This tasty Chicken Black Bean Soup is surprisingly low in net carbs and gluten-free, and this is such a lovely combination of flavors. See tips below if you’re not a cilantro fan!

PIN Chicken Black Bean Soup to try it later!

Chicken, Black Bean, and Cilantro Soup found on KalynsKitchen.com.

Salt Lake has gotten about 24 inches of snow in the last 24 hours, so this delicious Chicken Black Bean Soup sounds perfect to warm up the tummy! This is a quick and easy soup recipe, especially if you have some leftover rotisserie chicken in the fridge.

Best of all, if you do use rotisserie chicken, you can have some Chicken Black Bean Soup on the table in about 30-40 minutes. And this delicious soup has a lot of chicken and not many beans, so it’s surprisingly low in net carbs, FTW!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

What gives this Chicken Black Bean Soup amazing flavors?

Besides chicken and black beans, this soup has amazing flavor from ground cumin, chili powder, celery, onion, celery seed, garlic, chicken and vegetable broth, tomatoes, salsa,Green Tabasco Sauce, cilantro, and lime juice.

Don’t want cilantro in the Chicken Black Bean Soup?

People who like cilantro will love the generous amount added at the end of the cooking time, but if you’re not a cilantro fan just replace it with thinly-sliced green onion.

Can you use other beans for this Chicken Soup recipe?

You can definitely use other types of canned beans in this tasty soup, and I think Pinto Beans would be especially good.

Chicken, Black Bean and Cilantro Soup found on KalynsKitchen.com

How to make Chicken Black Bean Soup:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

  1. Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot, then cook the diced onion and celery about 3-5 minutes, until they are soft but not browned.
  2. Add the ground cumin, chili powder, celery seed, and garlic and saute about 2 minutes more.
  3. Add chicken broth, vegetable broth, canned tomatoes, and salsa and let simmer 10 minutes. (Boring photo, but this is an important step.)
  4. While the soup simmer diced up some cooked chicken into small pieces until you have about 2 cups diced chicken.
  5. Add the chicken and black beans to the soup, taste to see if you want to add the green tabasco sauce (affiliate link), then simmer on low about 15-20 minutes.
  6. While this mixture simmers wash, spin dry, and chop enough fresh cilantro to make 1 cup chopped cilantro. (You can use less, but I wouldn’t! Use sliced green onions if you’re not a cilantro fan.)
  7. Add the cilantro and let the simmer simmer 5 minutes more.
  8. Then add 3 T fresh-squeezed lime juice and simmer 2-3 minutes more.
  9. Serve hot, with cut limes to squeeze into the soup and sour cream if desired.

Square image for Chicken Black Bean Soup shown in bowl with lime and sour cream in back.

More Soups to Keep You Warm:

Weekend Food Prep:

This Chicken Black Bean Soup recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Chicken Black Bean Soup
Yield: Makes 8 servings

Chicken Black Bean Soup

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

This Chicken Black Bean Soup is a quick and easy option for a tasty dinner and everyone who likes cilantro will love that added to this tasty soup! Use thinly-sliced green onion if you're not a cilantro fan.

Ingredients

  • 1 small onion, diced small
  • 1 cup celery, diced small
  • 2 tsp. olive oil
  • 1 T ground cumin
  • 1 T chili powder
  • 1 tsp. celery seed
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder or minced garlic
  • 4 cups canned chicken broth (see notes)
  • one 14 oz. can vegetable broth
  • one 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup Pace Picante Sauce (see notes)
  • 6-8 drops Green Tabasco Sauce or your favorite hot sauce (taste to see if you want this)
  • one 15 oz. can black beans 
  • 3 cups cooked chicken, cut in very small pieces
  • 1 cup chopped cilantro leaves and stems (optional, see notes)
  • 3 T fresh-squeezed lime juice
  • slices of fresh lime and sour cream for serving (optional)

Instructions

  1. In a large heavy soup pot, saute onions and celery in olive oil 3-5 minutes, until soft but not browned.
  2. Add the ground cumin (affiliate link), chile powder, celery seed (affiliate link), and garlic and saute about 2 minutes more.
  3. Add the chicken stock, vegetable broth, tomatoes, and salsa, and simmer 10 minutes.
  4. After 10 minutes, taste for hotness and add green tabasco sauce (affiliate link) if desired.
  5. Add black beans and chicken and simmer 15-20 minutes more.
  6. While the soup simmer, wash, dry and chop enough fresh cilantro to make 1 cup chopped cilantro. and squeeze enough limes to make 3 T juice.
  7. After 15-20 minutes, add the chopped cilantro (or thinly-sliced green onion) and simmer 5 minutes, then add lime juice and cook 2-3 minutes more.
  8. Serve hot with fresh limes to squeeze into the soup, sour cream, and additional chopped cilantro to sprinkle on top if desired.
  9. To make a delicious vegetarian soup, use 3 cans vegetable broth and eliminate the chicken stock, and 3 cans black beans and eliminate the chicken.

Notes

I would definitely use homemade chicken stock if I had some!

I love Pace Picante Sauce (affiliate link) because it doesn't have added sugar, but use any tomato salsa you prefer.

The beans don't have to be drained unless you choose to rinse the beans to reduce the amount of sodium.

If you're not a cilantro fan just use thinly-sliced green onion.

This recipe created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 412Total Fat 17gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 11gCholesterol 101mgSodium 1408mgCarbohydrates 19gFiber 7gSugar 5gProtein 43g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Chicken, Black Bean and Cilantro Soup found on KalynsKitchen.com

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This chicken soup with black beans is surprisingly low in net carbs for a soup with beans; check the nutritional information. Black beans are actually allowed for any phase of the original South Beach Diet and other low-glycemic diet plans, although the portion size is limited for South Beach Diet Phase One.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Soup Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This Chicken Black Bean Soup was first posted in 2005! It was updated with new photos in 2013 and the recipe was last updated with more information in 2023.

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