollop of crema....yum!
This recipe is awesome. I have made it several times, and it is really, really good. If you are pressed for time just use the canned black beans, toss the rest of the stuff into a slow cooker, (I also added a can of diced tomatoes) and when you get home, dinner! I just pureed about 1/2 the soup for a more authentic look, and served it with chopped green onion, sour cream, cheddar cheese and homemade guacamole. Also, although I am not a huge fan of spice, I found this just right with the amount of cayenne recommended and two minced jalopenos. They really mellow out in the soup and it won't be that spicy, just the right amount. YUM!
I am giving this 4 stars because I changed it up a bit. This is a good base recipe. I used 4 cans black beans(drained) and only 3 cups of broth. I added 1 can spicy diced tomatoes, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 small diced yellow onion. I also doubled the cayenne, jalapeno, and cumin....we really like it spicy. I also added some chopped cilantro and a tbsp fresh lime juice. An hour before serving I put half of the soup in the blender and returned to crock pot. This made it thicker. I served with sour cream and shredded cheese on top. It was spicy....yummy and gone in a heartbeat! Will make it again.
Made this soup today. I cut the spices in half...still too spicy for me, but I'm kinda wimpy on the heat level. I like spicy, but not hot, which, I know, is completely subjective. I added a can of Amy's Vegetarian Organic Refried [Black] Beans. Now just right for me. (November 2007)Help me understand why reviewers lower the rating when they don't follow the recipe? The logic escapes me.
YUM!!.. This soup turned out really good!! I have made Black Bean soup in the past, but they did not compare to this one. I followed the other reviewers advice and added green pepper, onion and a can of diced tomatoes. I also made sure to soak the beans overnight. I wanted a slightly creamier soup and ended up pureeing half of the soup. It turned out perfect, spicy but not too spicy! I have added this one to my favorites.
I love to eat black beans and rice and this is a great recipe for this. I like my food spicy so I added in a whole fresh Jalepeno with seeds and a chopped onion. I doubled the hot sauce also. Instead of soaking the beans overnight I put them in the Crock Pot before I went to bed and let them cook all night (don't tell my mother or she will yell at me for leaving an appliance on while I slept). However the beans are harder this way. I'd soak them if I wanted them softer.
Instead of the jalapeno peppers I use a chopped green pepper and a small can of diced green chiles. I also add a chopped onion a can of diced tomatoes (reducing the amount of broth) and sometimes some cooked diced chicken breasts. It is a great recipe there are many things you can add or change to make it a bit different every time!
I doubled the spices added fresh cilantro 2 chopped red & green peppers 1 good-sized jalapeno pepper 1 sweet onion 1 can of green chiles 1 can of rotel a shot of worcestershire and about 1 cup of salsa. (basically gazpacho ingred w/out the cukes) Lot more work but everyone loved it. Served over rice.
Soup was decent after being doctored up with onions green peppers and tomatoes..plus extra spices...but still a little bland. Can't imagine that it would have any flavor without those additions.
