Sopa Negra

Name: Sopa Negra
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 90 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2 cups dried black beans, soaked overnight (400 g); 6 cups water (1.4 liters); 1/2 white onion, diced; 1/2 red bell pepper, diced; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 1/4 cup chopped culantro; 4 large eggs; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; Salt and black pepper, to taste; Cooked white rice, to serve

A traditional Costa Rican dish — Sopa Negra is the deep, smoky black bean soup that Ticos eat for lunch with a poached egg floating on top.

⏱ 15 minPrep time

🔥 90 minCook time

🍽 4Servings

🏷 Costa Rican KitchenCategory

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A traditional Costa Rican dish — Sopa Negra is the deep, smoky black bean soup that Ticos eat for lunch with a poached egg floating on top. The beans are simmered with onion, sweet pepper, and garlic, partly blended for body, then finished with culantro and a perfect egg. It is humble, intensely savory, and ladled over white rice.

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Step by stepInstructions

Drain the soaked beans, place them in a pot with the water, and simmer until very tender, about one and a half hours, adding more water if needed.
Sauté the onion, bell pepper, and garlic in the oil until soft, about five minutes, then stir into the beans with salt.
Simmer the soup for fifteen minutes, then blend about one third of it and stir the puree back in for a thicker, silkier broth.
Taste and season, then crack the eggs gently into the simmering soup and poach for three to four minutes, until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny.
Ladle into bowls, scattering culantro over each, and serve with white rice.

💡 Chef tips & storage

Save the bean cooking liquid — it is the backbone of the soup. If you use canned black beans, simmer them with a ham bone or a spoonful of lizano-style sauce to build depth.

Recipe details

Prep15 min

Cook90 min

Servings4

CategoryCosta Rican Kitchen

PublishedAugust 17, 2026

Hi, I'm Emily 🧡

Hi, I'm Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes. Simple, tested comfort food for real weeknights, written down the way grandma would. Pull up a chair. More about me →

Sopa Negra

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