Pumpkins are definitely in season now and I have been roasting them up to make and freeze pumpkin puree for later. When I came across the idea of a pumpkin and black bean soup on gimme some oven I diverted some of my pumpkin puree from the freezer and into making the soup. I have enjoyed the sweet pumpkin and creamy black bean combo in several other dishes in the past so I knew that this soup would be a winner. This pumpkin and black bean soup is a pretty standard vegetable soup that is nice and easy and focuses on the pumpkin and black beans. The soup is seasoned with some texmex flavours including some smoky chipotle chili powder for some heat and some cumin and cilantro to round it out. I was looking for a lighter soup so I went with a vegetarian version but you could easily make this soup a little heartier by adding cubed cooked ham or bacon, both of which would also add a ton of flavour. One of the things that I like about soups like this is that you can easily control how thick or thin the soup is by controlling how much broth you use and how much you puree the soup. I made my soup nice and thick and I increased the amount of chili powder for some extra heat which went perfectly with the sweet pumpkin. I garnished the soup with some fresh chopped cilantro and chipotle toasted pumpkin seeds .
Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 4 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon cumin (toasted and ground)
- 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth or chicken stock
- 2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1 (19 ounce) can black beans (rinsed and drained)
- 1 (14 ounce) can tomatoes (chopped)
- 1/4 cup dry Sherry (or dry white wine)
- 1 handful cilantro (chopped, optional)
- 1 handful toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)
directions
- Heat the oil in a pan.
- Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the broth, pumpkin, black beans, tomatoes and sherry and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Remove from heat and puree to the desired consistency.
- Serve garnished with cilantro and toasted pumpkin seeds.
StefanieB says
October 23, 2009 at 12:13 amThat looks very tasty and I just happen to have some leftover pumpkin puree. Excellent.
Chef Fresco says
October 23, 2009 at 12:45 amI think this soup is made for me! I love pumpkin soup and bean soup the most. mmmmm yum
Christina says
October 23, 2009 at 1:40 amMmm what a seasonal bowl of yum! I was toying with the idea of acorn squash in a soup all week, but couldn't conquer it so I jsut roasted it!
Velva says
October 23, 2009 at 2:08 amThis seasonal soup looks just stunning! Love it!
Diana Evans says
October 23, 2009 at 2:12 amthis looks wonderful!!! Hope you have been well!!! I missed popping by …..been so busy with all kinds of projects!!!
Jenn Sutherland says
October 23, 2009 at 2:30 amThis looks fabulous. I've got 2 pie pumpkins, and one of them is going to go into this soup!
Nina Timm says
October 23, 2009 at 3:24 amVelvetty, creamy and spicy…exactly what I need in a soup!!!
Belle and Ward says
October 23, 2009 at 3:35 amThis looks delicious – I like the idea of pairing the heat with the sweetness of the pumpkin! ~ Belle
Lady P says
October 23, 2009 at 3:56 ami always look for a recipe that uses pumpkin but isn't so sweet that i feel like i am slurping a spoonful of pie – thanks
how well does the ole pumpkin puree freeze up anyways?
GarlicBOSS says
October 23, 2009 at 5:49 amKevin, this pumpkin soup looks good…thanks
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
October 23, 2009 at 5:53 amThat soup is far from being bland! So flavorful and beautiful!
Cheers,
Rosa
Joanne says
October 23, 2009 at 10:15 amI've gotten into some pumpkin puree-ing as well. Between that and pesto, my freezer is full! Awesome idea for a soup.
Sophie says
October 23, 2009 at 10:44 amWhat an excellent & tasy & ooh so healthy soup, Kevin!!
MMMMMMMMM,…so comforting too, in these colder days!
The Woman says
October 23, 2009 at 12:00 pmI can almost taste this soup from your vivid photo. Great recipe, as always.
AppGal says
October 23, 2009 at 12:22 pmYUM! Thanks for sharing!
Quick question: How exactly do you freeze the puree? Does it need to be stored in any particular way to make sure it doesn't lose flavor? Thanks 🙂
Amber says
October 23, 2009 at 12:28 pmThat looks so good! I love the roasted pumpkin seeds as a garnish!
Ben says
October 23, 2009 at 1:08 pmI've seen a couple of versions of this soup, but this is definitely one of the best.
Kalyn says
October 23, 2009 at 1:19 pmI just saw this same idea in a food ad and thought it sounded great!
Dawn says
October 23, 2009 at 1:25 pmTwo of my favorite things! I definitely will try this one!
Jacqueline says
October 23, 2009 at 2:41 pmI like the addition of sherry and black beans to what very close to one of my favourite soups. Great idea.
Tiffiny Felix says
October 23, 2009 at 3:53 pmI'm so happy it's "soup season"! (though I make soup all year…) There are soup recipes all over! I feel very happy 🙂 Thanks!
Michal says
October 23, 2009 at 4:26 pmHi all!
I just found out that there is a new website for posting cooking questions:
http://www.ask2cook.com
Based on the succesful stackexchange infrastructure. The site provides a reputation management system that ensures that good answers to good questions are more visible.
Now it's quite empty, but with time if you'll post in your questions and answers it can be a really great website!
Mags says
October 23, 2009 at 4:41 pmI'm such a sucker for soups. I collect soup recipes like most people collect cookie recipes. This one just got added to my collection. Looks fantastic Kevin!
Jennie says
October 23, 2009 at 4:46 pmI love the sound of this soup! It looks delicious! I am totally making it!
teresa says
October 23, 2009 at 5:30 pmthis looks so hearty and full of flavor, a wonderful fall soup!
Jill says
October 23, 2009 at 5:47 pmI love soup and this looks delicious…I will try to make this tonight!
George Gaston says
October 23, 2009 at 6:26 pmKevin the flavor & texture combination sounds terrific, along with the various spices. I'll have to give it a try. Thanks…
Laura @ Hungry and Frozen says
October 23, 2009 at 8:24 pmYum! You always have interesting recipes on here. This sounds delicious – and I've taken to roasting my own pumpkin seeds too, will have to try out that recipe 🙂
Kevin says
October 23, 2009 at 10:55 pmLady P: Pumpkin puree freezes well. I have a bunch in my freezer right now.
Kevin says
October 23, 2009 at 10:57 pmAppGal: I have been freezing it in those reusable ziplock containers with the screw on lids.
Kevin says
October 23, 2009 at 11:03 pmMichal: What a coincidence! I just got back from the Stack Overflow Dev Days conference here in Toronto and they mentioned the Stack Exchange product. I was thinking that a food and cooking version would be nice.
Homecooked says
October 24, 2009 at 12:03 amThis looks really good! The combination looks delicious!
Elra says
October 24, 2009 at 12:35 amPumpkin and black bean, what an interesting combination for the soup. Look delicious Kevin.
The Duo Dishes says
October 24, 2009 at 12:48 amLooks so thick and hearty! Very warming too.
Pam says
October 24, 2009 at 2:27 amWhat a great healthy soup!
meeso says
October 24, 2009 at 3:59 pmNice combo… I love this season!
Vegetation says
October 25, 2009 at 9:53 amMmmm this soup sounds amazing! I have to try it!!
Karen says
October 25, 2009 at 3:38 pmI made this, and it was fabulous! Thanks!!
Sara Phillips says
October 26, 2009 at 12:15 amI made the soup. Very good. I was surprised that I could not taste more pumpkin flavor. Maybe I will on the second day. I did use canned pumpkin. I liked the thickness. So comforting, but healthy, on an autumn day.
Anonymous says
October 26, 2009 at 12:26 amThis is wonderful…thank you for sharing!
lisa @ dandysugar says
October 26, 2009 at 6:25 amThis looks delicious- such a great twist on classic pumpkin soup. Creamy and spicy, a perfect meal for this time of year.
Kitchen Butterfly says
October 26, 2009 at 4:32 pmOnce I saw the cumin and coriander leaves,you won me over
khifrank says
October 26, 2009 at 5:52 pmthanks for the recipe! we made this last night. it wasn't too spicy to eat, but i think there was too much chipotle. we couldn't really taste the rest of the soup.
George Gaston says
October 27, 2009 at 5:13 pmKevin, ten incredibly delicious recipes to use with the big orange pumpkin. I hope to try the ice cream, because that sounds like an interesting treat. Many thanks…
Christina Kim says
November 3, 2009 at 2:33 amKevin, I just made this soup (with canned pumpkin, however), and it it just DELICIOUS! I also just got myself an immersion blender, so this was my inaugural recipe. Thanks so much for the recipe, you're great!
Wine-Beer-Washington says
November 5, 2009 at 12:30 amI love the flavors and textures of this soup but it looks TERRIBLE when I make it. I used fresh pumpkin puree, vivid orange. Yet my soup looks like a bad case of Montezuma's revenge. I thought it was the black beans so the second time, I practically scrubbed the beans clean and used half the amount. Still my soup is this very unappetizing brown color. I just close my eyes and slurp but I wouldn't dare serve this to anyone else!
Any ideas why I lose all that great pumpkin orange color?
Susan says
November 10, 2009 at 1:19 amI made this tonight using butternut squash instead of pumpkin. It was wonderful! Complex, filling, and surprisingly easy! I served fresh homemade cornbread with it – yum!
Anonymous says
December 1, 2009 at 12:09 amMade this tonight and it was delicious!!!!!
I used can pumpkin and it wound up being a somewhat unappetizing color (brown) but the specks of black beans really made it look like it was full of spices – once they got passed the color, my kids ate it up!
elizabeth.speck says
December 7, 2009 at 10:03 pmI'm a new reader to your blog and tried this recipe with an orange kabocha squash this weekend — delicious! thanks for the great recipe.
Anonymous says
November 11, 2010 at 4:50 pmThis looks SO GOOD!!! pumpkin + black beans–two of my favorite ingredients
Susan K. says
November 22, 2010 at 12:34 amWow–I made this soup tonight with some fresh pumpkin puree; it was sooo good! It is a bit on the 'warm' side with a tablespoon of the chipotle chili powder–I will tweak this the next time so my spice wimp daughter will eat it.
Thanks for another great recipe!
sarahsic says
November 28, 2011 at 4:11 pmSuper yummy soup! Thank you for the recipe! I used tequilla instead of sherry and really liked the flavor. This will definately be on heavy rotation this winter!
Anonymous says
December 1, 2012 at 5:33 amLike a few of the others, my tasted wonderful but looked awful, very unappealing.
The Junk Drunk says
January 31, 2013 at 1:35 amYour soup looks delicious! I recently made this great pumpkin black bean soup over at The Junk Drunk that you may like too. Please let me know what you think!
http://thejunkdrunk.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/deep-stir-pumpkin-black-bean-soup/