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A bowl of Cuban black bean soup with a wooden ladle next to a yellow plate filled with white rice.
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4.75 / 8 votes

Cuban Black Bean Soup

This Cuban black bean soup is made from scratch from dried black beans, peppers, onion, garlic, cumin, and vinegar. lt's cheap, simple, and vegetarian.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time3 hours 15 minutes
Course: Mains
Cuisine: Cuban
Servings: 4 to 6 servings
Calories: 682

Ingredients

For the beans

  • 1 pound (2 cups) dried black beans, picked over and rinsed
  • 3 quarts (12 cups) cold water
  • 1 small (6 oz) yellow onion, peeled
  • 1 small (4 oz) green bell pepper, cored and seeded
  • 1 bay leaf

For the sofrito

  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
  • 4 large garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1 small (6 oz) yellow onion, peeled and minced
  • 1 medium to large (8 oz) green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and minced
  • 10 Caribbean sweet peppers (ajíes dulces) or 1 Cubanelle pepper, seeded and finely chopped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano

To finish the soup

  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1 large red bell pepper, fire-roasted, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped (optional)
US - Metric

Instructions

Cook the beans

  • Place the beans, water, onion, green pepper, and bay leaf in a 6-quart heavy pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to medium and simmer until the beans are tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, adding more water if necessary as the beans cook. The soup should be brothy yet creamy. (Cooking beans is not an exact science so check the water often.)
  • Discard the onion, pepper, and bay leaf and lower the heat to medium-low. Ladle about 1/3 cup beans into a bowl and mash them with the back of the ladle or a spoon into a coarse purée and set aside. Keep the soup at a simmer while you make the sofrito.

Make the sofrito

  • Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and sauté until light golden, about 20 seconds. Add the onion, green pepper, Caribbean peppers, and bay leaf and sauté for 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened. Add the cumin and oregano and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the reserved mashed black beans and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

Finish the soup

  • Stir the bean-enriched sofrito into the pot of beans, then stir in the vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar. Taste and correct the seasoning if necessary; the soup should be aromatic with sweet, tangy notes. Add the chopped roasted pepper, if using. Keep the pot over medium-low heat, cover partially, and simmer until creamy, 30 to 45 minutes.
  • Remove the bay leaf and ladle the soup into bowls. If desired, plonk the bottle of olive oil on the table and invite everyone to drizzle some over the soup. (The soup tastes even better the day after it’s made. Let it cool and then cover and refrigerate. Reheat at a very gentle simmer. The soup can also be frozen for up to 3 months so you may want to double the recipe.) Originally published March 13, 2013.

Notes

HOW TO SERVE CUBAN BLACK BEAN SOUP LIKE THEY DO IN CUBA

Cubans tend to serve this soup alongside or on top of white rice. A dollop of homemade Mexican or Central American crema or some chopped white onion and parsley or cilantro wouldn’t be a terrible addition.

Nutrition

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 682kcal | Carbohydrates: 100g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Sodium: 3535mg | Fiber: 26g | Sugar: 19g