Panera has discontinued this delicious vegetarian soup but you can still enjoy it with this homemade version! Serve this easy weeknight dinner with a pan of hot buttermilk cornbread or a bowl of tortilla chips!
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❤️ Why you'll love it
- budget friendly
- full of nutritious vegetables and wholesome ingredients
- make this vegan Panera favorite right at home
Busy weeknights call for a quick dinner to get on the table fast. This simple soup recipe can be made in the slow cooker or on top of the stove.
Plus, it's full of southwestern seasonings that will leave your mouth dancing a jig.
🧾 Ingredients
- I like to use a mix of green, yellow, and red bell pepper
🔪 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the green recipe card below.
- Add the oil to a stock pot.
- Heat until it's shimmering then add the vegetables and garlic. Saute until softened.
- Add the beans, tomatoes, seasonings, cilantro, and broth. Stir well and add a squeeze of lime.
- Bring to a boil, turn down heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.Ladle into bowls and top with more cilantro, lime wedges, and Pepper Jack cheese if desired.
🥫 Storage
This copycat Panera soup can be stored for up to 5 days in the refrigerator if it's tightly covered. In fact, it's even better the next day!
You can freeze it for longer storage - up to 6 months.
🎥 Video
💭 Tips
Expert Tip: If you dice the vegetables all the same size they will cook more evenly.
- This black bean soup recipe is vegan as long as you don't garnish with sour cream, cheese, or other dairy products.
- It's thickened by blending a few cupfuls of the soup in the blender or with an immersion blender and adding it back to the pot. For a thinner soup skip the blending step, for a thicker soup blend more until you get the consistency you want.
- If you don't have a regular blender you can use a potato masher.
- If you don't like it spicy substitute plain diced tomatoes for the Ro*Tel diced tomatoes with chiles.
- If you can't find diced tomatoes with chiles you can chop up a jalapeno or two and add it in with the vegetables.
- This is one of those dishes that gets better as it sits.
- For a non-vegetarian version of this soup you can use chicken broth. Be sure to use vegetable stock for the vegan/vegetarian version.
- Add a second squeeze of lime juice just before serving to brighten it up.
👩🍳 FAQs
Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.
Corn bread, tortilla chips, baguette... just about anything! A salad is nice to serve on the side, too. Or, serve it with your favorite sandwich.
Yep! This is thickened by blending up some of the soup and adding it back into the pot rather than thickening with flour. So it's gluten free.
Let it cool completely and then put it in gallon size ziploc bags. Freeze them flat on a cookie sheet. When they're frozen you can stand them up like books and they take up very little room.
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📖 Recipe
Black Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cups onion , diced
- 1 cup carrots , sliced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 45 ounces black beans, drained
- 30 ounces Ro*Tel diced tomatoes with chiles, do not drain
- 32 ounces vegetable broth
- ¼ cup cilantro
- ½ teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon teaspoon oregano
- ½ lime
Optional Toppings
- Cilantro
- Pepper Jack Cheese, leave off to keep it vegan
- Lime slices
Instructions
Stove Top
- Add the oil to a stock pot.
- Heat until it's shimmering then add the vegetables and garlic.
- Saute until softened.
- Add the beans, tomatoes, seasonings, cilantro, and broth.
- Stir well and add a squeeze of lime.
- Bring to a boil, turn down heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove about 2 cups of the soup and add to a blender. CAREFULLY blend until smooth.
- Stir back into the soup to thicken it.
- Ladle into bowls and top with more cilantro, a lime slice, and Pepper Jack cheese if desired.
Slow Cooker
- Add all ingredients (except optional toppings) to the slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
- Remove about 2 cups of the soup and add to a blender. CAREFULLY blend until smooth.
- Stir back into the slow cooker with the remaining soup to thicken.
- Serve topped with favorite toppings.
Notes
- This black bean soup recipe is vegan as long as you don't garnish with sour cream, cheese, or other dairy products.
- It's thickened by blending a few cupfuls of the soup and adding it back to the pot. For a thinner soup skip the blending step, for a thicker soup blend more until you get the consistency you want.
- If you don't like it spicy substitute plain diced tomatoes for the Ro*Tel diced tomatoes with chiles.
- If you can't find diced tomatoes with chiles you can chop up a jalapeno or two and add it in with the vegetables.
- This is one of those dishes that gets better as it sits.
- Add a second squeeze of lime juice just before serving to brighten it up.
- This soup is amazing with homemade soda crackers
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