Black Bean Soup

This soup is amazing because it can literally be made in 10 minutes. In keeping with our budget-friendly meal ideas this week – this soup cost $1.43 per serving. I also served it with the left over Potato Cheese Focaccia bread which increased the cost to $2.05 per serving. Compared to the (at least) $5 you would pay for a bowl of soup at a restaurant.

Similar to the Mediterranean Salad with Green Beans you can reduce the cost of this soup by purchasing ingredients on sale – I paid full price, and even further if you use dried beans instead of canned (just follow the directions to cook them) and/or use homemade stock instead of buying it (see our Homemade Turkey Stock Recipe posted on December 26, 2012).

Ingredients

1 can (540 mL/19 oz.) black beans or black turtle beans, rinsed and drained

1 ½ cups (375 mL) chicken broth - I recommend using reduced sodium or no sodium broth

¾ cup (180 mL) chunky salsa

½ cup (125 mL) canned corn

Dash of hot sauce (optional)

Squirts of fresh lime juice (optional)

1 cup (250 mL) shredded cheese

1 tbsp. (30 mL) finely chopped green onion

Directions

Combine first 5 ingredients in a saucepan and heat thoroughly.

Spoon into 4 bowls. Add lime juice

Combine shredded cheese and green onion. Sprinkle on top. Serves 4

Serve with whole grain bread or you can add cooked pasta, rice, or barley to this soup. 

Enjoy!
Shannon RD

Note: I made a double batch and used one can of black beans and one can of navy beans.

Recipe from http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/