Sarra Barefoot Contessa black bean soup is a thick, smoky, slow-simmered soup made with dried black beans, pancetta, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, cumin, and a hit of lime juice at the finish. It serves 6 and simmers for about 2 hours.
This recipe is built from Ina’s Tuscan White Bean Soup technique in Go-To Dinners: dried beans soaked overnight, pancetta rendered in oil, aromatics softened for 10 minutes, then everything simmered in chicken stock until silky. This version swaps the white beans and rosemary for black beans, cumin, and chipotle, and finishes with lime and cilantro instead of Parmesan.
Black beans need more time than white beans. Ina simmers her white cannellini for 90 minutes, but black beans are denser and need a full 2 hours to go from firm to creamy. Pull them early and you get chalky, grainy beans that won’t blend properly.
Barefoot Contessa Black Bean Soup Recipe
Course: Soups, DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy4
servings15
minutes2
hours15
minutes350
kcalBuilt from Ina’s white bean soup technique in Go-To Dinners, adapted with cumin, chipotle, and lime for black beans. Half the pot gets blended for a creamy base while whole beans give you texture in every spoonful.
Ingredients
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1 lb (450g) dried black beans
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Good olive oil
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4 oz (115g) pancetta, 1/4-inch diced
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2 cups (300g) chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
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2 cups (260g) 1/2-inch diced carrots (3 carrots)
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2 cups (240g) 1/2-inch diced celery (4 ribs)
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2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)
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1 tablespoon ground cumin
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1 teaspoon ground coriander
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1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
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8 cups (1.9L) good chicken stock, preferably homemade
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2 bay leaves
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Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
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2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (1 lime)
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1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- For Serving:
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Sour cream
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Diced avocado
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Extra lime wedges
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Tortilla chips
Directions
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Soak the beans overnight: Place the black beans in a large bowl and cover with cold water by at least 2 inches. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain again.
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Render the pancetta: In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes until browned.
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Cook the aromatics: Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, cumin, and coriander. Cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the vegetables are tender. Add the chipotle and adobo sauce and stir for 1 minute.
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Simmer the beans: Add the drained beans, chicken stock, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer partially covered for 2 hours, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom to prevent sticking. The beans should be very tender and starting to break apart.
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Blend half: Discard the bay leaves. Ladle half the soup into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Pour it back into the pot and stir together. The soup should be thick and creamy with whole beans throughout.
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Season and finish: Add 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and the lime juice. Taste and adjust. Stir in the cilantro off the heat.
- Serve: Ladle into deep bowls and top with sour cream, diced avocado, lime wedges, and tortilla chips.
FAQs
Why soak the black beans overnight?
Soaking cuts the cooking time nearly in half and helps the beans cook evenly. Without soaking, the outsides turn mushy while the centers stay hard and chalky.
Ina soaks her white beans the same way in both Go-To Dinners and The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. Cover by at least 2 inches of water because the beans absorb a lot as they sit. Drain and rinse them before cooking.
Why do black beans take longer to simmer than white beans?
Black beans have thicker skins and denser flesh than white cannellini. Ina simmers her white beans for 90 minutes in Go-To Dinners, but black beans need a full 2 hours to go completely tender.
You’ll know they’re done when you can press a bean between your fingers and it smashes easily with no resistance. If there’s any graininess left, keep simmering.
Why not add salt until the end?
Ina notes in her white bean recipes that salt toughens bean skins during cooking. The same applies to black beans.
Add the salt after the beans are fully tender, in the last 10 minutes of cooking. The stock and pancetta provide enough seasoning during the simmer. Finish with salt, pepper, and lime juice right before serving.
Why blend only half the soup?
Blending half gives you a thick, creamy base while the whole beans left in the pot add texture and bite. Fully blended black bean soup turns into baby food. Fully chunky soup is too thin and brothy.
Ina uses a similar approach in her Rosemary White Bean Soup from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, where she pulses the soup until coarsely puréed. The goal is the same: body without losing all the texture.
Does this black bean soup freeze well?
Yes. Let it cool completely and freeze in quart containers for up to 3 months. Ina freezes her white bean soup the same way in Go-To Dinners.
The soup thickens a lot in the fridge and freezer. Add a splash of chicken stock when you reheat to loosen it back up. Hold the cilantro, sour cream, and avocado until you serve because none of them survive freezing.
