Copycat Panera Black Bean Soup

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!

❤️ Why you'll love it

• budget friendly soup recipe
• 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.
• Try serving this with Frito corn salad for a twist on a soup and salad supper.

🔪 Instructions

Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the green recipe card below.

1. Add the oil to a stock pot.
2. Heat until it's shimmering then add the vegetables and garlic. Saute until softened.
3. Add the beans, tomatoes, seasonings, cilantro, and broth. Stir well and add a squeeze of lime.
4. 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.

What's soup without crackers? They're definitely a must with soup and you'll love this homemade saltine crackers recipe.

🥫 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.

If you love soup and sandwich dinners as much as we do try pairing this with creamy ranch chicken sandwiches.

👩‍🍳 FAQs

Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.

Related recipes

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• Old Fashioned Potato Soup Recipe is creamy and comforting - so quick to make.
• Elote Soup (Mexican Street Corn Soup) also has plenty of that good Tex-Mex flavor!
• Mom's Chili Soup was my favorite when I was growing up. It's also called Cowboy Soup.
• Creamy White Chicken Chili is slow cooked until the chicken falls apart in the sauce.

You might also want to give this copycat Subway Broccoli Cheddar Soup a try!

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!

If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 Recipe

4.73 from 51 votes

Black Bean Soup

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Black bean soup is full of vegetables and southwestern spices in a rich, thick broth you'll love. This vegan recipe is a copycat of the Panera Bread favorite and you can make it in your own kitchen in 30 minutes, or let it simmer all day in the Crockpot!

Course Soup

Cuisine Southwestern

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings:6

Calories:401

Author:Marye Audet-White

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• ▢ 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

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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

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 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

You'll find more helpful tips and variations in the body of the post.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 401kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 848mg | Potassium: 1295mg | Fiber: 23g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 4954IU | Vitamin C: 47mg | Calcium: 153mg | Iron: 7mg

Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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