Mixed Bean and Butternut Soup

Hey, guys! Today I got home from church and immediately kicked into high cooking gear. The result? This awesome mixed bean and butternut squash soup.

I’m really excited about this soup! I heavily adapted a recipe that my aunt gave me, and it turned out really, really well. It’s full of: sliced, sautéed onions and garlic; chickpeas, black beans, and pinto beans; flavorful chopped tomatoes; and a yummy, savory broth that takes a lot of its power from butternut squash purée.

For my own Sunday lunch, I had a bowl of this soup with a biscuit made from Minimalist Baker‘s Best Damn Vegan Biscuits. I’ve made the biscuits before with 100% all-purpose white flour, but today, for a slightly healthier twist, I used 75% all-purpose white flour and 25% whole wheat flour. I also made smaller biscuits than the recipe recommends; I ended up with 10 biscuits instead of 7. They turned out really well and were a great accompaniment to the soup.

Mixed Bean and Butternut Soup

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cup/ 1 can of cooked black beans *
• 1.5 cup/ 1 can of cooked chickpeas *
• 1.5 cup/ 1 can of cooked pinto beans *
• 14.5 oz can of chopped tomatoes, juices included *
• 15 oz can of butternut squash purée *
• 1 large onion
• 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon unrefined coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• a pinch of ground pepper
• 4 cups vegetable broth (I used a vegetable bouillon cube + water for my broth)
• salt to taste **

Process:

Wash, peel, and chop the onion. I chopped mine into medium-sized pieces. Heat up the coconut oil in a soup pot over medium-low heat, then add the chopped onions. Sauté the onions for about 6 minutes, or until they have softened and some are beginning to brown. They should look somewhat like the picture below.

Once the onions have reached this point, add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Add the cumin and chili powder, and sauté for another minute. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the salt, stir well, cover, and bring to a boil. Once a boil is reached, uncover the pot, lower heat to medium, and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Finally, taste the soup and add your preferred amount of salt. My vegetable broth wasn’t particularly salty, so I added about a teaspoon.

Notes:

* I generally use, and always recommend, organic beans and vegetables.

** I used one vegetable bouillon cube for my 4 cups of water, which was half the amount recommended on the package. This was to prevent over-salting and allow me a bit more control over the flavors.