Easy Black Bean Soup

You won’t find many recipes for baby purees here at The Baby Steps Dietitian. Any recipe I have for baby or toddler food, like my DIY Strawberry Yogurt or Banana Oat Blender Muffins, is something adults could enjoy, too. I just don’t believe in taking the extra time to cook for individual members of my family when one recipe could suit us all.

That said, I’m not against pureed food for babies. With my older daughter, we used a combination of purees and baby led weaning to start her on solids. Although I appreciate the benefits (and convenience!) of baby led weaning, I also wanted to expose her to the flavors of foods she did yet have the motor skills to consume via purees.

Despite the fact that it added an extra step, I would often puree a portion of the meals I cooked in a mini food processor to offer my daughter. But when you think about it, adults actually consume a lot of pureed food themselves! Smoothies, for sure, but also pureed soups like this one, sauces, hummus and guacamole. So back when she was mostly on purees, I figured that if I can cook something for myself that’s going to do double duty as a puree for my kid, well that’s just two birds with one stone for this busy mama.

This soup is also great for busy parents because it’s a simple as tossing all the ingredients into a slow cooker and pureeing it once everything is cooked. Sure, you could add “layers of flavor” by roasting the vegetables or making your own stock, but that’s not what my recipes are all about. There’s lots of flavor in this dish from the seasonings and that’s enough for me.

What’s your favorite “adult” puree?

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Black Bean Soup

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Mexican, Vegan, Vegetarian

Ingredients

• 4 15.5 oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 16 oz. bag baby carrots
• 1 large onion roughly chopped
• 6 stalks celery roughly chopped
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tbsp chipotle powder optional
• Sour cream for garnish
• Cilantro for garnish

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker or large stockpot and stir well.
2. Slow cooker: Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. Stovetop: Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, cook 1-2 hour or until vegetables are tender.
3. Remove soup from heat and allow to come to room temperature.
4. Using an immersion blender or by carefully transferring soup to a blender, blend until soup is fully pureed.