The first day of spring is tomorrow. The day when the birds begin to wake us every morning with their song, the flowers begin to push through the soil, grass begins to green, and we get to go outside without bundling up under layers.
Oh, right. I live in Michigan.
We never quite know when the warm spring weather will make its appearance, last year was unseasonably warm in March (think 80’s) and this year we’re under a layer of snow. So it’s probably safe to say that it’ll be soup weather for some time.
Good thing we love soup at our house, it’s oh so warming and nourishing. My go-to soup is always chicken and veggies, sometimes with pasta, sometimes with rice. We all love it, but it’s so nice to add recipes to our menu plan that are different!
This black bean and shredded pork soup is a great change of pace and has quickly become one of our favorites!
Black Bean Soup with Shredded Pork
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried black beans or 3 cups cooked beans
- 2 bone-in center-cut pork chops
- 4-6 slices bacon
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 onion chopped
- 2-4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce chopped
- 2 cups diced tomatoes or one can
- 1 green pepper diced
- 1 red or yellow pepper diced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 6 cups water
Instructions
- Soak beans overnight for best nutrient absorption and faster cooking.
- Melt the butter (or oil) in a 6 quart pot and saute onions and peppers until soft.
- Add all the ingredients, except the bacon, and allow to simmer on low for about two hours. (This can also be done in the crockpot on low for about 5 hours.)
- When the beans are soft and the pork is falling apart so that you can shred it, remove the bones, shred the pork.
- Fry up the bacon and stir in, allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Top with tomato and/or green onion.
Notes
Kari Wilson
Wow, this is very similar to a recipe I make often. We love spicy foods so it gets laced with a few jalapenos, and a favorite green chilies sauce and extra spicy red beans. I will try yours exactly to compare, should be awesome.