Hearty Black Bean Soup

So wouldn't you know, two days after I bought Trader Joe's latin style black bean soup for the first time, the girls over at hungry like the wolf posted a recipe that uses it. Their recipe spices up this soup for a quick and easy lunch, but I wanted to have it for dinner so I added some veggies to turn this into a 1 bowl hearty meal.

The added veggies gave this soup a lot of substance without making it too heavy. In fact, this soup is very low in calories--each cup of the soup base is only 70 calories. So, the term hearty in the title of this recipe is really to describe the oodles of crunchy vegetables, but overall this soup is much lighter than say, black bean chili.

Hearty Black Bean Soup
(serves 3-4)

1 quart smooth pureed black bean soup base (I used Trader's Joes brand)
1-1/2 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup chopped red and green bell peppers
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup canned black beans
3/4 cup chunky salsa (I used HOT)
1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper (or more if you like spicy, or not at all if you don't)
1 tbsp cumin
2 cloves garlic, minsed
3 tbsp lime juice
4 corn tortillas
Cheddar cheese for sprinkling

Heat oil or cooking spray in a large pot. Saute peppers and cabbage for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the corn tortillas into strips and drizzle lightly with olive oil and salt (low-cal option: spray with a bit of cooking spray instead). Bake strips at 350 for 10 minutes. Once the cabbage and peppers have had the chance to soften a bit, stir in green onions, black beans, garlic, and cumin and cook for an additional 3 minutes or so. Pour in black bean soup base and stir in salsa and cayenne pepper, tasting along the way for desired spiciness. Stir in lime juice and bring to temperature over medium heat. Serve into bowls and sprinkle with cheddar cheese and a handful of baked tortilla strips.

Additional options: I would have added in a few tablespoons of fresh chopped cilantro at the same time as the lime juice, if I had some. Also I would have loved to try chipotle powder like the girls at hungry like the wolf used, but I settled for the cayenne pepper that I had on hand.

Here's a view of the soup without the extra toppings:

Thanks for the dinner inspiration girls!