This Mexican bean soup recipe is incredibly easy to make, yet still bursting with flavor! This creamy, hearty soup is ideal for meal prepping and perfect if you're looking for easy camping meals!
When I was in college I practically lived off of this Mexican bean soup! Well, that and California burritos. I love this soup because it's so easy to make, and one batch is enough for a week of lunches!
This is an easy recipe to make whether you're in the kitchen, a dorm room, or even the great outdoors! That's because it uses mostly canned and shelf-stable ingredients!
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🧐 Why This Recipe Works
- This soup requires mostly canned ingredients, making it the perfect meal to cook up in a dorm, while camping, or any time you don't have access to a kitchen!
- Mexican bean soup can be easily made in a pot, crockpot, or instapot!
- Because this Mexican bean soup recipe yields about 10 cups of soup, it's perfect for meal prepping or for serving a group of people!
- You can enjoy this dish as a side or as an entree!
- This recipe is gluten-free and can be easily modified to be vegan by omitting the heavy cream and using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
- You only need a few minutes of prep time, then it's mostly just tossing everything in a pot and waiting for it to cook!
🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Beans: I use black beans and kidney beans but pinto beans and cannellini beans would work well too.
- Canned veggies: You can use a can of tomatoes with diced green chiles but I like to use individual cans of each so I can control the quantities.
- Fresh vegetables: I use fresh jalapenos and cilantro but you may also want to use carrots and red bell pepper as well as other fresh herbs like parsley and oregano. You can omit the jalapeno if making this for kids.
- Onion & Garlic: I use ½ a large yellow onion but you can also use white onion instead. I also use 2 cloves garlic but minced garlic can be substituted in a pinch!
- Enchilada sauce: I prefer green enchilada sauce but red works too! If you opt for red, try out this easy homemade enchilada sauce recipe.
- Heavy cream: You can also use half & half, or a dairy-free alternative if you want this recipe to be vegan.
- Spices: To keep things super simple, I only use taco seasoning and salt & pepper, but you can also use chipotle pepper, chili powder, red pepper flakes, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, or whichever spices you like to cook with.
- Garnish: I like to garnish with a sprinkling of asadero cheese, cotija, or queso quesadilla, as well as a few tortilla strips and a couple lime wedges. You can also garnish with a dollop of sour cream, more fresh cilantro, or sliced avocado.
*A full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page!
🫘 How To Make Mexican Bean Soup
Step 1: Dice onion and add to a pot with olive oil, then sauté over low heat for 3-5 minutes or until onions are translucent.
Step 2: Add garlic and continue to sauté for another minute or until garlic is fragrant.
Step 3: Add corn, kidney beans, black beans, tomatoes, chiles, and diced fresh jalapeño. Top with enchilada sauce, chicken broth, lime juice, and seasonings. Stir and bring to a gentle boil, then simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes.
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Step 4: Remove from heat then add heavy cream and freshly chopped cilantro.
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
I recommend serving this soup in individual bowls and garnishing it with asadero cheese, lime wedges, and tortilla strips.
Another option is to serve it with a side of creamy guacamole or pico de gallo and tortilla chips. I've even served it over nachos, which was amazing!
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
"White beans" is a blanket term used to describe several varieties of beans such as cannellini beans, navy beans, great northern beans, and lima beans. Although I don't usually use white beans in this recipe, they can make a great addition!
Both black beans and kidney beans are considered superfoods, along with pinto beans, soybeans, navy beans, garbanzo beans, lentils, and peas.
Navy beans, a type of white bean, got their nickname due to the fact that they have been a staple in the diets of US sailors since the mid-1800s.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- This is already a hearty soup, but can be made even more filling by adding meat. I strongly recommend trying it with the beef birria from Trader Joe's, shredded chicken, chorizo, or bacon!
- A vegan-friendly way to make it more filling is to try adding rice, additional veggies, or your preferred meat substitute!
- This Mexican bean soup recipe has a little heat from the jalapenos, but It's not terribly spicy. Adjust the heat to your taste by adding additional jalapenos, serranos, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, or hot sauce.
- As far as storage, I recommend keeping leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
🥘 Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Easy Mexican Bean Soup
Ingredients
- ½ large yellow onion
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 15 oz sweet corn (drained)
- 15 oz kidney beans (drained & rinsed)
- 15 oz black beans (drained & rinsed)
- 15 oz diced tomatoes (drained)
- 4 oz green chiles
- 2 jalapeños
- 30 oz green enchilada sauce
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoon taco seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Dice onion and add to a pot with olive oil, then sauté over low heat for 3-5 minutes or until onions are translucent.
- Add garlic and continue to sauté for another minute or until garlic is fragrant.
- Add corn, kidney beans, black beans, tomatoes, chiles, and diced fresh jalapeño. Top with enchilada sauce, chicken broth, lime juice, and seasonings. Stir and bring to a gentle boil, then simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes.
- Remove from heat then add heavy cream and freshly chopped cilantro.
Notes
- This is already a hearty soup, but can be made even more filling by adding meat. I strongly recommend trying it with the beef birria from Trader Joe's, shredded chicken, chorizo, or bacon!
- A vegan-friendly way to make it more filling is to try adding rice, additional veggies, or your preferred meat substitute!
- This Mexican bean soup recipe has a little heat from the jalapenos, but It's not terribly spicy. Adjust the heat to your taste by adding additional jalapenos, serranos, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, or hot sauce.
- As far as storage, I recommend keeping leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
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