Refried Bean Soup

Today is all about beans! I couldn't have enough of your typical refried beans so I went overboard. I made a refried bean soup overloaded with flavour which happens to be incredibly healthy as well.

When I like something I get a bit obsessed. And that's exactly what is going on right now between me and refried beans. In general, I think beans are amazing food, and I will add up on that later. But everything about refried beans really has my heart lately. 

I couldn't feed my family refried beans for as long as I would've wanted to. So I had to come up with an alternative to keep feeding my obsession while feeding my family. Now that it is fall, and the weather is getting a bit cooler, it made sense to make a nice heartwarming nourishing soup inspired by this all time classic side dish. 

This soup is super easy to make and it will take you less than 20 minutes. The result is absolutely amazing. I wish the pictures showed how flavourful, aromatic and nourishing this soup really is. But to be honest, they do not make it justice at all! 

I wanted to keep things simple since that's the beauty of a nice creamy batch of refried beans. The main ingredients are simple: beans, of course, and onion. And your onions will be the key to perfect refried beans. 

You need to pan-fry the onions before the beans just enough until they have that amazing golden colour. This is when all the aromas will start to come out and you queue to start adding the rest of the ingredients.

I added tomato paste and a few spices to enhance the flavour. Also, the tomato paste will help us get a better consistency once we blend the beans. You can also add a bit of water throughout the process to adjust the consistency to your preference. 

Beans are such a good food and this refried bean soup is one of the best examples why. The beans on their own give us a ton of flavour. I used kidney beans and black beans, which are the ones you typically use to make refried beans since they are so creamy and they are great at taking on the flavours of the other ingredients you cook them with. 

Aside from flavour and texture, one of the best things about beans is how incredibly nutritious they are. First of all, they are a great source of plant-based protein. This soup has about 20gr of protein per serving. 

Also, beans are a nutrient-dense food, rich in antioxidants, fiber, folate, zinc, iron, and magnesium. This translates into a ton of health benefits such as better heart health, reduced risk of cancer, stabilise blood glucose levels, control appetite, improve gut health, etc. 

As you can see, packing up on beans is a great way to nourish your body. A bowl of this delicious and hearty refried bean soup will make it really easy to do so!