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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Tim
Can this be made in large batches and frozen for later use?
Patrick
Hey Tim! In general I've found that beans freeze quite well, but to be honest I haven't tried freezing this soup yet. Cheers.
Linda
I just made this soup and it is so good. Thank you for sharing your recipe, I definitely will be making this again! Look forward to trying your other recipes.
Patrick
Thanks Linda, so glad you tried this recipe as it is one of my favorites on the site! Cheers.
DC
As always, your recipe suggestions are outstanding! When I make a pot of pinto beans (with a slice of bacon and a jalapeno) I always add extra water so I can freeze some of the liquid apart from the beans. I'm going to use it as stock to make pinto bean soup today. Thanks, Patrick!
Patrick
Hey thanks for mentioning that tip DC, that's a good one. Cheers.
Connie
I presume you use pre-cooked beans, but the "ingredients' doesn't say. If raw beans were put in the blender and ground, would they be small enough to use that way I wonder? Always looking to eliminate extra steps. 🙂
Patrick
Hi Connie, yeah you'll definitely want to use cooked beans when you combine them with the stock in the blender. Cheers.
Rachel
Flat out one of the best bean soup recipes I've ever made.
I'm grateful to the cook who made the mistake of not removing seeds from the chipotle (in adobe sauce). I had thought of leaving some seeds in but decided it was easier to go hotter later on. (Kind of like making coffee too strong that you can water down a tad, rather than too weak.)
I'm eager to up my game and roast fresh tomatoes (I used canned fire roasted plum tomatoes this time.) I am curious as to how much liquid from my pinto beans to use. (I made them from dried beans in my crock pot). You suggest draining and rinsing if using canned beans, but what about ones made from scratch that have that rich liquid?)
Thank you so much for this recipe. It's one from the heart I'm sure!
Patrick
Hey Rachel, thanks much for your note! Yeah if you have some homemade bean broth then definitely use some of it. As for how much....I think something like 1 cup bean broth and 1 cup stock sounds good (as opposed to 2 cups stock in the original recipe). I'm not a huge fan of store-bought stock so if using that I might even go heavier on the bean broth. Let me know how it goes!
Jen Cooney
Holy cow! This was awesome sauce (literally).
I made it per your recipe, with homemade broth, pressure cooked pintos (haven't gotten lard yet), and without Mexican oregano.
Definitely going to measure out the rest of the beans and make more of this to freeze. Thank you!
Patrick
Homemade broth and freshly cooked beans? Sounds perfect 🙂
Gerry
So tasty and filling. We had it with some homemade tortilla chips and it was perfect!
Patrick
Thanks Gerry, so glad it was a hit!
Laurie Burke
Great idea!! Thanks 🙂
Laurie Burke
How many will this recipe feed if it is the main course? Thanks!
Patrick
Hi Laurie! I'd say 2-3 people, and definitely consider serving it with something you can dip into it, i.e. cheesy quesadillas!
Lisa Daly
Very good! I didn't have the chilis in Adobe so I used a dried pasilla pepper, toasted. It was good but maybe should not have ised the whole thing. It kind of dominated the soup. Wish I had read Mary Lou's comment because I did have a can of green chillies on hand. Oh well, next time!