Pinto Bean Soup

This easy pinto bean soup is hearty, nutritious and ready in just less than one and a half an hour. You can make it with just a couple of pantry staples for a delicious weeknight meal that’s also super good for you.

If you are using dried pinto beans that you cook from scratch:

1. Place the beans in a bowl and cover them with cold water.
2. Cover the bowl and allow them to soak overnight.
3. Rinse and drain the beans and use them in this recipe.

You’ll need to simmer the soup for an extra 30 minutes or until the beans are soft.

This pinto bean soup ticks all the boxes on my “perfect soup” checklist – it’s delicious, quick and easy to make and super nutritious.

Besides being delicious, this is also a very healthy bean soup with your preferred choice of inspired flavors that’s comfort food at its best.

You can make it as creamy as you want, too – I like it quite chunky, but you can easily blend half or all of the soup if you want yours on the creamier side.

Ingredients and substitutions;

Cooking oil – You only need a bit of extra oil to saute the veggies in. If you don’t want to cook with oil, you can use a bit of veggie stock or even water. Keep in mind that veggies won’t be as flavourful as they are when you saute them in oil.

Red onions – I love red onions, but you can use any other type you want.

Carrots – Make sure you dice the veggies into similar bits so they cook evenly.

Garlic – Fresh garlic is always best in soups such as this.

Spices – I use a mix of smoked paprika, ground cumin and chilli flakes, but you can adjust them to suit your taste. To give the soup a bit of a kick, you can add a finely chopped green chilli.

Chopped tomatoes – A can of chopped tomatoes is all you need here. You can also use peeled tomatoes that you crush by hand.

Pinto beans – I use Jambo Basket Pinto Beans for this soup because it’s quite convenient, and I always have a couple of packs with me.

How do you make pinto bean soup:

Heat the oil of your choice in a large, heavy-bottomed pot and saute the red onions, carrot and bell pepper for 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently.

Stir in the garlic and continue to cook for another minute until fragrant. Next, add the smoked paprika, cumin and red chilli flakes.

Add the chopped tomatoes, pinto beans and vegetable stock and stir to combine. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer with a lid on for 15-20 minutes.

At this point, you can smash some of the beans with a potato masher or transfer half of the soup to a blender and blend it into a creamy paste, then pour it back into the pot.

Stir in the fresh parsley, season to taste and serve