Heddy's Black and Red Bean Soup

Just wanted to clarify- with the 2 optional ingredients, do not leave them both out. You should choose one or the other of them. If you choose the chili powder (add it right before the broth) the flavor is kind of reminiscent of chili, if you leave out the chili powder and use the maple syrup instead, you get my 8 year old daughter's favorite soup in the world.;-) Of course, you may substitute chicken broth for the vegetable broth, and it still tastes wonderful, but obviously it is no longer vegetarian. Enjoy!

awesome! I'm not sure why, even though I chose to make this recipe, I wasn't that thrilled about it while making it. GREAT flavor! I halved the recipe (dummy me forgot to get 2 cans of each bean. Next time I'll go un-canned and do dryed beans, fresh tomatoes, etc.

YUM!! My family absolutely loved this recipe, even my children. I had to substitute one of the cans of red beans for white beans and it still came out just great. I added in the maple syrup and 1 tbls of the chili powder. I also added in 4 servings of whole grain brown rice while simmering to add more "bulk" to the soup. We grated cheddar cheese over the tops of our bowls and let it melt....soooo good! This recipe made a huge pot that will feed my family of 4 for 2 meals, and cost less than $5!! Thanks for sharing this one!

Great, used 1/2 can of Rotel tomatoes to add extra flavor to the Chili powder version. Also added Barley for a healthy grain. Kids liked it too because they couldn't see any tomatoes!

I made the maple syrup version, and I have to agree with other reviewers that said it was bland. However, it wasn't so bland that I wouldn't have eaten it as it was, so I don't think this is a bad recipe. It thickened up really nicely. For my tastes, though, I added some curry - which made it AWESOME. (But then, I love curry!) Next time I make it, I'll either try the chili powder version or skip the syrup altogether and just use curry. Thanks for the recipe!

I made this for a chuch function last night, but left out the maple syrup. It was HUGE hit!

This was the blandest soup I have ever made. Not sure I can even call this a "base" soup. I followed the directions exactly then went back to double check that I didn't make an error. I made the maple syrup version, it didn't have any flavor besides the beans, so I added salt and a general no salt seasoning and red pepper flakes. It helped but it still wasn't good. I noticed most of the good reviews were for the version using the chili powder.

I made this with the maple syrup... it was ok, but nothing to write home about. Needs a little more flavor. I'll have to play with it to make it just right, but my kids had a hard time eating it.

This is delicious! Was looking for a recipe that would let me use up a lot of cans of beans, and this fit the bill perfectly. I didn't have any tomatoes, so I left them out. I also left out the olive oil. I used chicken broth instead of vegetable broth, and frozen sweet corn instead of canned. The rest of the recipe I followed as written. I love adding some of the beans as puree - gives the soup a nice thickness.

I left out the celery because I didn't have any. I went for the maple syrup option and it was very good. It is nice to have a black bean soup that isn't automatically an overt chili/southwestern flavor. I also made some brown rice to pour the soup over and it was very hearty meal.

Great tasting soup! I didn't puree the vegetables because I like chunks of flavor! This is a wonderful vegetarian meal!

Today was clean out the fridge day and wonder of wonder, virtually all ingredients called for were lurking in dark corners. Halved recipe and used homemade beans instead of canned along with Rotel instad of diced tomaties. I made the chli version and am in love with your recipe. Haven't pureed it yet - not sure if I will or not, but had a bowl for lunch along with cornbread. Delish. Cooked chicken (I used chicken broth) would be great thrown in. I can also see throwing in leftover steak next time (using beef broth) for a more hearty meal type dish. In any event, I did not find bland whatsoever - maybe it was my beans as I love heavily flavored items. Thanks for recipe.

This soup was fairly good, but nothing special. I couldn't taste the maple syrup at all.

This soup was very flavorful. I had so many beans in my pantry and I was searching for a recipe that I would like and my kids as well and this was definitely a winner. I didn't have maple syrup so I omitted that. I also didn't have any corn but it was fine without. I added some fresh parsley in the last few minutes. It was great!

I added some potatoes and about a teaspoon of dried basil. Very tasty. Put a bit of low-fat sour cream on top of a bowl of it, which gave it a little bit of something something.

I made this recipe for my vegetarian daughter. She and the rest of the family absolutely loved it. Will definitely be making this again. I followed the recipe as is but did not add the maple syrup and used frozen corn instead of canned. Also added thyme, basil and parsley for added seasonings! Served this soup with cornbread muffins. Yummy soup...thanks for sharing your recipe!

Fabulous! Made it with the chili option. I brought it to a church "soup and bread" Christmas carol sing and labeled it "Comfort & Joy Soup" with note "contains beans, carrots, onions, corn, tomatoes, veg broth com and chili powder how JOYFUL with no Meat, dairy, sugar, or gluten. How COMFORTING!" A huge hit.

Easy peasy! And tasty too! I made the chili powder version and really enjoyed it. I used dried beans I'd previously cooked and frozen. I'll also make a shameless plug for my Grandmother's Buttermilk Cornbread recipe on here and tell you that it is great served with this soup!!

I made this soup two days ago for a visiting friend who is a vegetarian. I did not use the maple syrup or the corn. It was absolutely delcious and will be on a regular rotation on our family's dinner table-year round! Thank you so much for this recipe!

SOOOO GOOD!!! The only thing I did different was I didn't add the syrup and I added some of my homemade salsa:) This recipe is a keeper!

This soup more or less reminded us of chili. I added both the chili powder and maple syrup. The chili powder overpowered any hint of maple and we couldn't taste it. It was a good "chili" but certainly needed a little salt for flavor. We topped it with sour cream and cheese. My kids loved it! The only change I made to the recipe was that I used chicken broth instead of vegetable (It's what I had available). I probably won't make this one again because I have other chili recipes I like better. Maybe I'll have to try this one without the chili powder and just go with the maple syrup instead. It will probably make it taste less like a chili and more like a soup.

Even my hubby and son loved it and they always want meat in their soup, but they were quite pleased with this one. This is a keeper! I used the chili powder, but will try the maple syrup next time!

Very easy and tasty. Even the kids liked it.

recipe was great! I added frozen corn & fresh spinach & I kept all the vegetables whole not pureed. I did not add chili or maple for flavoring, just salt, pepper & cumin & it was delicious & hearty! My son who is very picky & does not eat many veggies, loved it! Thank you will definitely make again!

This was the most delicious soup!! Very hearty and great for a wintry day!!! Leftovers were even better!!!!!

We LOVED this soup. The only change I made was to add a pound of crumbled ground beef.

My husband and I loved this recipe! I omitted the chili powder, but added a couple of shakes of chipotle instead. Did use the maple syrup. Will definitely make again!

This is a great recipe for Black Bean Soup. Made it last night and my husband and I loved it. I didn't change anything except cut in half and had to use maple syrup because I couldn't find molasses here in Mexico City.

Black beans are hard to find here in France, so I tried it with small brown lentils instead, and it worked really well! I used the chili powder and left out the celery and corn. Delicious protein substitute when we're sick of meat and fish, and it's fairly carb- and fat-friendly, too. I'll definitely be trying this again.

My husband and I both loved it. I made it as directed and then added a little more allspice (that's just a personal preference). I didn't have refried beans so I just mashed half with a blender. Now I Just buy dried beans and it makes for a very inexpensive meal. You might have to adjust a little, but it's worth it. I paired it with a couple of small cheese quesadillas and it was great.

I used dried beans to start with, boiling them for 1-1/2 hours, rinsing & draining. It took a little longer than anticipated to cook the beans to tenderness. I made it with the chili powder. I also added beef bones for extra flavor (not vegetarian). It is a very hearty soup.

This is a great recipe for Black Bean Soup. Made it last night and my husband and I loved it. I didn't change anything except cut in half and had to use maple syrup because I couldn't find molasses here in Mexico City.

Made this exactly to the T and I enjoyed it! You have to really cook the vcarrot, celery and onion on the bottom of that pan because that is where all the flavor is. Once you add the remainder of the veggies such as beans, corn and crushed tomato it's more to add different texture.