This Pinto Bean Soup (Sopa Tarasca) has a reward-to-effort ratio that's off the charts. By keeping just a few key ingredients on hand you'll always have the option of turning this popular soup into a whoa-what-is-this meal.
Quick summary of instructions:
Put bowl of Sopa Tarasca on kitchen table along with spoon, lime wedges, and a quesadilla bursting with cheese.
Sit hungry partner down in front of Sopa Tarasca.
Forever benefit.
Pinto Bean Soup Recipe and Instructions
Not pictured in the above photo is the whisper of heat added from a chipotle in adobo. No need to add too much spice to this dish as it seems to work best when the chipotle is quietly announcing its presence. As in....it ain't sitting next to you at the table jabbering away, it's calling to you from upstairs, through a door, and you can barely hear it.
But first things first, get those tomatoes roasting in the oven at 400F. In 15-20 minutes they'll look like this:
Add them to a blender along with 1/2 onion, 2 garlic cloves, and a small chipotle with the seeds scraped out (or half of a larger chipotle).
Combine well and saute this tomato mixture in a dollop of oil over medium heat.
As this reduces down for a few minutes, combine 2 cups of cooked pinto beans with 2 cups of stock in a blender.
You're working with a 1:1 bean-to-stock ratio, so try to get your hands on some stock that you trust. I'm using 2 cups of this homemade chicken stock along with some Frijoles de Olla. If you're using canned beans be sure to drain and rinse them before using.
Add the bean puree from the blender to the tomato mixture and stir well. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, some freshly cracked black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano. The Mexican oregano seems to work really well in this dish, but it won't make or break it if you don't have any around.
Let this simmer for 5-10 minutes and take a final taste for salt. I added another generous pinch to this batch.
You've got lots of options for garnish, but at the very least consider adding a dash of acidity in the form of hot sauce or lime juice. Both work really well in this hearty soup.
And of course, you can't go wrong by adding some Crema, finely diced cilantro stems, and another crack of black pepper.
So good!
Okay, Sopa Tarasca is on the table, partner is sitting down...
Now it's time to forever benefit.
Buen Provecho.
Pinto Bean Soup -- Sopa Tarasca
Ingredients
- 3 plum tomatoes
- 1/2 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 small chipotle in adobo
- 2 cups pinto beans
- 2 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
- 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano (plus more to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
- freshly cracked black pepper
- Crema (or heavy cream, or sour cream)
- finely diced cilantro stems (optional)
- lime juice (or hot sauce)
Instructions
- Roast 3 plum tomatoes in the oven at 400F for 15-20 minutes
- Add the roasted tomatoes to a blender along with 1/2 onion, 2 garlic cloves, and 1 small chipotle in adobo with the seeds scraped out. Combine well.
- Saute tomato mixture in a dollop of oil over medium heat for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a blender add 2 cups of pinto beans along with 2 cups of stock and combine well. (When using canned beans I usually drain and rinse them first.)
- Add bean puree to the tomato mixture along with 1/2 teaspoon salt, some freshly cracked pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano. Combine well and let simmer for 5-10 minutes.
- Take a final taste for seasoning. (I added another pinch of salt to this batch.)
- Serve immediately and garnish with your choice of Crema, lime juice, hot sauce, finely diced cilantro stems, and freshly cracked black pepper.
Notes
Still hungry? You might also like this Corn and Poblano Soup.
And these easy Burrito Bowls.
Still hungry?!
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Kelly
Yummy, easy recipe- thank you! I soaked beans overnight and cooked in homemade stock. Followed your recipe with one shortcut- I used canned organic fire roasted tomatoes because quality fresh tomatoes are not available now.
Patrick
Nice Kelly sounds awesome! Beans cooked in homemade stock are a real treat.
Mary Lou O'Connell
Hello! My name is Mary Lou! I made this soup tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I usually make a big pot of pinto beans simmered with bacon and salt, for Chalupas, and have a lot left, so, I freeze them until zoo need them! Well I wanted to see if there were any other uses and came across this recipe. I substituted diced green chiles for the chipotle and added one more clove of garlic to the recipe! I fried bacon strips of which I crumbled and set aside for the topping! I also added cheddar and jack cheese on top! My mom loved it as well as the husband and myself! I will be making this again! Thank you!
Patrick
Thanks for your note Mary Lou!
Wow that sounds absolutely delicious! And interesting timing with your note as we recently put up a recipe for Charro Beans and I've been thinking about making a soup out of them. Charros are very similar to the combo you used, i.e. bacon! I might fiddle with a Charro soup recipe based on your review, thanks much for getting in touch. Cheers.
Gigi
This soup was fantastic. Our whole family loved it, and I will be making it again as soon as I can brine some more beans. Thank you!
Patrick
Awesome thanks much for the feedback Gigi! I'm a huge fan of that Pinto Bean Soup and make it regularly.
Walker
Patrick, what difference do you think it would make using husk tomatoes instead of red tomatoes?
Patrick
Hey Walker, good question! You mean trying it with tomatillos right? My first reaction is.....not convinced it will work. I'm not sure if the tartness of the tomatillos will pair well with the beans, whereas the roasted tomatoes seem to be such a natural fit with the beans. But that being said some of the best recipes come out of unconventional pairings so definitely let me know how it goes if you try it!
Walker Richardson
Yeah, in Vegas there are lots of Mexican food ingredients at markets. Good tomatillos are really cheap. I did try this recipe more or less as you had it here and it's hard to imagine anything coming out better as it was truly great. I used meat from half a chicken thigh instead of stock, and I put in a lot more fresh garlic and also some garlic powder. Salsa verde was a great topping for it, and it got even better after a few days in the fridge. This soup is definitely going into the regular rotation and I'm looking forward to trying other recipes here, too. Thanks!
By the way, I would love to stay some time in Mexico and learn get better with my conversational Spanish. It sounds like you did some sort of homestay arrangement, Where did you find out about it? How did you set it up?
Patrick
Awesome Walker, I'm glad the recipe is working out for you!
That's great that you're thinking about spending some time in Mexico, it was easily one of the richest periods of my life. And regarding my place in Cozumel....after walking around town for a few days and finding nothing, I got in touch with a local realtor who also rented out a few apartments. One of the places she managed was a casita (guesthouse) in a family compound and it was perfect for me. It was a separate dwelling so there was privacy when needed and the family lived across the courtyard so there was regular interaction too (and home-cooked food deliveries!). My Spanish was poor when I moved to Cozumel so finding a realtor who knew the area and also spoke English was the key for me.
Hope that helps a bit. Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy New Year!
Walker
Cool, thanks!
Deirdre
Forty years ago, I spent two summers studying Spanish in a small town in the Mexican highlands, home of the Tarascan People. Everyone made this wonderful soup, which they topped with Crema, cheese strips, tortilla strips, and roasted chiles (I think they were roasted pasillas).. I have tried to recreate it many times, but this comes closest to my memory. Thanks for hunting it down!
Patrick
Ha awesome, thanks for your note Deirdre! So glad it is working out for you. In the past I've considered serving it with some roasted/fried chile strips but never got around to it, your note makes me want to give it a go next time!
Robin Moody
"As in….it ain’t sitting next to you at the table jabbering away, it’s calling to you from upstairs, through a door, and you can barely hear it."
Hilarious!
Patrick
Heh 🙂
Samantha
Hello. Thank you so muchfor this awesome recipe! I am a cook at the Marriott and one of my many responsibilities is to make a fresh soup every day to be sold for the soup of the day. I skimmed thru the recipe since I didn't have much time and pretty much winged it. The only difference I made was roasting the garlic with the tomatoes and co pletely forgot the onion and I did add a couple more seasonings to it. BUT IT CAME OUT AMAZING THANKS TO YOUR RECIPE I WAS GUIDED THROUGH. IT SOLD IN 30 MINUTES! An entire big pot of it! I loved it and obviously everyone else did too. Thanks for saving the day! I will be making it again in the next couple weeks. I have to make sure its something different. Your awesome ?
Patrick
Thanks for your note Samantha! I'm glad the recipe helped you out 🙂
Just curious, was your version spicy from the chipotles? Or did you use a different spice than the chipotles?
Patrick
Liz
I made this for my supper this evening and it was wonderful! This is one of those recipes that looks deceivingly good and is actually great - I know you wrote along those lines but I still had only normal expectations. Full of flavor and very warming on a cold February night in Northwest Montana!
Patrick
Bueno so glad it's treating you well. I haven't had it for a couple weeks and might try a version with the cranberry beans I mentioned. Hard to imagine a more fitting place for this soup than Montana in the winter 🙂
Cristy M
I added 2 small chipotles in adobo (and forgot to scrape out seeds). I used over 2 cups of beans so didn't think it would be too bad but it is REALLY spicy. Any suggestions to bring down the heat level?
Patrick
Oh bummer Cristy. That's somewhere around twice as much chipotle as you need, so you could dilute it down by adding 2 cups stock, 2 cups beans if you want to try and save this batch. But if you have ingredients on hand I would probably start over -- it can be hard to dial back heat once it's gone nuclear. Definitely recommend scraping out the seeds and you could even start with half of a chipotle and take a taste for heat level before adding the other half. Hope it turns out for you!
Cristy M
I have more beans and was planning on doing just that. Would you suggest adding more roasted tomatoes too?
Patrick
Yeah you can, but I think there is still a risk that it's going to be too hot for you. You can roll the dice though, it will definitely lose at least some of its heat...
Belgian Foodie
This soup looks really tasty! I like that it's bean based and seems to be packed with flavor. I'll have to try this soup soon.
Patrick
Awesome, hope it treats you well 🙂