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Brown beans and rice, plated
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Brown Bean Soup (with Sausage & Pumpkin)

A traditional Cuban bean soup using red kidney beans, easily customizable with meats & starches.
Prep Time12 hours
Cook Time3 hours
Total Time15 hours
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Cuban
Keyword: Allergy-friendly, Beans, Cooking, Cuban, Dinner, Gluten-free, Latino, Meat, Potatoes, Recipe, Rice, Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings: 10 people
Calories: 380kcal

Ingredients

For the Beans

  • 1 Lb Dark Red Kidney Beans dried
  • 8 cups Water
  • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 tsp Onion Powder
  • 1 tsp Salt (table salt)
  • ¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper
  • ¼ tsp Cumin

For the Sofrito

  • 1 Tbsp Salt (table salt)
  • 2 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 2 tsp Onion Powder
  • ½ tsp Ground Black Pepper
  • ½ tsp Cumin
  • 8 oz Tomato Sauce (1 can)
  • ¼ cup White Vinegar distilled

Add-ins (optional, but recommended)

  • 15 oz Pumpkin puree (1 can)
  • 1 Kielbasa Sausage cut into ½ inch rounds
  • 2 Lb Potatoes peeled and quartered

Instructions

The Night Before

  • As we usually do for dried beans, soak them overnight (for about 10-12 hours) in a large pot in cold water, with enough water to completely cover the beans as they swell.

12 Hours Later...

  • When the beans have swollen, strain out the water and add 8 cups of fresh cold water.
  • Add the 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp of black pepper, and 1/4 tsp of cumin to the pot and stir it all up.
  • Cover the pot and bring it to a boil on high heat.  Once the soup starts boiling, drop the heat to a medium low heat, and let the beans simmer 2-3 hours.
  • As the beans cook, they release starches into the water, which becomes cloudy.  If this hasn't happened but your beans are soft and cooked, go ahead and crush some of the cooked beans against the inside of your pot to manually release those starches.  The starch is important because it helps to thicken the soup and make it creamy.

Adding the Sofrito

  • If using potatoes, you may want to peel and quarter them now.
  • In a medium sauce pot, prepare the sofrito. Heat the olive oil on medium heat and add salt, garlic, onion powder, black pepper, and cumin. Stir the spices until lightly browned.
  • Once the spices have browned, add tomato sauce and stir. Be careful at this step! The tomato sauce will spatter when added to hot oil.  (Seriously, wear an apron or an old shirt!)
  • Once your sofrito starts bubbling again, add the white vinegar and pumpkin puree and stir.
  • (Optional) Add the sausage and stir.
  • Add your sofrito to the pot of brown bean soup and stir.
  • Add the peeled and quartered potatoes.
  • Let the soup gently simmer for at least 20 minutes.
  • Taste the soup and add spices as needed.
  • Check potatoes for doneness. When cooked, they should be tender and easily pierced with a fork. If they're still hard, give them more time at a simmer.
  • Serve warm over rice.

Notes

  • If I were just cooking beans and not adding the pumpkin, or potatoes, or extra squashes, I would add less spices to my sofrito.  I would only do a teaspoon of salt, garlic powder, and onion powder, and only a 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper and cumin.
  • When you serve it, add some sliced banana.  The sweetness of the banana cools the spice of the bean soup on the tongue, making it even more enjoyable.  I still do this for myself and for my kids--we love it!
  • Calorie count does not include rice, but does include the kielbasa. Without the kielbasa, you can subtract about 100 of those calories.