Chipotle Black Bean Soup

Chipotle Black Bean Soup is a simple vegetarian meal in a jar that’s sure to satisfy the whole family.  Canning Black Bean soup ensures you always have this satisfying meal ready to heat and eat on your pantry shelf.  This is one of those meals that vegetarians can serve their meat-eating friends, and they’ll never miss a thing; it’s that good!  (And incredibly protein-rich and satisfying.)

Black bean soup is one of my favorite soups, and there are so many different ways you can season the batch to make it your own.  This particular recipe uses chipotles in adobo for an amazing smokey flavor that’s satisfying but not too spicy.

There’s only actually one black bean soup recipe for canning, and it was put out by a University Extension in California.  It’s called “Cuban Black Bean Soup” and includes smokey pork for a distinctly Cuban flare, but it’s not a vegetarian recipe.

I’ve adapted that canning recipe, using allowed canning substitutions, to create a satisfying vegan black bean soup recipe for canning.  The spices are changed, and the meat is omitted, but the recipe is still a safe canning recipe that follows all the USDA’s guidelines.

Ingredients for Canning Chipotle Black Bean Soup

To make a canner batch of 7 quarts of black bean soup, you’ll need the following:

• 2 pounds dried black beans (about 5 cups)
• 2 cups onions, chopped (250 g)
• 1 can (7 ounces) chipotles in adobo sauce (about 6 to 8 chipotles and 2 to 4 tbsp adobo)
• 6 Tbsp garlic, chopped
• 2 Tbsp Oil
• 1 ½ Tbsp Salt
• 1 ½ Tbsp ground Cumin
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar or cider vinegar
• 16 cups vegetable broth
• Water

You can substitute spices in this recipe to suit your tastes, and you can add regular diced peppers in place of the chipotles in adobo.  Meat stock or broth works in place of the veggie broth if you’re not trying for a vegetarian soup, and the canning time is the same with or without meat.  Black beans actually take longer in the canner than meat, believe it or not…so meat stock doesn’t impact the canning time.

The vinegar in this canning recipe is for flavor, not preservation.  You can leave it out if you like, but it really helps round out the flavor of the black bean soup.

Preparing Chipotle Black Bean Soup for Canning

Wash and sort dry beans.   Cover with 12 cups (3 quarts) water and bring to a boil.  Boil for 2 minutes, then turn off the heat.  Allow to stand for 1 hour.  (Alternately, soak 8 to 12 hours.)

Drain the beans and rinse.  Set aside.

Add 2 tbsp oil to the bottom of a stock pot and use it to saute the onions and garlic for about 5 to 7 minutes, until the onions are translucent and the mixture is fragrant.

While the vegetables are cooking, remove the canned chipotles from the adobo sauce and chop them into 1/2 inch pieces.  Once the vegetables are cooked, add the chopped chipotles and adobo sauce.

Add the remaining ingredients and bring the mixture to a boil.  Boil for 5 minutes.

While the soup is boiling, bring about 4 cups of water to a boil in a kettle.  You may (or may not) need this for topping off the jars.

Canning Instructions for Black Bean Soup

Use a slotted spoon to ladle the solids into 7-quart jars, evenly distributing the contents. The solids should fill each jar about halfway. This is important! The jars will not be filled with solids. Do not overpack the jars; they should only be about half filled with solids before canning. The beans will expand in the canner.

Distribute the broth evenly across the jars, leaving 1 inch of headspace.  You may need to top off the jars with water from your side kettle to bring them to exactly 1-inch headspace.

Cap with 2-part canning lids to finger tight.

Load the jars into a preheated pressure canner and add the lid, but don’t add the canning weight yet.  Turn the heat to high and allow steam to vent for 10 minutes.

Add the canning weight and bring the canner up to pressure (see notes).  

Once at pressure, process the jars for 75 minutes for quarts (or 60 minutes for pints).

When the canning time is complete, turn off the heat and allow the canner to cool completely before opening and removing the jars.  Check seals and store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator.  Properly canned and sealed jars may be stored in the pantry and will maintain peak quality for 12 to 18 months.

Altitude Adjustments

With pressure canning, the processing times stay the same at higher altitudes, but the pressures change.  Here are the altitude adjustments for pressure canning:

For dial gauge pressure canners:

• 0 to 2,000 feet in elevation – 11 lbs pressure
• 2,001 to 4,000 feet in elevation – 12 lbs pressure
• 4,001 to 6,000 feet in elevation – 13 lbs pressure
• 6,001 to 8,000 feet in elevation – 14 lbs pressure

For weighted gauge pressure canners:

• 0 to 1,000 feet in elevation – 10 lbs pressure
• Above 1,000 feet – 15 lbs pressure

Serving Home Canned Black Bean Soup

To serve, pour the contents of the jar into a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes.  For a creamy soup, you can puree about half the contents with a stick blender, if desired.  

Enjoy as is, or top with avocado, sour cream, cilantro, tortilla chips, cornbread, or whatever you like!

Yield: Makes 7 quarts

Chipotle Black Bean Soup

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Canning Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes

Chipotle Black Bean Soup is a simple vegetarian meal in a jar that's sure to satisfy the whole family.  This is one of those meals that vegetarians can serve their meat-eating friends, and they'll never miss a thing; it's that good!  (And incredibly protein-rich and satisfying.)

Print

Ingredients

• 2 pounds dried black beans (about 5 cups)
• 2 cups onions, chopped (250 g)
• 1 can (7 ounces) chipotles in adobo sauce (about 6 to 8 chipotles and 2 to 4 tbsp adobo)
• 6 Tbsp garlic, chopped
• 2 Tbsp Oil
• 1 ½ Tbsp Salt
• 1 ½ Tbsp ground Cumin
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar or cider vinegar
• 16 cups vegetable broth (or meat stock)
• Water

Instructions

1. Wash and sort dry beans.   Cover with 12 cups (3 quarts) water and bring to a boil.  Boil for 2 minutes, then turn off the heat.  Allow to stand for 1 hour.  (Alternately, soak 8 to 12 hours.)
2. Drain the beans and rinse.  Set aside.
3. Add 2 tbsp oil to the bottom of a stock pot and use it to saute the onions and garlic for about 5 to 7 minutes, until the onions are translucent and the mixture is fragrant.
4. While the vegetables are cooking, remove the canned chipotles from the adobo sauce and chop them into 1/2 inch pieces.  Once the vegetables are cooked, add the chopped chipotles and adobo sauce.
5. Add the remaining ingredients and bring the mixture to a boil.  Boil for 5 minutes.
6. While the soup is boiling, bring about 4 cups of water to a boil in a kettle.  You may (or may not) need this for topping off the jars.
7. Use a slotted spoon to ladle the solids into 7-quart jars, evenly distributing the contents. The solids should fill each jar about halfway. This is important! The jars will not be filled with solids. Do not overpack the jars; they should only be about half filled with solids before canning. The beans will expand in the canner.
8. Distribute the broth evenly across the jars, leaving 1 inch of headspace.  You may need to top off the jars with water from your side kettle to bring them to exactly 1-inch headspace.
9. Cap with 2-part canning lids to finger tight.
10. Load the jars into a preheated pressure canner and add the lid, but don’t add the canning weight yet.  Turn the heat to high and allow steam to vent for 10 minutes.
11. Add the canning weight and bring the canner up to pressure (see notes).  
12. Once at pressure, process the jars for 75 minutes for quarts (or 60 minutes for pints).
13. When the canning time is complete, turn off the heat and allow the canner to cool completely before opening and removing the jars.  Check seals and store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator.  Properly canned and sealed jars may be stored in the pantry and will maintain peak quality for 12 to 18 months.

Notes

 Serving

To serve, pour the contents of the jar into a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes.  For a creamy soup, you can puree about half the contents with a stick blender, if desired.  

Enjoy as is, or top with avocado, sour cream, cilantro, tortilla chips, cornbread, or whatever you like!

Altitude Adjustments

With pressure canning, the processing times stay the same at higher altitudes, but the pressures change.  Here are the altitude adjustments for pressure canning:

For dial gauge pressure canners:

• 0 to 2,000 feet in elevation – 11 lbs pressure
• 2,001 to 4,000 feet in elevation – 12 lbs pressure
• 4,001 to 6,000 feet in elevation – 13 lbs pressure
• 6,001 to 8,000 feet in elevation – 14 lbs pressure

For weighted gauge pressure canners:

• 0 to 1,000 feet in elevation – 10 lbs pressure
• Above 1,000 feet – 15 lbs pressure

Bean Canning Recipes

Looking for more ways to put up beans in a jar?

• Canning Boston Baked Beans
• Canning White Bean and Greens Soup
• Butternut Squash and White Bean Soup
• Cajun Red Beans and Sausage

Soup Canning Recipes

There are so many different soup canning recipes out there, try these for your pantry:

• Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup
• Carrot Soup
• Split Pea Soup
• Chicken Soup