Looking for an affordable dinner to make the family that is also simple, delicious, and healthy? Think black bean soup!

Do you miss the Panera Bread black bean soup? I sure do! So when I make this I feel like I'm still getting to have it. This is a quick dinner that is delicious, nutritious, and affordable. This recipe will make enough for four people and you may even have a little leftover for a lunch the next day. I serve it up with a crusty bread and some fruit (mangos!). Yum!

Simple Black Bean Soup

What you need:

3 cans organic black beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups of organic vegetable stock
1 medium onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tbs olive oil

What you do:
Use a large soup pot to add the olive oil, onion, carrot, garlic, and green pepper to. Heat over a medium heat until everything softens, which will take about five minutes. Add in the vegetable stock, black beans, cumin, and salt. Stir together occasionally, as you allow it to cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and use a potato masher to mash some of the beans. You don't want to mash them all, so that it is still somewhat chunky, but mash some down to make it a creamier consistency. Then it's done! You can garnish with some fresh cilantro if you want to and serve it up with some crusty bread. Yum! Leftovers make a great lunch the next day.

There are numerous variations you can do if you want to add to this. You can add in some corn, sweet potato, squash, salsa, etc. It just depends on how much you want to add and spend. I usually keep it pretty simple, but once in a while I'll add in something extra.