Mexican Bean Soup (Naturally Gluten Free)

This Mexican bean soup is sure to become part of your weekly dinner rotation.  It's chock full of beans with just the right amount of spice, is naturally gluten free and can also be made vegetarian and vegan!

This soup not only steps up to the plate of quick and easy dinners, but it's also one of my absolute favorite soups of all time!  It has the right amount of spiciness without being too spicy, and the beans are not only tasty, but fulfilling as a meaty substitute.  Every time we eat it, it always evokes such exclamations like "God, I just LOVE this soup!"

What's also great about Mexican bean soup is it makes a large amount, which can be frozen into individual servings.   My husband is a serious meat eater, but he'll gladly have this soup any night of the week, even though it's meatless! But here's the thing--you can add diced chicken if you want to (I've done it before). It's just so flavorful and meaty, it doesn't need it. My daughter, the vegan in the family, will gladly eat this soup as well (with the vegan modifications).

How to Make Mexican Bean Soup

One of the best things about this soup is it's versatility.  You can use any combination of beans, tomatoes, chilies, spices, you name it!  The sky is the limit.  Here's what I use and some variations:

• Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies--there are several different flavors of these.  My favorite is the original, but feel free to change it up to your liking.  I also put the cans in my blender and puree them, but the choice is yours for chunky or smooth.
• Taco Seasoning--you can make your own or use a packet.  
• Beans--black beans, pinto beans, red kidney beans.  Again, any combination will work.    
• Vegetable or chicken stock--if you don't need or want it to be vegetarian/vegan, feel free to use chicken stock.  
• Cheese--this is personal preference, but I like to use Velveeta cheese, cubed up and added to the soup to melt in, and then sprinkle the top of each bowl with shredded cheddar. Of course, to make this vegetarian/vegan, omit the cheese or use vegan cheese.

All everything in an Instant Pot and set it to pressure cook on high for 30 minutes. Remove the lid, add the cheese, and stir to melt the cheese. Serve it with finely shredded cheddar (unless you're omitting the cheese to make it vegan).

I Don't Have an Instant Pot. Can I Make the Soup on the Stove?

You can definitely make it on the stove. It will take about double the time, but we all seem to have plenty of that these days, don't we? Bring it to a boil over high heat and reduce the temperature to low and let it simmer for about an hour. Add the cheese (if using) at the end and stir to melt.

Can I Freeze This Soup?

You sure can!! Let it cool, freeze it in either a large ziptop bag or in individual portions. What I often like to do with soups is pour them into muffin tins and freeze until solid. Then I take the frozen "pucks" of soup and put them in a large ziptop bag. A few defrosted and heated soup "pucks" are the perfect quick lunch (or dinner) any day!

BYOC--Be Your Own Chef and make this soup in your Instant Pot tonight.  Then just sit on the couch and relax while waiting for dinner to be done 🙂

This soup was originally posted in December 2018 and has been updated with a video, new pictures, and more details.