Slow Cooker Black Bean and Rice Soup

The idea of writing a post about what I’m feeding my kids these days has been swirling around in my brain for the past few months, until I realized it’d be about a paragraph long. Right now, at 4 and 1 years old, the boys eat what we eat!

Watch How to Make It!

When Ben and I started introducing table food to Lincoln, we went at a snail’s pace. This time around, we’ve been throwing EVERYTHING Cam’s way and it’s been a blast. Since he doesn’t have any food allergies that we know of he mostly eats what we eat, including the Slow Cooker Black Bean and Rice Soup I’ve made about 10 times in the past two months.

He (and we) are obsessed!

Crock Pot Black Bean and Rice Soup

This is the second recipe I’m sharing in partnership with Mrs. Grimes beans, which originated in Grimes, IA in 1902. (Be sure to try the Fiesta Pork, Bean and Green Chili Chili I made using their chili beans – sooo good!) Mrs. Grimes beans are available at Hy-Vee, Fareway and select Walmart stores. This time I’m featuring their black beans as the star of my hearty yet healthy Slow Cooker Black Bean and Rice Soup.

Mrs. Grimes Black Beans, peppers, onions, garlic, salsa, broth, and dried herbs and spices are added to a slow cooker then simmered until the vegetables are tender. To finish up, half the soup is blended until thick and creamy then stirred back into the soup with cooked white rice to create a delicious dish that feels stick to your ribs, but is low-fat, crazy-healthy, and gluten-free of course.

Like I always say, if a baby will eat it you know you’ve got a winner, and both boys happily chow down on this soup any time I serve it for supper. The leftovers get better and better so the boys and I eat bowls of it for lunch at least a couple days afterwards.

I like to cool Lincoln and Cameron’s bowls down by stirring in guacamole, which not only bumps up the good-fat content for their growing bodies and brains, but keeps them full until the next meal. HAHAHA what am I saying we all know children never stop eating. Anyway, I load Ben’s and my bowls up with lots of sour cream, chopped avocado, and plenty of fresh cilantro.

Ready to dig in?

How to Make This Recipe

To a 6-quart slow cooker add 2, 15oz cans Mrs. Grimes Black Beans that have been drained and rinsed, plus chopped bell peppers, minced jalapeno peppers, chopped yellow onion, minced garlic cloves, salsa, chicken broth (use vegetable broth to keep this recipe vegetarian/vegan), plus and herbs and spices including chili powder, cumin, salt, and dried oregano. Place a lid on top then cook for 3-4 hours on HIGH, or 5-6 hours on LOW.

When the soup has 20 minutes left to cook, cook long grain white rice in a saucepan with chicken broth (or again, vegetable broth or water.) While that’s cooking, scoop 1/2 – 1/3 of the cooked soup into a blender (might need to do this in batches, and never fill your blender more than half full with hot liquids,) then blend until very smooth. Stir both the rice and blended soup back into the slow cooker then season to taste with fresh lime juice and a little bit of salt if necessary.

The soup will thicken as it cools so let sit for 10 minutes or so before ladling into bowls and topping with goodies like chopped cilantro, avocado, and lots of sour cream. I hope you love this delicious, filling, and healthy slow cooker recipe as much as we do – enjoy!

Slow Cooker Black Bean and Rice Soup

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Description

Slow Cooker Black Bean and Rice Soup is a filling, healthy, and hearty soup recipe that's easy on the wallet, and waistline!

Ingredients

serves 6-8

• 2, 15oz can Mrs. Grimes Black Beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped (I use a green and red)
• 1 - 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup salsa (see notes)
• 3-3/4 cups gluten-free chicken or vegetable broth, divided
• 3/4 cup long grain white rice
• juice of 1/2 lime
• Toppings: tortilla chips, corn chips, chopped cilantro, guacamole, chopped avocado, sour cream

Directions

1. Add black beans through salsa to a 6-quart slow cooker then add 2-1/2 cups broth and stir to combine. Cover then cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or LOW for 5-6 hours (depending on how big the peppers were chopped.) Scoop approximately 1/3 or 1/2 of the soup into a blender then blend until very smooth. NOTE: you may need to do this in batches as hot liquid expands while being blended! Add blended soup back into the slow cooker then stir to combine.
2. Meanwhile, when soup has 20 minutes left to cook, bring rice and remaining 1-1/4 cups broth to a boil in a small saucepan. Place a lid on top then turn the heat down to low and simmer rice for 10 minutes. Remove pan from the heat then let sit and steam with the lid on for 5 minutes. Stir cooked rice into the soup then add a little bit of lime juice at a time until desired taste is reached. Add more salt if necessary then let soup sit and thicken for 15 minute before serving with toppings.

Notes

• I used my Secret-Ingredient Restaurant-Style Salsa for this soup.

This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.

Video

Faribault Foods sponsored this post, and has paid me to write about its Mrs. Grimes Beans products. Samples were provided to me free of charge by Faribault Foods. The opinions expressed herein are my own and based on my own experiences.