Mexican Bean and Vegetable Soup

I love a great soup recipe, but what I love most is a great soup recipe that I can make rather quickly and feeds my little army. Today’s Mexican Vegetable Soup recipe is filling, full of hearty flavors and aromas, and it’s super easy to make!

I know you’ll appreciate is the simple ingredients and steps to make this hearty soup. Check out how easy it is to make in this (very) quick video.

By the time 5:30 pm comes around, I’m feeling slightly jet-lagged -and not from flying back from Spain. You know, that tired feeling where your eyes get a little droopy and then the thought “is it bedtime yet?” passes your mind. So, to get through dinner time without any hiccups, I try to plan meals that are easy to prep and make.

Something I try to do to save prep time with this recipe is to chop all the veggies ahead of time, up to 4 days ahead of time and keep them in the fridge. To save even more time, I chop all the veggies in my food processor.

Years ago, when my kids refused to eat a “lumpy soup” I’d blend this in the blender for a smooth consistency. I still have to do that for one of my kids since he still has severe texture issues. However, that’s one easy step I can do that only takes a few seconds.

My favorite part of this recipe, other than eating it, is how great my kitchen smells while it’s cooking on the stove. It has a similar aroma to my All Meat and Veggie Chili recipe except it’s a lot soupier, and this one is vegetarian.

You know what else is great about this recipe? It freezes great, and you can throw everything in a slow cooker (except the rice) and cook it for 4 hours on high or 8 on low heat.

What are some of your favorite soup recipes?

Mexican Bean and Vegetable Soup

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

With mild, robust flavors, this soup is perfect for a cold day. Originally published in my cookbook, The Best Homemade Kid’s Lunches on the Planet.

• Author: Laura Fuentes
• Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup (130 g) carrots, coarsely diced
• 1/2 cup (75 g) green pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup (80 g) onion, diced
• 2 small zucchinis, chopped
• 2 cloves (6 g) garlic, minced
• 1 14 ounce can (396) petite diced tomatoes
• 1 14 ounce can (400 g) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups (940 ml) vegetable broth
• 1 cup (235 ml) water
• 1 teaspoon (1.8 g) dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons (14 g) ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon (2.6 g) chili powder
• 1/2 cup (95 g) uncooked rice
• Cilantro for garnish

Instructions

1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Add in carrots, bell pepper, onion, zucchini, and garlic. Sauté until just tender, and add in the cumin, oregano and chili powder. Stir and cook for a minute until spices are fragrant.
2. Pour in the tomatoes, broth, beans and water. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Stir in the rice and simmer for an additional 20 minutes (35 if you use brown rice). Garnish with cilantro to serve.

Notes

For the slow cooker: Throw all ingredients except the rice and cilantro (for garnish) in a slow cooker and cook, 4 hours on high or 8 on low. In the last 30 minutes of cooking, add white rice (45-50 for brown rice) and cook until rice is done. Garnish with cilantro.