Sweet Potato Black Bean Soup

Sweet potato black bean soup is an easy dinner recipe that's hearty and filling, and just so happens to be vegan friendly too! The delicate flavor of sweet potato is complemented by aromatic ginger, garlic, paprika and cumin.

Note: this post was originally published in 2020 and updated in 2021 with new photos and improved instructions.

I've been eating this sweet potato black bean soup all week and I'm not sick of it yet! This soup is so wonderful because it's:

• filling without being heavy
• easy to make with pretty basic ingredients
• easy to make vegan (just use vegetable stock!)
• full of bright, aromatic flavors that perk up the mild flavor of the sweet potato and black beans, including ginger, garlic, cumin, paprika and lime!

If you're on the lookout for a healthy yet satisfying winter soup, look no further - this soup recipe is just what you need!

Recipe ingredients

Ingredient notes

• Fire roasted tomatoes: if you don't have fire roasted, you can substitute a can of regular diced tomatoes.
• Onion: I used yellow onion, but sweet onion would also work well. If you don't have those, you can just use any kind of onion you have on hand.
• Oil: I used olive oil, but you can use your favorite cooking oil (like canola oil, vegetable oil, etc.).
• Paprika: this gives the soup a beautiful reddish hue. For a more smoky, deep flavor, substitute smoked paprika!
• Stock/Broth: you can used homemade or store-bought. Any kind you like will work: chicken, beef, etc. To make the soup vegan, use vegetable stock!

Step by step photos

1. The first step is to prep the veggies. First, peel the sweet potato and cut it into about ¾ inch (19 mm) cubes. I talk more about how I like to cube sweet potato in this post for turkey sweet potato soup!

Then, peel the garlic and ginger and chop them finely. Finally, peel the onion and chop it into small pieces.

2. Once you have the veggies prepped, heat the oil over medium high heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onion and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

After that, add in the kosher salt, paprika, cumin, garlic and ginger. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, for another 2 minutes. The spices should be very fragrant by this time!

3. Next, add in the entire contents of the cans of black beans and fire roasted tomatoes (do not drain, the soup needs the liquid!). In addition, add in 2 of the 3 cups of broth or stock and sweet potato cubes. Stir everything together and turn the heat up, bringing the soup to a boil.

Once the soup is boiling, turn the heat back down again to maintain a gentle boil.

4. Continue to gently boil the soup for 12 - 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potatoes are tender. You can test this by piercing a chunk of sweet potato with a fork or small knife; it should slide in easily without much resistance.

5. Turn the heat off and squeeze the juice from half a lime into the soup. Give it a stir, and taste the soup. If it needs more salt or lime juice, add it in. Serve the soup immediately, garnished with extra lime if you like!

Tips and tricks

• When cubing the sweet potatoes, try to make them uniform in size. If the sweet potato cubes are vastly different sizes, the smaller pieces will overcook and begin to break down before the larger pieces are cooked.

• When sautéing the onions and spices, turn the heat down if you notice the spices are getting too much color.

• While the soup is boiling gently, if you notice that a lot of the liquid has been absorbed, you can stir in as much of the remaining 1 cup broth/stock as needed.

Recipe FAQs

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