My spicy three bean soup is packed with flavor, hearty enough to stand alone as a meal, and so delicious you’ll keep coming back for more! Made from just a handful of simple ingredients, this comforting soup is guaranteed to warm you up on chilly days. Once you try it, it’s bound to become a favorite.
It's no secret that I'm a big time soup lover. Vegan soups are one of my favorite types of recipes to share on this site! I love having soup for dinner, but not just any soup. In order to be dinner-worthy, a soup needs to be super hearty and incredibly satisfying. This three bean soup is about as hearty and satisfying as it gets!
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Beans are one of the best ingredients for creating a batch of soup that won't lead to you raiding the pantry an hour after dinner. That's why I LOVE creating soup recipes where beans are the star, like my black bean soup, kidney bean soup, white bean soup, and navy bean soup.
Well, today I'm sharing a recipe that features not just one, but three delicious types of beans! We're cooking with kidney beans, cannellini beans, and navy beans. This soup also features veggies, potatoes (so hearty!), and spices, making it both delicious and satiating.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Olive oil. Another high-heat oil could be substituted, such as vegetable oil, canola oil, or coconut oil.
- Onion.
- Carrots.
- Celery.
- Garlic.
- Spices. You'll just need some ground cumin and chili powder.
- Vegetable broth.
- Beans. We're using cannellini beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans, all canned, to make life easy. But don't feel like you have to use these varieties! You can swap them out with your favorites, or whatever you happen to have on hand. Black beans, chickpeas, butter beans, and great northern beans are all fine options.
- Red potatoes. These can be substituted with other types of potatoes, if needed. A russet or a couple of yellow potatoes will work just fine.
- Salt and pepper.
- Fresh chives. These make a delicious topping for this soup, but they can be omitted or replaced with other fresh herbs like scallions or fresh cilantro.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Heat up your oil in a pot, then add diced onion, sliced carrots, and diced celery. Sweat the vegetables for a few minutes, to start softening them up.
Step 2: Stir in the minced garlic, along with your spices. Cook the mixture briefly, and make sure to stir constantly to prevent anything from burning.
Step 3: Stir in the broth, beans, and potatoes. Heat the soup until it boils, then lower the heat and let it simmer until the potatoes are soft. Use a spoon to lightly mash some of the beans, in order to help thicken the soup.
Step 4: Take the pot off of heat, then season your soup with some salt and pepper. You can also adjust any other seasonings to suit your taste at this point.
Step 5: Time to serve your three bean soup! Ladle it into bowls and top each with some fresh chives. Dig in!
Tip: Feel free to pile on additional toppings! Tortilla strips or chips, hot sauce, avocado slices, shredded vegan cheese, and vegan sour cream or cashew cream are all great options!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover three bean soup will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about three days, or in the freezer for about three months.
Variations
- Add veggies. Stir in some of your favorite veggies, making sure to chop them finely. Try cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, kale, or zucchini.
- Curried three bean soup. Replace the chili powder with one to two teaspoons of curry powder and top each bowl with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
- Spicy chipotle three bean soup. Add a couple of tablespoons of adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers.
- Italian herb variation. Replace the cumin and chili powder with one to two teaspoons of Italian seasoning, and add a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes. Top each bowl with some fresh basil instead of chives.
Frequently Asked Questions
It sure is!
Yes, but you'll need to soak and cook them before adding them to the soup. You'll need about two scant cups of each type of bean, measured after cooking.
It's very mild. If you'd like yours to be hot, add a bit of cayenne pepper or hot sauce.
What to Serve with Three Bean Soup
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Three Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, sliced
- 2 medium celery stalks, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 (15.5 ounce/349 gram) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15.5 ounce/439 gram) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15.5 ounce/439 gram) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 small red potatoes, diced (about ½ inch)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Fresh chives, for serving
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with the oil and place it over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, carrots, and celery. Sweat the vegetables for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften.
- Stir in the garlic, cumin, and chili powder. Cook the mixture for about a minute, stirring constantly, until it becomes very fragrant.
- Stir in the broth, all three types of beans, and the potatoes. Raise the heat and bring the broth to a boil, then lower the heat and let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender. Use the back of a large spoon to mash a few of the beans as the soup cooks. This will help thicken the soup (Note 1).
- Remove the pot from heat. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and top each one with a sprinkle of fresh chives. Serve.
Notes
- If at any point you feel like the soup is too thick, just add some hot water or additional broth.
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Pretty good. I used black beans, red beans (not red kidney beans), and pinto beans. I think that most types of beans would be just fine.
It is a little plain, but hearty and satisfying. Once you have the base recipe down, I think it would be pretty easy to add more spices/herbs and other ingredients to tweak it to your own liking.
Delicious! I make A LOT of soup and I was thrilled as to how good this soup is and soooooo easy to make. I typically use dried beans, but time was "of the essence", so canned it was.
The soup punches above its efforts, and the flavors and textures come together in a very satisfying and wonderful way!
Thank you for all you do for us!!!!
My family really liked this soup! I took about two cups out and blended it before adding it back to the pot to make it creamier. I will definitely make this again. Thanks for sharing your recipes!