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This recipe is very versatile. If you prefer a non-vegetarian version, substitute chicken broth for the water and add some chicken or beef. Do you have leftover veggies from another meal? Throw them in. I don’t think I’ve ever made this soup the same way twice.
- 2 cups water or broth
- 1 cup onion (diced)
- 2 cups carrots (diced)
- 1 cup bell peppers (diced) (optional)
- 2 cups black beans (cooked)
- 2 cups kidney beans (cooked)
- 1 quart stewed tomatoes (or 1-28 oz can)
- 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried parsley*
- 1 tsp oregano
- Put water or broth, onions, carrots, and peppers in a pot. Cook on medium until vegetables are tender. *
- Add two cups of black beans and two cups of kidney beans or 1 can of each if you prefer to use canned beans. **
- Add one quart stewed tomatoes and 15 oz tomato sauce. ***
- Add two cloves of minced garlic.
- Add 2 cups frozen corn.
- Add salt, parsley, and oregano.
- Let soup simmer for about 30 minutes.
*With eight kids to manage, I'm always looking for ways to save time in the kitchen. I buy large amounts of organic carrots, steam them, chop them, and store them in the freezer in baggies. That way when I need to get dinner done quickly I can just pull out a baggie and throw it in the soup without having to wait for the carrots to cook. I do the same with celery, onions, and bell peppers. The onions I freeze in ice cube trays and then store in gallon sized baggies. This little kitchen hack saves me tons of time and money because I can buy in bulk!
**I prefer to buy dry beans rather than canned. But who has time to cook beans when a recipe just calls for a can or two? So I cook big batches of beans and then store them in pint jars in the freezer. Each jar is about the equivalent of 1 can of beans.
***My dad grows tons of tomatoes each year, and they are the best tomatoes on the planet. My mom cans them for us, so we have nearly an endless supply of tomatoes. If you don't have home canned tomatoes, though, it's easy to substitute one large can (28 oz).