I love black bean soup! Today I took a break from making super cute heart-shaped memory matching games to whip up a double batch of my Better Than Panera Vegan Black Bean Soup. With the addition of pumpkin, it really is the best black bean soup recipe ever. And, it's gluten-free! This soup is in our regular dinner rotation, we like it THAT much.
The cutie pie heart memory matching games I have been working on today can be found in my Ivy Lane Designs Etsy shop: HERE.
BETTER THAN PANERA VEGAN BLACK BEAN SOUP
Printer-Friendly Recipe
INGREDIENTS
3 - 15 1/2 ounce cans black
beans, rinsed and drained
1 - 15 1/2 ounce can drained canned tomatoes
1 1/4 cups chopped onion
4 garlic cloves minced (Tip: I use the stuff in the jar)
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 stick (2 tablespoons) Earth Balance butter
4 cups vegetable broth
1 - 16-ounce can pumpkin pureé (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup dry Sherry
DIRECTIONS
Using a food processor, coarsely pureé black beans and tomatoes. In a large pot, cook onion, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper in Earth balance butter over medium-high heat, stirring until onion is softened and beginning to brown. Stir in bean pureé. Stir in veggie broth, pumpkin and Sherry until combined and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.
Taste. Season soup with salt and pepper. Taste again. Serve with a dollop of Tofutti sour cream and crusty bread.
This is even better the second day. I plan to make a big pot to take to a Lenten supper at our church.
Enjoy!
~Merrill ❤
I made the yummiest soup for dinner, and could not wait another day to share the recipe with you. My beloved described it as "KILLER!" I know that eggplant soup sounds weird, but it truly was delicious.
This morning I visited the Cluster to plan the menu for the next Community Meal. If you are new to the blog, I cook for the homeless. While there, I trash-picked an eggplant that I used to make this killer soup. Okay, it was in a box headed to the dumpster so it wasn't technically in the trash - yet.
Watching the documentary "Dive!" (Netflix) made us think about food waste. The filmmaker and his friends dumpster
dive in the back alleys and dumpsters
of supermarkets in Los Angeles. In the process, they salvage thousands of dollars
worth of edible food. Great guerrilla journalism. You should watch it.
You can find more meatless recipes HERE.
Without further ado, Roasted Eggplant and Chickpea Soup.
PRINTABLE RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
- 1 large eggplant (about 2 pounds total), peeled and cut into 1-inch
pieces
- 1 medium onion, diced medium
- 2
garlic cloves, minced (I used the minced garlic in a jar from Costco)
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and ground pepper
- 1 can
(15-ish ounces) chickpeas, rinsed, drained and patted dry
- 4
cups vegetable broth (I use the stuff in a carton)
- Oregano (I didn't measure - sorry - but I would guess that I used 1 tablespoon)
- 1 lime (or lemon), juiced (I had a lime, but a lemon would be just as tasty)
- Dairy-free sour cream (Tofutti is FABULOUS!)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat
oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together eggplant, onion,
garlic and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Arrange in a single layer on a foil-lined cookie sheet,
leaving a wide strip of empty space at one end. In the same bowl, toss chickpeas
with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Transfer to empty space on cookie sheet.
Roast until eggplant is golden and cooked through and chickpeas are slightly
crunchy, about 40 minutes.
Set
chickpeas aside. Add eggplant,
onion, broth and oregano to a medium pot. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium-high. With a
potato masher or back of a wooden spoon, mash about 3/4 of the eggplant until soup is
thick and chunky. Stir in chickpeas - TASTE - then season with salt and
pepper. Add juice from one lime (or lemon). To serve, top with a healthy dollop of dairy-free sour cream. YUM!
Serving suggestion: Serve with crusty bread. We like the green olive bread topped with fresh rosemary and salt from Costco.
Enjoy!
~Merrill ♥
I love cookbooks! Healthy vegan cooking is my latest interest, ever since my beloved jumped feet first into a plant-based diet. He's now lost 40 lbs. without even trying! Rather than take my chances and buy cookbooks that I may never use, I audition them, thanks to my local library. Test drive before you buy.
Click on the titles listed below for a description of each cookbook. Our library allows us to reserve books online for free, which is one of the best deals around!
Stack #1:
Stack #2:
Stack #3:
Stack #4:
Here's to healthy cooking and eating!
~Merrill ♥
Better Than Panera Vegan Black Bean Pumpkin Soup
