Sweet Potato Black Bean Soup (Print Version)

Creamy sweet potatoes and black beans simmered with cumin and smoked paprika for a warming, fiber-rich meal ready in 45 minutes.

# Components:

→ Vegetables

01 - 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
02 - 1 large yellow onion, diced
03 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
04 - 1 medium carrot, diced
05 - 1 stalk celery, diced
06 - 1 red bell pepper, diced

→ Legumes

07 - 2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, drained and rinsed

→ Liquids

08 - 4 cups vegetable broth
09 - 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with juice

→ Spices and Seasonings

10 - 1 teaspoon ground cumin
11 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
12 - 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
13 - 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
14 - 1 bay leaf
15 - 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
16 - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
17 - 2 tablespoons olive oil

→ Garnishes

18 - Fresh cilantro, chopped
19 - Lime wedges
20 - Sliced avocado

# Preparation Steps:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add diced onion, carrot, celery, and bell pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes until vegetables are softened.
02 - Add minced garlic to the pot and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Stir in sweet potatoes, cumin, smoked paprika, coriander, cayenne, and bay leaf. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
04 - Pour vegetable broth and diced tomatoes with juice into the pot. Bring mixture to a boil.
05 - Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes until sweet potatoes are tender.
06 - Add black beans, salt, and black pepper. Simmer uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes to allow flavors to meld.
07 - Remove bay leaf from pot. For creamier texture, use an immersion blender to partially blend soup, leaving some chunks intact.
08 - Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Ladle soup into bowls and serve hot, garnished with cilantro, lime wedges, or avocado.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It's the kind of soup that tastes like it took hours but actually comes together in under 45 minutes, making weeknight dinners feel less rushed.
  • The combination of sweet potatoes and black beans creates this naturally creamy texture without any cream, which means you get all the comfort with actual nutrition.
  • Every spoonful has a different flavor note depending on what you hit—sometimes sweet, sometimes smoky, sometimes that little kick of heat—so it never gets boring even as leftovers.
02 -
  • Don't skip rinsing the canned beans—this removes the excess sodium and foam that can make the soup taste one-dimensional instead of clean and balanced.
  • The partial blending step is everything; too much blending and you lose the textural interest, too little and it feels like chunky broth instead of proper soup.
  • Taste before serving because every vegetable broth brand has different salt levels, and you're better off adjusting yourself than ending up with either bland or over-salted soup.
03 -
  • Room temperature ingredients matter less than you'd think, but cold broth straight from the fridge will add 5-10 minutes to your cooking time, so let it sit out for a few minutes if you have time.
  • The immersion blender makes cleanup easier than a regular blender, but if you don't have one, you can carefully transfer half the soup to a blender, blend it smooth, then stir it back into the chunky half.
  • This soup is one of those rare dishes that actually improves as leftovers because the flavors keep deepening and the spices keep settling into every ingredient, so make extra intentionally.
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