

The weather has finally gotten wintry here, with chilly breezes and nighttime temperatures in the 60s and 70s. We even had a bit of a drizzle the other day, the first of the season! Of course, other than that one cloud it has been clear skies and sunshine as usual.

But with the sweater weather and chilly evenings I have been in major soup mode lately, and this is my favorite creation yet! It is creamy, smoky and veggie filled, but the absolute best part is the crispy zesty chili lime croutons. I could eat them by the handful!
Ingredients
- 4 roasted red bell peppers, chopped (drizzle them with olive oil and pop them in the oven under broil until their skin is black. Let cool, and remove as much of the black skin as you can, then chop.)
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, diced
- 2 cans diced tomatoes
- 2 liters of water
- 1/2 Tbsp cumin
- salt and pepper
- 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can corn, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup rice, cooked according to package directions
- Juice of 3 limes
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 and 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
- In a large soup pot in a drizzle of olive oil saute the onion and celery for about 15 minutes, then add the garlic, salt and pepper and continue cooking for another 15 minutes till it is all soft and tender. While cooking the veggies boil up the cup of rice by itself.
- Add the roasted bell peppers, 2 cans of tomatoes, 2 liters of water, salt, pepper and cumin, and bring to a boil, then lower the temperature and keep at a gentle simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Remove soup from the heat and allow to cool a bit. Blend everything to a creamy consistency with a hand blender and then put back onto the heat.
- Add the black beans, corn, cooked rice, lime juice, cilantro and liquid smoke. Bring back up to heat, top with the croutons, and serve!


Chili Lime Croutons
- Chop up 4 pieces of bread (1 piece for each person eating) and fry it in a tiny bit of vegetable oil til it is very crispy.
- Remove bread from the pan and toss with 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp chili powder and the zest of several limes.
I was lucky enough to have a ‘seasonal visitor’ drop by to help out with the cooking!





Hi, that looks delicious! And I love your blog! Please check mine out at ecstaticvegan.blogspot.com.
One day maybe I'll live in a place where the coolest it gets is in the 60s! A girl can dream! I'm totally making this soup when I get back from my honeymoon.
It's like you *knew* that I just finished a batch of black beans in the slow cooker without a use for the majority of them… looking forward to trying this out next week!
This looks delicious and soo satistfying. All I want to eat is soup now that the weather is chillier!
Yum-arifick! I wish I had the ingredients at home right now…dinner tonight will have to suffice. I'll try to survive.
that sounds so good especially the croutons!
nice – love the close up. and i want some chili lime croutons!
omg Chili lime Croutons!!!
Oh, this sounds delicious! I'll add it to my list of lunch ideas. I love soups like this.
a super-delicious looking soup! It sounds fantastic.
I absolutely love soup and smokey flavors, so this is looking fabulous to me! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
that looks and sounds amazing!!!
Hahaha I love the whole seasonal visitor term!!! OMG that soup is rocking my face off! I am sooo hungry after a sesh at the gym and I NEED that soup…ah well when I get back I guess? YUM YUM
You outdid yourself again this time Tasha
That looks delicious! I am totally putting this on my "To Make" list.
YUM! I love any soup with tasty croutons floating on top…but that roasted red pepper has to make this taste amazing! Love the spoon shot!
OMG that soup looks glorious! I have to say, I never make soup. It's the one thing I just don't make but yours inspires me!
And of course, the chili lime flavors are awesome. I recently made some vegan fajitas and those 2 flavors were front and center, I love them together!
Have a great day Tasha!!!
Woah, the chili-lime croutons take it over the top! Now that I have some black beans I'm gonna have to give this one a shot! YUM.
I am SO excited to make this! It's been getting cold in my city so this will be perfect to help warm us up! Thanks for the great recipe!
DAMN, that sounds delish!
Wow, this looks great! Thanks!
oh my goodness, Tasha – your fire roasted red pepper & smoky black bean soup looks amaaaaazing! i love the chili lime croutons, too. wow! everything i love the most is in this soup & it looks so darn delicious i'm gonna have to make it for dan and i to enjoy soon. thank you so much!
yedinizmi hic bu red pepper i?
Haha, so you totally ARE a cilantro kind of girl.