This kidney bean soup is totally delicious, easy to make, and hearty enough for a meal! With red kidney beans, potatoes, sweet corn and juicy tomatoes, it's bursting with flavor and perfect for a weeknight dinner.
I always keep a few cans of beans on hand for soups like this one. Personally, I think bean soups are among the best soups because they're super filling and tend to be packed with flavor. While I've got quite a collection of go-to bean soups, it just recently occurred to me that I'd yet to create a red kidney bean soup recipe. Time to change that!
Bean soups are also super versatile. You can season them so many ways!
I seasoned this particular kidney bean soup with a blend of southwestern-inspired spices. As a long time lover of dishes like vegan chili and rice and beans, I feel like these spices go hand-in-hand with red beans. The result was absolutely scrumptious! From now on I'll be keeping some canned kidney beans in my emergency soup stash, because this stuff is going right into regular rotation.
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Olive oil. Feel free to substitute another high-heat oil if you'd like, such as corn, canola, or coconut oil.
- Onion.
- Red bell pepper. You can use another color of bell pepper if you'd prefer.
- Garlic.
- Cumin.
- Dried oregano.
- Cayenne pepper. This is totally optional. Use it for a little extra kick in your soup, or leave it out for milder soup.
- Kidney beans. The recipe calls for canned red kidney beans. Feel free to use dark red or light red (or a mix!). You'd even be fine to use white kidney beans (a.k.a. cannellini beans).
- Vegetable broth. I used Better Than Bouillon in seasoned vegetable flavor.
- Potato. The recipe calls for a plain old russet potato, but there's no reason you couldn't use a couple of red or yellow potatoes.
- Diced tomatoes. We're using canned diced tomatoes. Feel free to use the kind packed in juice or sauce (it will make very little difference in the final dish).
- Frozen corn.
- Lime juice. Use freshly squeezed juice for the best flavor.
- Salt & pepper.
- Fresh cilantro. Just for topping! Skip it if you're not a cilantro fan, or substitute scallions.
How to Make Kidney Bean Soup
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!
- Heat your oil in a large pot, then add diced onion and bell pepper. Sweat them for a few minutes, until they start to soften up, then add the garlic, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Cook everything for a minute more. Stir the mixture often to prevent burning.
- Stir in the beans, broth, and diced potato. Simmer the soup for about 20 minutes, until the potato is tender.
- Stir in the tomatoes and let the soup continue simmering for 5 minutes.
- Take the pot off of the burner and blend about a third of the soup. You can use a hand-held immersion blender like I did (this is recommended), or very carefully transfer a portion of the soup to a food processor or blender for blending. Feel free to blend more of the soup if you'd like it creamier, or less if you'd prefer a chunkier soup.
- At this point you can reheat the soup on the stove if it has cooled down too much.
- Stir in some thawed frozen corn and season the soup with lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle your kidney bean soup into bowls and top each with some fresh cilantro.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover kidney bean soup will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 4 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is!
Nope! But you absolutely can if you prefer to.
You can, but you'll need to soak and cook them first. Try this method. You'll need about 5 ½ cups of beans (measured after cooking)
More Bean Soups
- Rosemary White Bean Soup
- Mexican Pinto Bean Soup
- Moroccan-Inspired Chickpea Soup
- Smoky Navy Bean Soup
- Spicy Black 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
Zesty Kidney Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 3 (14 ounce or 400 gram) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 medium russet potato, scrubbed and cut into ½ inch pieces
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- Fresh cilantro, for topping
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 and bell pepper. Sweat the vegetables for about 5 minutes, until they begin to soften.
- Stir in the garlic, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Cook everything for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes very fragrant.
- Stir in the beans, broth, and potato.
- Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Lower the heat and let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potato is tender.
- Stir in the tomatoes and continue simmering for 5 minutes.
- Remove the pot from heat and blend about a third of the soup, either using a hand-held immersion blender, or by transferring it in batches to a food processor or blender, then returning it to the pot.
- Reheat the soup on the stove if needed, then stir in the corn.
- Season the soup with lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and top with fresh cilantro. Serve.
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This soup is amazing and a keeper! I added a tablespoon of brown sugar and a tablespoon of tomato paste. Can't wait to eat it again tomorrow.
This is such a wonderful soup. I cooked my kidney beans from dry (one pound dry becomes 3 cans worth when cooked.) I added one pound of ground turkey to make it a little heartier and it was delicious. Definitely a keeper!
This recipe is excellent. I made as written, except for adding Gardein sausages. My husband absolutely loves it. I'm actually thinking of making another batch tonight.
I enjoyed this and will make it again. I added some fresh spinach because I had some. I also added tomato paste, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce.
This was a hit! I made few substitutions based on what I had available in my fridge and pantry:
Jarred roasted bell pepper strips instead of green bell pepper
Tomato sauce instead of chopped tomatoes
I also used (sorry vegans/vegetarians!) homemade beef broth
This was amazing! Easy to make, hearty and healthy.
This was great, thank you!
This soup was surprisingly delicious and flavorful! I added ditalini and zucchini, as well as some tomato paste. This is one of the best soups yet to come out of my kitchen, and vegan even!
This was a big hit with the whole family last night! Everyone raved about it and it will be part of the regular weeknight roster from now on.
This was delicious. My husband said it reminded him of a bisque. I had to use powdered garlic since I was out of fresh. And I used the white bean option. And a can of drained corn instead of frozen.
I added the tomatoes and corn with the broth instead of waiting til later. It still turned out fantastic.