My family has enjoyed many Black Bean Soup recipes, but we always turn back to the most traditional style.  I like to keep some canned black beans on hand for convenience sake, but using cooked dry black beans is my preferred method.  They are much more economical than the canned variety and the process of soaking and cooking dry black beans is not that difficult, and it’s sort of a pleasant, cathartic task.  If you stick with the basic recipe which includes celery, onion, carrots, and garlic, your soup will turn out perfect every time.  I use my potato masher just to give the finished soup a quick mash-up which thickens the soup and brings out the flavor just a bit more.  However, I don’t like to mash it too much so as not to destroy all the whole beans and vegetables.

The first time you make any black bean soup, you’ll be astounded to watch just how far your dollar stretches with your cheap bean recipes.  Even if you double your recipes, you are still feeding your family for pennies per plate as opposed to dollars per plate.  Nutritional and inexpensive… you can’t lose.