Vegan Roasted Tomatillo Black Bean Soup

The tomatillo plants in the garden grew absolutely insane this year and they even survived through the first frost, while everything else died off. After picking quite a few pounds and making many batches of salsa verde with them, I still had a ton leftover. I can only eat so much salsa, so I needed to find a new way to use these up. It’s soup season in New England so I used the flavors inspired by salsa verde to make a hearty, filling batch of soup.

This soup uses roasted tomatillos as the base, combined with a bunch of vibrant, fresh flavor from the jalapeño, cilantro and lime. Roasting the tomatillos helps to tame down the tart and tangy flavor to make them more mild and earthy. I added black beans to make this more dense, but you can use kidney beans or chickpeas if that is what you have available. Corn would also make a wonderful addition, but this was an afterthought while I was already eating my soup. You can use more or less jalapeño in this recipe, depending on your spice preference. This can be served simply with some tortilla chips for a light lunch.

vegan tomatillo black bean soup in a white bowl with brown and black backgrounds

Vegan Roasted Tomatillo Black Bean Soup

Recipe Type:

YIELDS 2–3 servings

PREP TIME 10 min

COOK TIME 20 min

TOTAL TIME 30 min

4 cups tomatillos
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 jalapeño
1 cup red onion
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
salt & pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 (15oz) cans black beans
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tbsp lime juice
red chili flakes to top

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to broil.

2. Slice the tomatillos in half and place them on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Add the garlic (unpeeled cloves, still in their skin) to the baking sheet and bake for 6 minutes, until the tomatillos blister. Remove from oven.

3. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the jalapeño, onion, and spices, and stir well to coat. Sauté for a couple minutes, until they begin to soften.

4. Peel the roasted garlic and add it to the pot along with the tomatillos.

5. Add the vegetable broth to the pot and use an immersion blender to blend until smooth.

6. Rinse the black beans and add them to the pot. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and let cook for about 15 minutes, to soften the beans and let the flavors infuse.

7. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro and lime juice.

8. Top with red chili flakes and serve.

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Photo: Lauren Sacerdote