Quick, Delicious Batch of Pinto Bean Soup

I hope this Quick, Delicious Batch of Pinto Bean Soup is further proof that Mexican soup recipes can be quite forgiving!

I was low on tomatoes, lacking chipotles, and stuck with some generic canned beans....

And it was still dee-licous 🙂

How To Make a Quick Batch of Pinto Bean Soup

Of course, there's even more leeway when you're starting with a jar full of goodness like this:

That's a few cups of this homemade chicken stock.

No, you don't need to use homemade stock for this Pinto Bean Soup, but at some point please give it a go!  Homemade stock is the perfect starting point for your soups and makes them less dependent on exact ingredient lists. 

For this Pinto Bean Soup you could use:

This Homemade Chicken Stock

Or This Homemade Vegetable Stock

Normally I would want around 5-6 plum tomatoes for this recipe, but I only had two!

And that's okay!

I usually plop them in the oven (400F) for 20 minutes or so, but the exact time isn't crucial so feel free to grab 'em when you need 'em.  

In a medium-sized soup pot, cook the onion and garlic in a glug of oil. 

I left the garlic cloves whole for this batch knowing that all of this will be blended eventually. 

Once the onion is starting to brown you can add the spices:

2 teaspoons Mexican oregano   What is Mexican oregano?
1/2 teaspoon cumin (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
freshly cracked black pepper

Stir well to give the spices some direct contact with the heat, and then add the remaining ingredients:

2 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups stock
the roasted tomatoes
1-2 chipotles in adobo

Or if you discover that your container of chipotles in the fridge doesn't have any chipotles, just use the leftover adobo sauce!  How to work with chipotles in adobo. 

That's what happened with this batch so I added about 2 tablespoons of the similarly flavored adobo sauce. 

Bring this up to temp and then combine well in a blender.   Be sure to use caution when blending warm liquids.

Hello Pinto Bean Soup!

Add the soup back to the pot and let it simmer over medium-low heat as you do the final taste testing.

I added another generous pinch of salt to this batch, but the homemade stock I used had zero sodium so you may not need to add as much salt as I did. 

I also added another pinch of Mexican oregano and some more adobo sauce. 

So yes, I had to fiddle with the final flavor a bit and that's most likely because I was lacking in tomatoes and had to use the adobo sauce! 

But the result was equally good 🙂

I garnished with Crema, cilantro and a few drop of hot sauce.  And of course, a final squeeze of lime.

These easy Mexican soup recipes all have similar elements:

the cooked onion-garlic mixture
some stock that you trust
an abundance of the bean or vegetable of your choice
a few key aromatics
proper salt level

Keep those key elements in mind and you'll find that you can stray quite far from the written recipe and still end up with delicious results. 

I hope this Quick, Delicious Batch of Pinto Bean Soup gives you permission to make some soul-warming soup the next time you're craving it.  Even if you find yourself missing an ingredient or two 🙂

Enjoy!

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Pinto Bean Soup

I hope this Quick, Delicious Batch of Pinto Bean Soup is further proof that these soup recipes can be quite forgiving!

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 197kcal

Author: Mexican Please

Ingredients

• 2 cans pinto beans (15 oz. size)
• 4 cups stock
• 1 small onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 5-6 plum tomatoes
• 1-2 chipotles in adobo
• 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin (optional)
• 1 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
• freshly cracked black pepper
• olive oil

Optional garnishes:

• Crema
• freshly chopped cilantro
• squeeze of lime
• a few drops of hot sauce

Instructions

• Start by giving the tomatoes a good rinse.  I usually de-stem them as well knowing that any juices leftover in the roasting pan will go in the pot.  Roast the tomatoes in the oven (400F) for 20-25 minutes or until you need them.
• Roughly chop the onion and peel 4 garlic cloves. Cook the onion and garlic in a glug of oil over medium heat. I used a medium-sized soup pot. I left the garlic cloves whole for this batch, knowing that all of this will be blended eventually.
• When the onion is starting to brown you can add the spices: 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano, 1/2 teaspoon cumin (optional), 1 teaspoon salt, freshly cracked black pepper. Stir well to give the spices some direct contact with the heat.
• Add the remaining ingredients: 2 cans pinto beans (drained and rinsed), the roasted tomatoes, 1-2 chipotles in adobo (or just some adobo sauce!), and 4 cups of stock. Bring this mixture up to a simmer.
• Add the mixture to a blender and combine well. Be sure to use caution when blending warm liquids. It can help to NOT fill the blender all the way, ie blend in batches.
• Add the soup back to the pan and simmer over medium-low heat as you do the final taste testing. I added another generous pinch of salt to this batch, but keep in mind the exact salt level will depend on which stock you're using. I also added another pinch of Mexican oregano and more adobo sauce. Note: if it ever seems like the broth is on top and the blended beans are sinking to the bottom, this is a sure sign that you need to blend the soup more thoroughly.
• Once you're happy with the final taste test you can serve it up! Alternatively, if you want to thicken up the soup you can just let it simmer a bit longer, uncovered.
• Feel free to garnish with your choice of fixings. For this batch I topped with Crema, freshly chopped cilantro, a few drops of hot sauce, and a final squeeze of lime. Yum 🙂

Like this recipe?Click the stars above to rate it or leave a comment down below! @mexplease

Want to see the latest recipe?  It's this Vegetarian Tortilla Soup: