Black Bean Sweet Potato Soup

Please don’t skip the lime juice in this Black Bean Sweet Potato Soup; this is a vegetarian soup that’s loaded with flavor! And see below for a lower-carb option for this tasty soup.

PIN Black Bean Sweet Potato Soup!

My sister Valerie thinks the week between Christmas and New Year’s is the best part of the holiday season. She loves it when the rush of Christmas is over but kids are home from school and there’s extra time to hang out with the family. I enjoyed Christmas day at her house, watching the kids open their gifts and indulging in quite a bit of holiday food.

Now it’s back-to-reality for me, and for people who are avoiding meat and don’t mind a few carbs, this Black Bean Sweet Potato Soup seems perfect after a few days of indulgent eating. It’s light enough to help you recover from holiday food overload, easy enough that you don’t need much time in the kitchen, and still warm and comforting if you’re in a part of the world where the weather is cold.

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.)

• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• onion
• Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
• ground coriander (affiliate link)
• ground Cumin (affiliate link)
• ground fennel (affiliate link)
• black pepper
• sweet potatoes
• black beans
• vegetable stock
• salt
• lime juice

Are they yams or sweet potatoes?

Even though they are often mistakenly called yams in U.S. grocery stores, the vegetables used to make this soup are orange-fleshed sweet potatoes! But your store may call them yams or sweet yams.

Want a version of this soup that’s still vegetarian but lower in carbs?

Soup with black beans and sweet potatoes is never going to be super low in carbs. But if you want a lower-carb version for this tasty soup, switch out one can of black beans for a low-carb vegetable like frozen cauliflower rice or chopped red bell pepper. That will definitely make it lower in carbs.

How to Make Black Bean Sweet Potato 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 olive oil in a heavy soup pot, then cook onions for 6 minutes, or until they’re just starting to brown. Then add minced garlic, ground coriander, ground cumin, ground fennel, and black pepper and saute about 1-2 minutes more.
2. Rinse 2 cans black beans until no more foam appears, then let the beans drain.
3. While onions are cooking, chop up two medium sweet potato into pieces. 
4. When onions and spices have been cooked long enough, add vegetable stock, black beans, and sweet potatoes to the soup pot, along with salt to taste.
5. Let cook about 30 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are falling-apart tender. Use a slotted spoon to remove 3 cups of sweet potatoes and beans.
6. Then use aImmersion Blender (affiliate link) or regular blender to puree the remaining soup.  (Be very careful if you do this in a regular blender!)
7. Add the reserved beans and sweet potatoes back into the soup and simmer about 15 minutes more.
8. Taste to see if you want more salt, then add the lime juice and simmer for 5 more minutes.
9. Serve hot, with a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream if desired.

More Vegetarian Recipes with Black Beans:

• Spicy Black Beans with Cilantro
• Black Bean and Rice Soup
• Black Bean and Pepper Salad

Continue to Content

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Yield: Makes 6 servings

Black Bean Sweet Potato Soup

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Black Bean Sweet Potato Soup is flavored with lime juice, and this tastes great when you need some comfort food! And this is a tasty meatless soup that's loaded with flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced small
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 3/4 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. ground fennel
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 15 oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 cups vegetable stock (see notes)
• salt to taste
• 2 T fresh-squeezed lime juice

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in heavy soup pot, add diced onion and cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, or until onions are just starting to brown.
2. Add minced garlic, ground coriander, ground cumin, ground fennel and fresh-ground black pepper and saute 1-2 minutes more, or until spices are becoming fragrant.
3. While onions are cooking, peel and dice sweet potato and rinse beans until no more foam appears, then drain.
4. After onions and spice mixture have been sauteed, add the diced sweet potatoes, black beans, and vegetable or chicken stock to the soup pot, along with salt to taste.
5. Let soup simmer on medium-low heat for about 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are falling-apart tender.  (There will be some foam from the beans that rises to the top during cooking; just skim off with a large spoon or stock skimmer.)
6. When sweet potatoes are tender, use a slotted spoon to remove 3 cups of beans and sweet potatoes; then use an immersion blender or regular blender to puree the remaining soup.  (Be very careful with the hot soup if using a regular blender; fill the blender container only about 3/4 full and hold the lid on the blender with a towel or hot pad draped over the lid.)
7. Add the reserved sweet potatoes and beans back into the soup and simmer about 15 minutes more.
8. Taste to see if you want to add more salt; then add the lime juice and simmer about 5 minutes more.
9. Serve hot, with a dollop of fat free Greek yogurt or light sour cream if desired.
10. If desired you can serve with lime wedges so people who want to can squeeze more lime juice into their soup.

Notes

If you're using vegetable broth in a can, use 3 cans broth and just freeze the extra.

This recipe adapted from Black Bean Soup with Sweet Potatoes found in Fine Cooking Soups and Stews.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 264Total Fat 3gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 0mgSodium 558mgCarbohydrates 46gFiber 14gSugar 5gProtein 14g

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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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Black Bean Sweet Potato Soup would be approved for only phase 2 or 3 of the original South Beach Diet, due to the sweet potatoes. This soup is too high in carbs for a low-carb diet plan but see tips in the post for making a more carb-conscious version.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Soup Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find 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 soup recipe with sweet potatoes and black beans was first posted in 2010. It was last updated with more information and a lower-carb option in 2023.

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