Recipe Adaptations

Vegan

To boost vegetable content in this vegetarian mix add a sweet potato.

You Will Also Need:

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large purple onion, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups vegetable broth (32 oz.)
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 cup orange or grapefruit juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Here’s What You Do:

Preparing the beans:

1. Pick though the beans.  Remove discolored, shriveled beans and any foreign material.  Rinse well.
2. Place beans in a bowl with 8 cups water and soak for 4 hours at room temperature or overnight. For a quick soak, boil for 10 minutes and let stand for 2 hours.
3. Drain beans, and place in a 4-quart pot with 8 cups fresh water.
4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer, for 1 ½ hours until tender.
5. Drain the beans.

Preparing the soup:

1. In a 4-quart pot, sauté onion in oil over medium heat for 10 minutes, add garlic the last 2 minutes.
2. Add contents of soup mix vegetable packet and sauté 2 minutes.
3. Add drained, prepared beans, sweet potato and broth to the pot.
4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours; stir occasionally.
5. Using a blender, or food processor, purée half the soup, return to pot.
6. Stir in orange juice, cook, uncovered, on low heat for 15 minutes.
7. Salt and pepper to taste.
8. Optional: Garnish with chopped purple onion, and blue tortilla chips!

Slow Cooker

Recommended slow cooker size: 3-4 quart

Here’s What You Do:

Preparing the soup starting the night before:

1. Rinse, drain and pick over beans.
2. Place beans in 2 quart slow cooker, adding 1-2 quarts of water.
3. Bring to a boil, turn heat down and simmer, covered, 10 minutes.
4. Turn off heat and allow to soak a minimum of two hours or overnight at room temperature.

In the morning:

1. In a medium skillet sauté purple onion in oil for 5 minutes, adding the garlic for the last two minutes. Stir in the contents of soup seasoning packet. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of slow cooker.
2. Drain and add the beans to the slow cooker. Add chicken broth.
3. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours. Turn heat up to HIGH for 2 hours. This direction can be reversed. Cook on high for 2 hours and then low for about 8 hours.
4. Use an immersion blender and puree the soup in the slow cooker. Or, remove and run soup through a food processor to puree.
5. Add orange juice, salt and pepper to taste, stir thoroughly, reheating, and serve. We like to top it with a dollop of sour cream and a tablespoon of fresh chopped purple onion.

Cooking times for slow cookers vary, some are hotter than others. This particular bean needs 2 hours on high after presoaking as directed above.

Pressure Cooker

We do not have a specific Pressure Cooker recipe for this soup at this time.

Recipe Variations

We don’t currently have a recipe variation for this soup, please send us yours!

Cooking & Nutrition Tips

Remember these are soup-starter mixes, you can’t go wrong! Feel free to omit any of our recommended additions and/or add any of your favorites!

• To boost vegetables, add 2 cups fresh or frozen, chopped carrots or sweet potatoes in final 30 minutes of cooking before puréeing the soup.
• To cut added sugars, prepare with 100% orange or grapefruit juice. Like adding wine to a stew, orange juice adds a touch of sweetness.
• To reduce sodium: use a low-sodium broth, bone broth, or stock.
• For added protein: add a can of your favorite bean (black, chickpea, navy, etc), chicken breast, or other plant-based protein option.
• For added nutrition: look in your fridge/garden and add any vegetables you have on hand!