Adzuki Bean Root Vegetable Soup Recipe

Easy healthy vegan bean soup recipe with sweet earthy adzuki beans

Adzuki Bean Root Vegetable Soup: Adzuki beans, sweet earthy small red Japanese beans, in an easy healthy bean soup recipe with carrot, sweet potato & beets. Dark miso and herbs add umami.

Adzuki beans are thought of as a macrobiotic thing, but anybody can love them. They're wonderful with root veggies, but versatile & happy to stand in for other beans - try them as refried beans, in chili, in salads, in red beans & rice ...

Total Prep and Cook Time: 40 minutes (not including bean soaking & cooking)

4 Servings

Nutrition Data, 222g Serving: 219 calories, 4g fat, 1g saturated fat, 36 cal fr fat, 38g carb, 250mg sodium, 10g fiber, 6g sugars, 9g protein, low Cholesterol, good source Folate, Vit A, Potassium, Manganese. Estimated glycemic load 14

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 - 2 cups cooked adzuki beans (see directions below)
• 2 cups soup stock, bean cooking liquid, or water
• Optional: 1/2 cup minced onion
• Optional: 1/2 cup green beans
• Optional: 1/2 cup sliced shitake mushrooms
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled, chopped in bite size pieces
• 2 stalks celery, trimmed and sliced thin
• 2 medium carrots, quartered and diced

• 2 small beets, quartered and thinly sliced (1/8 inch slice)
• 2 thin slices fresh ginger, peeled
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground fennel seed
• 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1 tsp winter savory or thyme leaf
• 1 tsp dried tarragon leaves
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 - 1 Tbsp dark miso

Adzuki Bean Directions:

1. Soak 1/2 cup adzuki beans for 24 hours
2. Drain and rinse
3. Add to pot with water to cover and bring to a boil
4. Skim the foam, reduce heat to simmer and cover
5. Simmer for 1/2 hour, then check. If the beans aren't yet tender, cover & simmer another few minutes until tender.

Soup Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil on medium in a dutch oven or soup pan
2. If adding onion, sauté that first until transparent (2 minutes)
3. Add the remaining chopped veggies and sauté until hot and starting to brown (about 5 minutes)
4. Add the spices, herbs, bay leaf and ginger slices. Stir for a minute to heat through
5. Add the water or stock, cover and simmer until veggies are tender (about 15 minutes)
6. Stir the miso with a little water until it forms a paste. Set aside.
7. Add the adzuki beans, fresh ground pepper and parsley to the soup and heat through
8. Turn off the heat, and stir the miso paste into the soup. Add salt to taste or more miso if you want.
9. Serve with any whole grain, or with bread

Recipe Tips:

Substitute any other red bean in this soup: red chili beans (small red beans) or kidney beans. Or use black beans, or lentils instead of adzuki beans. The taste will be different but still delicious.

Adzuki beans also cook well in a slow cooker. They take 6 - 8 hours to cook after soaking. For a small bean, they are very slow cooking!

I cooked my adzuki beans in the pressure cooker. They took 8 minutes at high pressure, and that was after 24 hours soaking.

With the long soaking and cooking times, it's a good idea to make extra adzuki beans and freeze them in small containers for other meals.

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