This Columbia Black Bean Soup is known for it’s mild flavor perfectly simmered with just the right seasonings. In fact, there really aren’t even that many spices in the bean pot. And, yet this Cuban-style soup comes out delicious each and every time. With no dairy the soup somehow ends up with almost a creamy flavor- it’s the most amazing thing.

The History Behind the Soup

The Columbia Restaurant in Ybor, Florida, holds many titles. It is the oldest Spanish restaurant in the US (opened in 1903 and the name changed to Columbia in 1905), it is the longest-run restaurant in Florida, and it is also the largest Spanish restaurant in the world. After the success of the first restaurant they have opened 6 more locations, giving patrons even more chances to enjoy their yummy food.

This soup has been a favorite for much of the time that the restaurant has been open and with one taste you’ll understand why! But, if you can’t make it all the way to Florida you can make it at home.

Canned Beans Versus Dry Beans

For the sake of simplicity I adapted the recipe to use canned beans. Most of us don’t have a lot of time on our hands to make dry beans from scratch. A restaurant that has customers coming in over a long period can plan to have beans simmering for hours, but if you use canned beans this recipe will be no less delicious! Use canned beans for a faster meal and softer beans. Use dry beans if you have the time, want authentic flavor, and don’t mind slightly firmer beans.

But, dry beans are what the restaurant originally started with. A newspaper article from the 1940s about this famed soup claimed that the dish was so popular that the restaurant cooked up 5,000 pounds of beans per year to keep up with demand.

Directions To Use Dry Beans

The recipe card below gives the recipe for canned beans, but here are the directions for using dry beans, in case you want to do it the way the restaurant does.

• Soak 1 pound dry black beans in 3 quarts water overnight. When ready to cook add beans and soaking water to large pot. Set burner to medium high and simmer while you prepare the other ingredients.
• Heat olive oil on medium in large skillet. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add onions and pepper and cook for 10-12 minutes or until liquid has been cooked off.
• Add pepper-onion mixture to the bean pot along with sugar and spices. Simmer for 2-3 hours or until beans are desired tenderness.

How to Serve This Soup

This bean soup was originally served as a side with main dish service on Fridays. Now you can order it by the cup or the bowl depending on your mood if you’re in a Columbia location.

The original way to enjoy it is over rice with some chopped white onion (raw) sprinkled on top of the beans just before serving. This is optional, but it really does add some fresh flavor back into the dish.

You can eat this Columbia Black Bean Soup as a starter or top with meat/cheese for a full meal in a bowl.