In honor of Costa Rican Independence Day September 15, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite Costa Rican dishes! Mmmmm…. Sopa negra… a warm, comforting bowl of yummy Costa Rican black bean soup! This complete meal in a bowl is jam packed with protein from the black beans, rice, and boiled egg. One serving has 25 grams of protein and only 396 calories!
It’s perfect for a cold or rainy day… or any day!
How do I get started?
Did you know that black bean broth is a solid source of protein? Don’t dump it down the drain! One cup has over 5 grams of protein and 87 calories. Plus, we can turn it into a simple, satisfying meal with just a couple more ingredients!
For my tasty, easy version, we will start with my delicious pot of homemade black beans that we cooked from dried. Click here for that recipe. Once we have that pot cooked, we will separate the black beans and the black bean broth. These can either be warm or cold.
Next up, we just need to chop up some cilantro and have that ready. We don’t need to add much more than this, since we have a fantastic flavor base from our cooked black beans!
These 3 will get blended together to “thicken” the broth and give us the characteristic flavor we are looking for in our sopa negra!
Easy, right?
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How do I serve sopa negra?
Sopa negra is typically served over rice and with a boiled egg. Todd prefers his more on the ricey side, so he adds more rice. I prefer mine on the soupier side, and our son Toby is in between! Adjust the ratio of rice and soup to your preferences! When the soup and fixins are done, I just direct everyone to their bowls and let each person fix it their own way!
We love to top it with avocado slices, green onions, and plenty of dried, crushed chocolate habañeros, but you can skip any of these you don’t prefer.
Want to see how I make sopa negra?
Check out my video to see how I convert my beans into a quick sopa negra!
Enjoy!
Sopa Negra (Costa Rican Black Bean Soup)
Notes
Nutritional content was calculated based on starting with my recipe for black beans.
Ingredients
- 4 cups black bean broth
- 3 cups (or more) cooked black beans
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- salt to taste
- Vegetable or chicken broth (optional)
- 3 cups cooked white rice
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
Additions at serving time
- Avocado slices, optional
- Green onions, sliced, optional
- Crushed pepper or hot sauce, optional
Instructions
- Using your cooked dried black beans, measure out 4 cups black bean broth (i.e. the liquid from the cooked black beans) and 3 cups of cooked black beans.
- Heat beans and broth until warm. Turn off heat.
- Blend beans into broth using immersion blender.
- Add cilantro then blend again briefly. Turn on heat again.
- Adjust thickness as needed using either black bean or other broth or beans to yield desired thickness.
- To serve, place around 3/4 cup rice in a bowl and 1/4 of the black bean soup.
- Top with 1 boiled egg (I usually cut them in half), avocado slices, green onions, and crushed pepper or hot sauce as desired.
Nutrition Facts
Sopa Negra (Costa Rican Black Bean Soup)
Serves: 4
|
Amount Per Serving: 1/4 of recipe
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 396 | |
| % Daily Value* | ||
| Total Fat 6.2g | 9.2% | |
| Saturated Fat 1.9g | 5% | |
| Trans Fat 0 | ||
| Cholesterol 186mg | 62% | |
| Sodium 473mg | 19.7% | |
| Total Carbohydrate 61g | 20.3% | |
| Dietary Fiber 12g | 48% | |
| Sugars 2.8g | ||
| Protein 25g | ||
| Vitamin A 0 | Vitamin C 0 | |
| Calcium 158mg | Iron 5mg | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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