This isn’t your average sausage bean soup! This easy black bean soup recipe makes a large pot of hearty goodness. Use dried black beans for the base of the soup and big chunks of kielbasa and a cumin-chili spiked broth to round out the flavors of this Black Bean and Sausage Soup.

A thick, hearty potage is just the thing to warm you up on a cold day and this is one of our favorites.  Black Bean and Sausage Soup is smoky, rich and satisfying and you’ll love it with a cornbread muffin or wedge of this cheddar bacon jalapeño cornbread.

This soup starts with a bag of dried black beans, covered with water and soaked overnight (or you can do the quick soak method which brings them to a boil, simmers for two minutes, then sits for an hour with the lid tightly closed).  To cook the beans completely, bring them to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 1 1/2-2 hours until they’re tender.  Don’t salt the beans, while they’re simmering — it’ll make the skins tough.

Kielbasa sausage adds a meaty quality to the pot of beans.  I cook the sausage separately until it’s browned and has rendered some of its fat.  Transfer the sausage to a bowl, leaving the renderings in the pot.

Saute the vegetables in the sausage fat, until they’re tender.

To give this soup a more intense smoky flavor, season the vegetables with cumin and chile paste.  The chile paste that I’ve used here is made from New Mexico dried chiles.  Heated in a heavy bottomed pan to release their natural oils, reconstituted in hot water and a swirled to a thick paste in the blender.  If you don’t want to use dried chiles, you could use canned or jarred Guajillo chile paste or dried chile powder.

Transfer the cooked beans and their liquid to the pot and give it a good stir to blend everything together.

Next, add in the cooked sausage and a bit of chicken broth, so you’ve got ample stock for your soup.

This soup is like a cross between chili and a pot of beans.  It’s brawny.  Thick, and satiating.  Kielbasa adds that savory meat element my guy appreciates.  And it makes a whole mess of soup!   So gather a hungry crowd and have at it!

Black Bean and Sausage Soup

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: beans, black beans, dried beans, kielbasa, sausage

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 391kcal

Thick and hearty with big chunks of smoked kielbasa, this chunky, satisfying soup is delicious on a cold day!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

for the soup

• 1 pound dried black beans
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 pound smoked kielbasa sausage cut into 1/2" - 1" chunks
• 3 medium carrots
• 1 medium onion peeled and diced
• 1 jalapeño seeded and diced
• 1/2 sweet bell pepper seeded and diced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/4 cup chile paste or 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder recipe on this site
• 1 - 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Optional Garnish:

• fresh cilantro
• avocado diced
• hot sauce if desired such as Crystal
• oyster crackers

Instructions

• Place black beans in a large pot and cover with water, soak overnight until beans have doubled in volume
• Rinse and drain beans twice.  Add fresh water to the beans until they are covered by about 1 1/2" water.  Heat the beans to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook 1 1/2-2 hours or until beans are tender.
• In a large dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the smoked sausage and cook 4-5 minutes until it starts to render some fat and starts to brown.  Scoop the sausage out of the pot and transfer to a bowl.
• Add the carrots, onion jalapeño and bell pepper. Cook 3-4 minutes until vegetables start to soften, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in the cumin and chile paste or powder and cook until vegetables and sausage are coated and mixture is fragrant.  Add the cooked beans and their liquid to the vegetable mixture.  Stir in the chicken broth, sausage and 1 teaspoon kosher salt.  Taste for seasoning, adding additional teaspoon of salt if needed.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the flavors have married.
• Serve with fresh cilantro leaves, diced avocado and/or a few dashes of hot sauce, if desired. Oyster crackers are a great accompaniment too.

Nutrition

Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 976mg | Potassium: 1091mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 82.1% | Vitamin C: 19.1% | Calcium: 9.2% | Iron: 22.2%

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