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Crock Pot Smoky Black Bean Chili Soup is filled with Smoky chipotle chilies, smoked paprika, toasted cumin seeds combine, earthy black beans and, tangy tomatillos. It’s a tasty and complex dinner.
And, it’s super easy on the cook because it’s made in the slow cooker. You’ll also love that it’s vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy free.
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Great for tomatillos
My garden is still giving me lots of tomatillos. I’ve already made a big batch of green tomatillo salsa, chili verde stew, a pasta verde with them.
So, I thought this black bean stew would be a great way to use them. They lighten the stew while the rest of the flavors are the stars.
If you haven’t tried a tomatillo before they’re great – light and tangy.
These little fruits have papery husks on them. Remove those papery husks, and you’ll have what look like small green tomatoes.
The outside of the tomatillo is a little sticky once the husk is removed. Don’t worry, this is normal. Just rinse them under water to get most of the residue off.
Chipotles
And, this chili uses one of my favorite kitchen tricks! Chipotle paste.
Chipotles are smoke-dried jalapeños, and they’re often sold in cans with adobo sauce (a spicy, dark red sauce made from ground chiles, tomatoes, and vinegar ).
I take the whole jar of chipotles in adobo sauce and blend it all together to create a paste. It’s easier to use than a single chipotle that you need to chop, and way easier to store the leftovers.
recipe notes
I like cooking with cumin seeds; I think they give things a little extra kick of toasty flavor.
Check my post on homemade chili powder on how the seeds look while they’re going through the toasting and grinding process.
Now, if you don’t want to play with the seeds, no worries, ground cumin powder will work just fine. Just add it directly to the crock pot with the other ingredients.
serving suggestions
If the addition of blue cheese to the top of your black bean chili seems a bit unusual, I can assure you that it is delicious!
See, I had some leftover blue cheese crumbles, and so I thought I’d give it a try. Yep, the creamy strong flavor of the blue cheese totally works with the smoky flavors in the chili.
If you want to the chili to remain vegan, leave the cheese off or use a vegan cheese (maybe a vegan pepper jack would be lovely) as a garnish.
Serve with some avocado and limes wedges as well.
I also think this is great over your favorite rice.
I used some of the leftovers to make Stacked Veggie & Smoky Black Bean Enchiladas. They were a super yummy way to get more dinners out of leftovers!
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Recipe
Smoky Black Bean Chili Soup
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil or light tasting oil of your choice
- 1 onion chopped
- 3-4 cups tomatillos husks removed and rinsed
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds or ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 can low-sodium black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano or ½ tablespoon fresh oregano
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon chipotle paste
- 1 can tomato paste
- 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 Anaheim chili seeds & membranes removed and chopped
for garnish
- crumbled blue cheese
- additional fresh oregano or chopped cilantro
- avocado slices
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, cook chopped onion until nicely browned, about 20-30 minutes, stirring often, and adding some water to the pot if the onion is beginning to burn. Once onions are caramelized, place them in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker.1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 onion
- While onions cook, cut the cleaned tomatillos in half for small ones and in quarters for larger ones. Place cut tomatillos in the slow cooker.3-4 cups tomatillos
- Heat a dry heavy skillet (like a cast iron or crepe pan) over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds to the hot pan, and toast, stirring the seeds constantly, being careful not to let them burn, until the seeds begin to turn golden brown and are very fragrant. Remove from pan when they’re a few shades darker than the untoasted seeds. Grind the toasted seeds with a mortar and pestle or with a rolling pin between two sheets of waxed paper, and place them in the slow cooker.½ teaspoon cumin seeds or ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- Place the remaining ingredients in the slow cooker and stir to combine. Put the lid on and cook until the beans are creamy and the tomatillos are soft, about 4-5 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. I like to smash a couple of the tomatillos on the sides of the crock pot when they’re soft to help distribute their flavor.1 can low-sodium black beans, 1 tablespoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon dried oregano or ½ tablespoon fresh oregano, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon chipotle paste, 1 can tomato paste, 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth, 1 Anaheim chili
- Garnish each serving with blue cheese crumbles, a sprinkle of fresh herbs, and some avocado slices.crumbled blue cheese, additional fresh oregano or chopped cilantro, avocado slices
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
kristascookin
Wow, this is amazing! So easy and my family loved it.
Adrienne
Since my family doesn’t like anything hot, I can never use an entire can of chiptoles. As an alternative, I found chipotle powder from Penzey’s. I can add just a dash to get some of that smokey flavor I love without anyone else at the table keeling over. I used it in this and it was great!
Katherine
I love how this came together and it wasn’t spicy at all. We are trying to eat more healthy things, so this was a great addition to the menu.
Janet Cochran
I made this tonight. It is the most amazingly delicious chili I have ever made!
Joanne
How delicious! Love all the flavors in this soup.
Cindy
This has some beautiful color! YUM! I love the flavor too.
Desiree
I made this tonight and it was incredible! I added 2 sweet potatoes, chopped, as well as 3 bay leaves (discarded after) and broke up a large dried ancho chili peppper I had, and topped it with Greek yogurt, cilantro and lime juice. I ate it over cooked polenta and wish it hadn’t been so filling so I could eat more!!! Delicious!
Joanne
G’day! Great photo! Love is topped with crumbled blue cheese, true! Yum Yum! Yum
Maggie
I really adore great crock pot recipes, and this is so good!!