Craving soup from Panera Bread, but you don't live near one? We've got you covered with our delicious restaurant quality, Panera black bean soup that is super easy to make.
Can't get enough of Panera soups? You will love our other popular Panera copycat soups such as corn chowder and chicken rice. These fan favorites won't disappoint.
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Why This Recipe Works
- This Panera copycat recipe uses a Dutch oven to ensure even cooking and helps prevent the bottom layer of the soup from burning.
- Sauteing the vegetables and aromatics provides more flavor.
- Blooming the spices gives another layer of flavor.
- Caramelizing the tomato paste continues to build another layer of flavor and helps thicken it.
- Pureeing 4 cups of soup helps thicken it and changes the texture.
Ingredients
One of the lovely things about this recipe is it takes pantry staples that are available at any grocery store. This Panera copycat recipe tastes wonderful whether you use canned or dried black beans.
- Dried Spices: We used cumin and Mexican oregano for a Tex Mex flavor, and red pepper flakes for a hint of heat. The addition of onion and garlic powder enhances the fresh aromatics, and the right amount of salt balances the flavors.
- Thickener: Adding tomato paste and pureeing half the soup thickens it. Panera Bread also uses a cornstarch slurry, but we didn't feel it needed this extra step.
- Broth: To keep it vegan, we used vegetable broth, but if that isn't a concern, you can use chicken broth.
- Black Beans: We used canned beans for the photo shoot for a shorter cooking time, but for lower sodium, use dried black beans.
- Acid: We used freshly squeezed lemon juice at the end of the cooking time to help finish the flavors of this black bean recipe.
How to Make
- Heat up the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot, then sauté the onion, celery, carrot, and red bell pepper for 5 minutes. Make sure to sprinkle a bit of salt on top. Add the freshly minced garlic and saute until fragrant, roughly 30 seconds.
- Bloom the dried spices by cooking for 30 seconds while constantly stirring.
3. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the tomato paste. Stir it constantly for 4 minutes to let it caramelize.
4. Increase the heat to medium-high and pour in 1 cup of vegetable broth. Use a wooden turner to scrape off the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
5. Add the rinsed canned black beans and stir, then add the remaining broth.
6. Cover and bring the black bean mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 30 minutes if you're using canned beans, or for 2 ½ hours if you're using dried. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice.
7. Puree 4 cups of the black bean soup in a blender. Pour the pureed mixture back into the pot and stir.
8. Serve this Panera copycat recipe while it's still hot with a sprinkle of chopped cilantro or make it more Tex Mex by adding your choice of toppings that we have suggested in our serve section.
Recipe FAQs
The black bean soup at Panera bread is a seasonal item, so it's not always available. Use our copycat recipe and you can recreate this amazing dish anytime you want.
Yes, it is, and so is our copycat version. It is also vegan and dairy-free.
The black bean soup and 10 vegetable soup are both low in fat, but the 10 vegetable soup has the lowest calories.
It has 200 calories for one cup, 40 g carbs, 2g sugar, 14g of fiber, and 7g of protein.
Our copycat recipe has 160 calories for one cup, 29g carbs, 5g sugar, 7g of fiber, and 8g of protein. For more nutrition facts, please scroll to the end of the recipe card.
Serve
Panera Bread serves their soups with a choice of French baguette, apple or kettle chips. This black bean soup makes a good base to add toppings. Here are some options:
- Want dairy? Try crumbled cheese or sour cream.
- Want carbs? Try crumbled corn bread or tortilla chips.
- Want spice? Try jalapeno coins with the seeds or spicy homemade pico de gallo.
- Want more veggies? Try avocado, green or red onion.
Store
Make Ahead: This black bean soup can easily be made a day before you plan on serving it.
Leftovers: Allow the black bean soup to cool and store any leftovers in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 5 days.
Reheat: Transfer the black bean soup to a heavy bottomed pot and reheat over medium low heat until heated through.
Freeze: This soup can be frozen for up to 1 month. When ready to serve, thaw in fridge overnight and reheat on the stovetop over medium low heat until heated through.
Expert Tips
- Craving Tex Mex? Serve a bowl of black bean soup with red onion, cilantro, lime wedge, guacamole, and tortilla chips.
- Need guac? Mash 2 ripe avocados and mix with red onion, cilantro, lime juice, and salt.
- Like to stretch it? Put freshly cooked rice in the bottom of each bowl and top it off with black bean soup.
- Like thicker soup? Decrease the vegetable broth by one cup.
- Using dried beans? Use 2 cups rinsed, dried black beans and cook for 2 ½ hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Add more broth when necessary.
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Recipe
Panera Black Bean Soup (Copycat Recipe)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups onion, chopped
- 1 cup carrots, chopped
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 ¼ teaspoons salt
- 1 ¼ teaspoon Mexican oregano
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste, 50g
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 4 15-ounce cans of black beans, drained and rinsed or 2 cups dried black beans, rinsed
- ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped (optional)
Equipment
Instructions
- Mix all the spices in a bowl and add them to the pot, stirring constantly for 30 seconds to bloom the spices.
- Lower the heat to medium low and add the tomato paste to the veggies. Allow it to caramelize by stirring it for 4 minutes.
- Pour in 7 cups of vegetable broth then add the rinsed canned black beans (or 2 cups of rinsed dried beans).
- Stir, then cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes if using canned beans, or 2 ½ hours if using dried beans. (If you're using dried beans, you'll have to stir and check the liquid level as it cooks, roughly once every 30 minutes. During the last 15 minutes, taste and adjust spices, if necessary.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- Use a blender to puree 4 cups of soup. Pour the pureed mixture back into the pot and stir until well combined.
- Serve hot. Panera Bread serves their soup plain, but feel free to serve with chopped cilantro, sour cream, guacamole, red onion, or tortilla chips for added color, flavor and crunch.
Notes
- Craving Tex Mex? Serve with red onion, cilantro, lime wedge, red bell pepper, guacamole, and tortilla chips.
- Need guac? Mash 2 ripe avocados and mix with red onion, cilantro, lime juice, and salt.
- Like to stretch it? Put freshly cooked rice in the bottom of each bowl and top it off with soup.
- Like it thicker? Decrease the vegetable broth by one cup.
- Using dried beans? Use 2 cups rinsed, dried black beans and cook for 2 ½ hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Add more broth when necessary.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on March 26, 2021. It was republished on March 18, 2022 with new and refreshed photos and updated content.
Wanda Turner
The taste of this was delicious but it was way to thin for our tastes. i reduced the broth by 2 cups and, then because it was so thin, I added a can of refried beans atvthe end and it was still thinner than we expect black bean soup to be.
Emma
Wanda, We are so glad you thought the Black Bean soup was delicious. We have made this with less broth and it was extremely thick, like chili, by reducing the broth to 4 cups. Some other tips would be to let the soup simmer with the lid off, and puree more than 3/4 of the soup to help thicken it. You can also add cooked rice to the bottom of each individual serving bowl and ladle soup on top or add 1/2 cup of dry rice to the soup itself as rice absorbs the broth. Hope this helps!
Alex
This soup is creamy and fills you up nicely on a cold day. The beans are soft, and the red peppers on top are nice. I love this soup with guac, even though Panera Bread doesn't serve it with this.
Emma
The guacamole is a lovely addition to this soup. We're thrilled that you enjoyed it so much, Alex!
Beth
This is a flavorful soup that is delightful with Mexican toppings. It is mild, but I like it very much. It's good with tortilla chips and has a nice consistency, whether it's made thick or thin. A great Mexican-inspired soup!
Emma
I'm so glad that you enjoyed it, Beth!