This sopa de frijoles is creamy, hearty, and brimming with flavor. A Mexican pinto bean soup featuring comforting spices and aromas. Serve with crispy tortillas and your favorite toppings any day of the week!
Sopa de Frijoles is a Mexican soup made of pinto beans, spices, tomato sauce, and chipotle peppers. This delicious bean soup comes together easily for a hearty, warming start to any meal, or great as a meal on its own.
If you haven’t made sopa de frijoles then you definitely need to try this recipe. The chipotle pepper adds a nice smoky flavor coupled and the creamy pinto beans makes this soup a truly hearty dish.
Even though this recipe is not a traditional Mexican dish, you’ll find the soup often served in Northern Mexico and Southern Texas restaurants, usually served with sour cream, tortilla chips, and cheese.
Ingredients
- Beans: Pinto beans are typical Mexican beans used in many different recipes. I like to use my frijoles de la olla recipe because I always have them on hand, but feel free to use canned pinto beans.
- Onion: I used a white onion in this recipe but any kind of onion will work in this soup. Just use whatever you have on hand.
- Tomatoes: I used diced canned tomatoes, but fresh ripe tomatoes are also perfect.
- Chipotle in adobo pepper: Chiles chipotle usually comes in small or medium cans and can be easily found at any Mexican grocery store or on Amazon.
- Spices: Garlic, cumin, oregano, paprika (any kind, but I prefer hot paprika), and black pepper. My suggestion is to add the spices a little at a time and taste test the soup to adjust to taste.
- Oil: Use any type of vegetable oil you prefer.
- Vegetable stock: You can use store bought vegetable stock in this recipe. If you do use store bought look for a low sodium option.
How To Make Sopa de Frijoles
Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes).
Add garlic, cumin, oregano, and paprika. Cook for half a minute. Stir in tomatoes and chipotle peppers, cook for 1 minute to blend the flavors.
Top Tip: Cooking the spices first will make them release their full flavor and aroma, making the bean soup even more delicious!
Add the beans, pour in the vegetable stock and season with salt and pepper. Then bring the bean mixture to a boil.
Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time.
Remove the pot from the stove and blend the soup to your desired consistency using an immersion blender or a regular stand blender.
Return the pot to the stove and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the bean soup has thickened to your desired consistency.
Adjust seasonings to taste and serve your freshly homemade Mexican bean soup with your favorite garnishes.
Top Tips
- If using dried beans, plan to soak them over night and cook in the morning so they are soft and tender, making this soup even creamier.
- I sometimes use homemade black beans when I don’t have pinto beans. Both type of beans work well.
- You can also use any kind of stock you like for this recipe. If you have chicken or beef stock on hand you can use them. I like to use vegetable broth but you do what works for you. Using vegetable broth makes the soup good for vegetarians and vegans however.
- For meat lovers, you can cook some chorizo or bacon along with onions.
Serving Suggestions
We recommend serving this sopa de frijoles with queso fresco, fresh chilies, tortilla chips, crema, and some avocado to add freshness to every bite!
Feel free to add salsa, we recommend this flavorful and super spicy Mexican chili oil or this salsa roja.
As I mentioned above you can serve this recipe as an entree or as a main meal with a side of arroz blanco or soft corn tortillas.
Store & Reheat
Sopa de frijoles can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
The bean soup can also be frozen for up to 3 months. When you are ready to eat, remove from the freezer and place in the fridge to thaw. Or place the container with the frozen soup in a bowl of water until you can dump the contents into a pot to heat it up.
FAQ
Can you make Mexican bean soup with black beans?
Yes you can absolutely make bean soup with black beans. I honestly think any kidn of Mexican bean will work in a soup. Best of all, beans are not expensive and they are very easy to cook with.
How healthy is bean soup?
If you haven’t added beans to your diet what are you waiting for? Beans are a powerhouse of nutrition! They are a great source of protein, fiber and contain several vitamins and minerals.
Do Mexicans cook with beans?
It is very common ot use beans in Mexican cooking. There are more than 70 types of beans in Mexico, among those the most popular are pinto, bayo, flor de junio, peruano and negros (black beans).
What other peppers work in this recipe?
Any kind of Mexican pepper will go well in Sopa de Frijoles, such as poblano, jalapeno or chile serrano. Choose according to your spice level preference.
More Sopa Recipes
Sopa de Frijoles (Pinto Bean Soup)
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked pinto beans
- 1 medium onion (chopped)
- ½ cup diced tomatoes
- 1-2 chipotle in adobo pepper
- 1 garlic clove (minced)
- 1 teaspoon paprika powder (any type you prefer)
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat.
- Add onions and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes).
- Add garlic, cumin, oregano, and paprika. Cook for half a minute.
- Stir in tomatoes and chipotle peppers, cook for 1 minute to blend the flavors.
- Add the beans, pour in the vegetable stock, season with salt and pepper, then bring to a boil.
- Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time.
- Remove the pot from the stove and blend the soup to your desired consistency using an immersion blender or a regular stand blender.
- Return the pot to the stove and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the soup has thickened a bit.
- Adjust seasonings to taste and serve (see notes for topping suggestions)
Notes
- If using dried beans, plan to soak them over night and cook in the morning so they are soft and tender, making this soup even creamier.
- We recommend serving this sopa de frijoles with queso fresco, fresh chilies, tortilla chips, crema, and some avocado to add freshness to every bite!
Spicy, satisfying, and packed with flavor—this Mexican bean soup hits the spot every time! 🌶️🥣🔥