Black Bean & Roasted Tomatillo Soup

This black bean and roasted tomatillo soup is a delicious Mexican style soup! Its zesty flavor comes from roasting tomatillos with onions and garlic.

It’s taken a while, but I finally love cooking. I used to be the impatient type, only wanting to cook for as little time as possible so I could enjoy the best part – the eating. Alex has always loved the process, so he’s had to drag me through it, helping me learn how to cut vegetables so that it’s soothing instead of maddening, helping me resist the urge to watch the pot until it boils, or hover over piping hot baked goodies asking whether they’re cool enough to sample yet. Thank goodness that’s worn off, little by little. I’m finally starting to understand the rhythm and waiting in cooking. Keep reading for what I learned about the rhythm of cooking in this delicious black bean and tomatillo soup.

Related: Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

First, what are tomatillos?

Tomatillos are little fruits that are native to Mexico, but they’re also grown in the US. They look like green, unripe tomatoes with a dry husk that wraps around the outside (hence their nickname, husk tomatoes). Tomatillos are bright green and taste acidic, a little less sweet than a typical tomato. They’re also the main ingredient for salsa verde, if you’re a salsa verde lover!

We picked up our tomatillos at our farmer’s market – check one near you to see if they’re in season! You can also find them at the grocery in the produce section when they’re in season. Tomatillos are typically in season in the fall in America; you’ll have to ask at your local grocery or farmer’s market for specifics.

Tips for roasting tomatillos

A few years ago, I would have taken a shortcut on a roasted tomatillo soup. Why waste the time roasting the veggies? Just throw them in the pot and cook them down as fast as possible. Those of you more experienced chefs know that the more time invested in a recipe, generally the better it tastes. So these days we’re okay with taking the extra time to roast, or simmer, or chop. It feels good to make it the right way if there’s time, instead of trying to take the easy way out.

Roasting tomatillos is very simple. First, remove the papery husks from the tomatillos, which easily slide off using your fingers. After you’ve removed the husk, you’ll notice a sticky film on the surface of the tomatillo. Rinse the tomatillos under warm water and it comes right off!  Then, roughly chop the tomatillos and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. This recipe involves roasting tomatillos with onions, garlic, and jalapeno peppers, which imparts a fantastic flavor!

How to make tomatillo soup

This is a lovely tomatillo soup, and really doesn’t take too much time to put together, outside of roasting tomatillos and veggies for about 20 minutes. It’s based on a recipe from the talented Gwyneth Paltrow, and has a subtle, intriguing flavor. After you roast the tomatillos, you blend together the roasted veggies with veggie broth to use as the base of the soup. Then you add black beans and hominy, and simmer until warmed through.

The garnishes are where this soup really shines: radishes, cilantro and lime bring a zesty flavor that you won’t be able to stop eating! Or, try swirling in Homemade Mexican Crema or adding Tortilla Strips for a crunch.

Looking for more tomatillo recipes?

Outside of this tomatillo soup, here are a few more tomatillo recipes on A Couple Cooks:

• Homemade Tomatillo Salsa with Fresh Tomatillos
• Artichoke & Quinoa Vegetarian Enchiladas
• Roasted Tomatillo Salsa (Salsa Verde)

This recipe is…

This roasted tomatillo soup is vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-ree.

Black Bean & Roasted Tomatillo Soup

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(41 votes, average: 3.73 out of 5)

3.7 from 41 reviews

• Author: a Couple Cooks
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x

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Description

This black bean and roasted tomatillo soup is a delicious Mexican style soup! Its zesty flavor comes from roasting tomatillos with onions and garlic.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 12 small tomatillos
• 2 red onions
• 2 jalapeno peppers
• 3 garlic cloves
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt
• 15-ounce can black beans (or 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans)
• 15-ounce can hominy
• 8 radishes
• 3 green onions
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped + 3 sprigs
• 1 quart vegetable broth
• Kosher salt
• Fresh ground black pepper
• 1 lime

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Remove the husks from the tomatillos, rinse them, then roughly chop them. Chop the red onions, and jalapeno peppers (remove the seeds). Cut the garlic cloves into quarters.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the chopped veggies on the sheet, drizzle with enough olive oil to coat, and sprinkle with kosher salt. Roast until soft and slightly browned, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Meanwhile, drain and rinse the hominy and black beans. Also, prepare the garnishes: thinly slice the radishes and green onions, and chop the cilantro.
5. Add the roasted vegetables to a large pot. Add the vegetable broth, and use an immersion blender to puree until fully blended (alternatively, transfer the hot soup to a blender, then blend and return it to the pot).
6. Add 3 sprigs of cilantro and the hominy and black beans. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.
7. Remove the cilantro sprigs. Pour into bowls, and garnish with green onions, radishes, cilantro, and fresh-squeezed lime juice.

Notes

Adapted from It’s All Good by Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Turshen

• Category: Soup
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Mexican Inspired

Keywords: Tomatillo Soup, Mexican Soup, Roasting Tomatillos, Black Bean Soup, Hominy Soup, Hominy, Tomatillo Recipes, Vegetarian Soup, Healthy Soup

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