A quick and easy mixed bean soup, flavoured with Moroccan-inspired spices and combined with tomatoes and spinach. Ready in just 30 minutes!
This mixed bean soup combines with tomato and spinach and Moroccan-inspired spices, which are wonderfully warming for these cooler days. And in addition to being easy and delicious, this soup is vegetarian-friendly and ready in just about 30 minutes, thanks to starting with canned beans.
Ingredients and substitutions
Harissa – If you aren’t familiar with it, Harissa is a classic Moroccan chili paste, made from chili peppers, garlic, herbs and spices, mixed with olive oil.
I’ve used classic Harissa paste here, but you can also use an Harissa dried spice blend. Simply mix the dried Harissa spice mix with equal parts of water and olive oil and use in the same way and quantity as the paste. Harissa is a wonderful addition to any kitchen, in either paste or dried form. Note that the paste has a somewhat short refrigerated life, compared to many condiments (6-8 weeks), so if you don’t think you’ll use it regularly, the dried spice mix might be a better option. You can just mix into a paste as needed. For Canadians, President’s Choice has a Black Label Harissa spice blend, if you’d like to pick some up.
If you don’t have Harissa in any form, you can use any chili-based sauce, such as Sambal Oelek or Sriracha would work or see the Recipe Card Notes below for more options.
Canned Beans – I’ve use canned Mixed Beans here, so the as I love the variety of flavours and textures. If you want to be even more “Moroccan-Inspired”, you could use all canned chickpeas in this soup. If you’d prefer to cook your own beans from dried, you can certainly do that, too.
Canned Tomatoes – I love how pretty canned cherry tomatoes are in soups, so I used them here. A small can (14oz-ish) of canned diced tomatoes will work just as well.
Broth – you can use either chicken or vegetable broth in this soup. If you’re salt-conscious, start with low or no-salt broth and add your own salt, so you can control the amount yourself.
Spinach – soup is a great way to eat more greens and baby spinach is one of my favourite additions, as it softens quickly and adds great flavour. You can use any green your have or prefer, although you may need a bit more simmering time at the end to soften (or add it earlier in the process).
Fresh Parsley and Cilantro – the combination of both parsley and cilantro is a nice addition to this soup. You can vary the proportions of each or skip the cilantro altogether, depending on your tastes.
Recipe tips!
- The spice level of this soup as written is fairly mild. You can certainly increase the spicing (dried spices and Harissa) to your taste.
- As written, this is a brothy soup. If you are feeling something a little thicker, you can blend some of the beans with a few pulses of an immersion blender (or even mash them with a potato masher). Do this right before adding the spinach to the soup.
- This soup holds up well in the refrigerator for several days and also freezes well.
Making ahead, storing and freezing
This soup keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
This mixed bean soup will also freeze well up to 3 months.
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Get the Recipe: Quick and Easy Mixed Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon Harissa paste, *or see Note 1 below
- 14 oz canned cherry or diced tomatoes
- 19 oz canned mixed beans, drained and rinsed, *or see Note 2
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped, curly or flat-leafed
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped (or just use more parsley)
- 3 cups baby spinach
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
- Add the spiced and stir to combine well with the onions. Add the canned tomatoes (with juice) and the canned beans. Add the chicken (or vegetable) broth. Add the parsley and cilantro. Add the Harissa. Stir to combine well. Bring soup to a simmer, then reduce heat and gently simmer for 15-20 minutes, to allow the flavours to blend. *If using canned cherry tomatoes, make sure to only simmer gently, so the cherry tomatoes keep their shape well.
- Add the spinach to the soup and stir to combine. Turn the heat off under the soup and let the heat from the soup wilt the spinach for a minute. *If you feel your soup is too thick at this point, simply add a splash more broth. Taste the broth and season with salt and pepper, as needed. If you feel it needs more Harissa, go ahead and stir a bit more in now. Finish the soup by adding the juice of 1/2 of a lime and stirring in.
- Serve warm, garnished with additional chopped fresh parsley and/or cilantro, if you like.
Notes
More bean soup recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Such a delicious, satisfying soup for our fall soup menu. Sounds so flavorful Jennifer. Pinned!
Thanks so much, Mary Ann :)