Thicker than a soup, thinner than a chili, and probably most like a stew, this unique dish combines black beans and pineapple with delicious results.
Sometimes ideas just come to me. I call it being inspired, but people of my parents’ generation called it being “touched in the head.”
I was sitting here at my desk one day thinking how much I like salsa with pineapple in it (because that’s the kind of deep thinking I do), when it occurred to me that what’s good in salsa should be good in soup. Black bean soup. So I tried it. And you know what? I was right.
If you balk at having fruit in your soup, let me tell you that there was a time when I couldn’t imagine something sweet ever touching my savory. But that was before I opened my palate to the sensations of pineapple mingling with peanuts and kale or cumin-grilled tofu heaped with papaya salsa. Now I’m a believer.
But even if you absolutely know that you don’t like fruit in your main dish, give this unique black bean pineapple soup a try. The pineapple lends such a subtly sweet flavor that my family didn’t even notice it until I pointed it out. But by then, they’d both finished two bowls, even daughter E, who doesn’t like black beans.
Hey, There’s Sweet in This Savory:
Here are a few other savory dishes that contain fruit.
- Grilled Tofu with Blueberry-Peach Salsa
- Wild Plum Sauce
- Vidalia Onions Stuffed with Rice-Lentil Pilaf
- Vegetable Couscous
- Cinnamon-Scented Pearl Couscous from One Hot Stove
- Curried Rice and Fruit Salad with Fresh Mango Dressing from Lisa’s Kitchen
- Quinoa with Cauliflower, Cranberries, and Pine Nuts from VegKitchen with Nava Atlas
Black Bean-Pineapple Soup Stew Chili
Ingredients
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 large red bell pepper seeded and diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- 1-2 jalapeno chiles stemmed, seeded and finely diced
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes preferably fire-roasted
- 2 16-ounce cans black beans rinsed and drained
- 2 cups vegetable broth or water plus bouillon cubes
- 1 tablespoon Ancho chili powder or other pure, mild chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder or to taste
- 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano optional
- generous grating black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 pound yellow squash or zucchini
- 1 cup crushed pineapple and juice
Instructions
- Heat a non-stick pot. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until golden and beginning to brown (a pinch of baking soda will speed up this process). Add the bell pepper and jalapeno and cook until softened, about two minutes. Add the garlic, stir briefly, and then add tomatoes, beans, broth, and seasonings (but not squash or pineapple). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- While the beans are cooking, trim the squash and cut into small cubes.
- Add the squash and pineapple, increase the heat a little, and cover. Simmer until squash is just tender. Check seasonings, adding more to taste, and serve.
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
Please Pin and Share:
Millsnborne
August 7, 2012 at 12:50 pmThis soup was fantastic. I used fresh pineapples instead of can. I didn’t have any yellow squash or zucchini , so I omitted it. Family and friends love it. Thanks
nancy
September 20, 2012 at 3:50 pmWhat a wonderful looking bowl of stew. Looking forward to trying it. It looks especially good in that exquisite cup/bowl.
Christine
December 10, 2012 at 1:19 amSusan, hello and THANK-YOU! I am new to this cooking, certainly new to finding recipes online, and this is MY first time leaving a blog comment. I wanted to tell you that I made this and it was AMAZING!!!! I am so excited to think I can actually cook!
I am a Paleo girl that is conflicted. Do you know Paleo? Anyway, Paleo or not, this was amazing and a keeper.
Thank-you!!!!
Michelle
January 6, 2013 at 8:08 pmThank you for this! I needed a dish for a party today. The event was a celebration of a friend who has lost 116 pounds!!! So, I needed something very healthy and also buffet-friendly. Rather than make it a soup/stew/chili, then, I omitted the vegetable broth and the only liquid I added was the tomato juice from the canned tomatoes. I served it over rice with fresh cilantro and lime wedges. It looks so pretty and tastes even better.
Jogalog
January 28, 2013 at 3:14 amI would never have thought to put pineapple in a soup but I love all the ingredients in this one – It might be harder work convincing my husband to try it though!
Jennifer
February 3, 2013 at 7:53 pmI just made this tonight 🙂 It is making the house smell awesome! I did add come sweet potatoe (I thought that it called for it but on a second look I think I mistook it for a different recipe..But still tastes Great!) Also instead of 2 cans of black beans I used one can of black and one can of mixed for variety 🙂 Thanks for the awesome recipe!
~Jenn
Karley
February 28, 2013 at 3:40 amThis is the first recipe I’ve tried from here, and I absolutely love it. This will be a staple for me from now on! I don’t like canned pineapple, and the only ones available in my area have added sugar, so i just bought fresh, and mashed it in a bowl, which gave me plenty of juice. I love this, Thank-you!
Susie D
March 19, 2013 at 8:54 amMade this for dinner last night and OH my goodness. Incredible! I will definitely be making this again.
Liane Blanco
April 3, 2013 at 5:33 pmI just got back from Freddie’s, red pepper and zucchini in my hot little hands. I’m having this tonight.
Instead of using chili powder, I’ve got two California and one Ancho dried chiles, I’m going to simmer those and blend them into a paste with a chipolte or two and use those instead of chili powder.
LOVE this blog! You have made a huge difference in my life, and I am forever grateful!
Erin
May 7, 2013 at 1:05 pmI’ve made this over and over, my sister even won a chili cook-off with it!
Joe
May 30, 2013 at 3:41 pmI made this tasty stew/soup on Saturday. It was a foggy/rainy weekend so it hit the spot. Easy to assemble. I like the ratio of beans to tomatoes, pineapple, and zukes, nothing overwhelms the other. It pleased my wife also who is not the biggest fan of a meal with too many beans. I had to improvise on some of the spices but still got the basic flavor of sweet and spicy, a nice combo. Good recipe, will certainly make it again
Lorraine
June 6, 2013 at 6:34 pmSusan, thanks for this recipe! We finally made your Black Bean Pineapple Chili tonight, and it was a major hit with my family. Next time I might be inclined to include a few more beans in order to smash them in order to thicken the ‘soup’ into more of a ‘stew’ or ‘chili’, but the flavor was very, very nice (if I hadn’t looked at the picture on your page and *imagined* that it was thicker, I might not have cared, but I had my mind set on something thicker until I read the recipe more closely today…….). — Earlier in the week, I had made a pot of thick Jamaican black beans (seasoned with ginger, cumin, etc.), serving them with Banana Salsa and Yellow Rice, and there were leftover beans from that meal. So I simply used those beans with my own spices already mixed in, thus I skipped your seasonings. Other than that, this looked like a straightforward soup to as my daughter to make up for the family. My daughter easily whipped up your soup by putting the onion, garlic, and etc. (all but the pineapple and beans) in a slow cooker throughout the day. Then she added the beans and pineapple at the end (that way the pineapple was still pretty and nice and juicy). I did have her use our black beans without rinsing them, but it was a flavorful liquid, not canned, which just made sense to me (FWIW). This time I served your chili with rice, garnished with green onions (oh, and my husband hasn’t given up his sour cream….), but next time I’ll probably try a Jamaican styled cornbread. Either way, it’s all good! Now I’m off to slip your recipe into the family cookbook! Thanks again for the bunches of yum!!!
Becky
April 13, 2014 at 3:06 pmThis is absolutely fantastic!! It smelled so good while it was cooking and tasted even better!!! Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe – and all the others you share
Krista
April 4, 2016 at 6:21 pmAs is typical for spring in Boston, sunny and 70-degree weather teased us briefly and gave way to a couple days of cold and 4-6 inches of snow. This soup really hit the spot and chased away the winter blahs!
Annie
April 8, 2016 at 2:20 pmSusan, your inspiration is soon to be my lunch delight. Thank you for this recipe.
Annie
April 13, 2016 at 7:22 pmThere are a couple of people who are loving this stew tonight. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. You keep knocking it out of the park and I’m getting a reputation as a great cook, thanks to you.
Anne Z.
May 23, 2017 at 11:36 pmI stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest and it was absolutely delishious. There is just the right amount of heat and the flavor of the pineapple is perfect. I am craving it right now and cannot wait to make it again soon.
Kensington Cooker
December 31, 2018 at 10:31 amI have a darling daughter-in-law who when I visit accommodates my eating stye with recipes from your site, Susan. She made this for me and sent me home with at least half the pot. I froze it and thawed it a week later. It tastes even better now than the first time. I’ve printed it up so I can make it regularly for myself. Thanks as always!
Kensington Cooker
December 31, 2018 at 10:45 amMy wonderful daughter-in-law makes me recipes from your site when I visit. She sent me home with nearly half the pot of this yummy stuff. I froze it and am enjoying it now–tastes better than it did the first time!
Shahla Werner
April 27, 2019 at 5:28 pmThis was great – I substituted sweet potatoes for the squash/zucchini, and barbecue sauce instead of tomatoes!