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Pinto Bean Soup — Sopa Tarasca

January 24, 2017 By Patrick 41 Comments

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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.

Sopa Tarasca is one of Mexico's most popular soups -- a delightfully satiating pinto bean soup that will keep you coming back for more. So good! mexicanplease.com

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:

Sopa Tarasca is one of Mexico's most popular soups -- a delightfully satiating pinto bean soup that will keep you coming back for more. So good! mexicanplease.com

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).

Sopa Tarasca is one of Mexico's most popular soups -- a delightfully satiating pinto bean soup that will keep you coming back for more. So good! mexicanplease.com

Combine well and saute this tomato mixture in a dollop of oil over medium heat.

Sopa Tarasca is one of Mexico's most popular soups -- a delightfully satiating pinto bean soup that will keep you coming back for more. So good! mexicanplease.com

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.

Sopa Tarasca is one of Mexico's most popular soups -- a delightfully satiating pinto bean soup that will keep you coming back for more. So good! mexicanplease.com

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.

Sopa Tarasca is one of Mexico's most popular soups -- a delightfully satiating pinto bean soup that will keep you coming back for more. So good! mexicanplease.com

And of course, you can’t go wrong by adding some Crema, finely diced cilantro stems, and another crack of black pepper.

So good!

Sopa Tarasca is one of Mexico's most popular soups -- a delightfully satiating pinto bean soup that will keep you coming back for more. So good! mexicanplease.com

Okay, Sopa Tarasca is on the table, partner is sitting down…

Now it’s time to forever benefit.

Buen Provecho.

Sopa Tarasca is one of Mexico's most popular soups -- a delightfully satiating pinto bean soup that will keep you coming back for more. So good! mexicanplease.com

Sopa Tarasca is one of Mexico's most popular soups -- a delightfully satiating pinto bean soup that will keep you coming back for more. So good! mexicanplease.com

Pinto Bean Soup -- Sopa Tarasca

Sopa Tarasca is one of Mexico's most popular soups -- a delightfully satiating pinto bean soup that will keep you coming back for more. So good!
4.79 from 14 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 3
Calories: 193kcal
Author: Patrick Calhoun | Mexican Please

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

This soup isn't meant to be spicy, the chipotle just adds a hint of heat in the background.
Since the bean-to-stock ratio is 1:1, try to use some stock that you trust.
Don't forget a dash of acidity as a final garnish, it works wonders!
You can use home cooked Frijoles de Olla for the beans but I've also used canned beans plenty of times in the past with good results. 
Like this recipe?Click the stars above to rate it or leave a comment down below! @mexplease

Still hungry?  You might also like this Corn and Poblano Soup.

This Corn and Poblano Soup has a perfect balance between the corn and the roasted poblanos. A drizzle of cream and a final dash of acidity turn it into a keeper! mexicanplease.com

And these easy Burrito Bowls.

These Easy Burrito Bowls have a secret weapon that can instantly save your day: creamy avocado sauce with some zip from a jalapeno. So good! mexicanplease.com

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Filed Under: Beans, Most Popular, Most Recent, Soup, Vegetarian

Previous Post: « Corn and Poblano Soup
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Linda

    January 17, 2021 at 10:20 am

    5 stars
    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.

    Reply
    • Patrick

      January 18, 2021 at 1:21 pm

      Thanks Linda, so glad you tried this recipe as it is one of my favorites on the site! Cheers.

      Reply
  2. DC

    January 16, 2021 at 6:47 am

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply
    • Patrick

      January 18, 2021 at 2:14 pm

      Hey thanks for mentioning that tip DC, that’s a good one. Cheers.

      Reply
  3. Connie

    September 22, 2019 at 2:50 pm

    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. 🙂

    Reply
    • Patrick

      September 23, 2019 at 5:15 pm

      Hi Connie, yeah you’ll definitely want to use cooked beans when you combine them with the stock in the blender. Cheers.

      Reply
  4. Rachel

    September 1, 2019 at 9:46 am

    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!

    Reply
    • Patrick

      September 3, 2019 at 2:19 pm

      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!

      Reply
  5. Jen Cooney

    June 1, 2019 at 2:17 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • Patrick

      June 3, 2019 at 6:46 pm

      Homemade broth and freshly cooked beans? Sounds perfect 🙂

      Reply
  6. Gerry

    May 29, 2019 at 6:37 am

    5 stars
    So tasty and filling. We had it with some homemade tortilla chips and it was perfect!

    Reply
    • Patrick

      May 29, 2019 at 5:03 pm

      Thanks Gerry, so glad it was a hit!

      Reply
  7. Laurie Burke

    March 1, 2019 at 6:08 pm

    Great idea!! Thanks 🙂

    Reply
  8. Laurie Burke

    March 1, 2019 at 1:38 pm

    How many will this recipe feed if it is the main course? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Patrick

      March 1, 2019 at 5:45 pm

      Hi Laurie! I’d say 2-3 people, and definitely consider serving it with something you can dip into it, i.e. cheesy quesadillas!

      Reply
  9. Lisa Daly

    January 23, 2019 at 9:13 pm

    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!

    Reply
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Hey, I'm Patrick! I spent 2 years living in Cozumel and got obsessed with Mexican food. I built this site to share all the recipes and techniques I've learned along the way. Read More…

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