Potato Pinto Bean Soup with Hominy and Greens

Overflowing with tender pinto beans, chunky hominy corn, golden potatoes and a tangle of leafy greens, this rich vegetable soup practically shouts dinner! With an aromatic Southwestern accent of green chile and cumin, this hearty soup is calling you to the kitchen table!

Click here to PIN Greens and Potato Soup with Hominy and Pinto Beans!

Blessed soup and salad—dinner’s savior. In cooler weather, our evening meal is often a bowl of hearty soup paired with a big tossed salad. I think you’ll agree that this recipe’s texture and flavor variety–greens, potatoes, hominy, and pinto beans–makes for a stellar soup!

Our soup and salad meals are always different because they’re based on what’s on hand. Sometimes inspiration for dinner soups start with beans. Other times, a grain inspires the soup, like in barley and chicory soup, or farro and hearty greens soup. Beans or grains, whatever the base, give soup for a final vitamin bump by stirring in a decent amount of chopped leafy greens.

Greens and Potato Soup ingredient details:

• What kind of greens are we talking about? There are options, that’s for sure. For this incarnation I used beet greens, the tops of yellow beets. Mustard greens and collard greens are good choices too, as well as chard. Greens with tender leaves that don’t take long to cook are best for this recipe. If you want to use a sturdier green like kale for instance, pre-boil the kale in water first.
• Especially in soups with greens, fresh lemon juice or another acid is absolutely essential–because acid magically transforms flavor. Taste a spoonful of the broth before stirring in the lemon juice, and again after, you’ll see what I mean. No lemon juice? Substitute apple cider vinegar –it’s the acid that makes the difference.
• If you find beets with intact, fresh-looking greens, grab them. Let those beet greens be the your soup inspiration. Bonus–you get two vegetables, the beets and their greens, for the price of one.
• Hominy is dried corn kernels, the hull and germ removed. Its toothy distinctive texture is essential to posole, the hearty Mexican stew. It usually comes in large cans–freeze the extra to make this Butternut Squash Posole later.
• Pinto beans. Ditch the can and cook pinto beans from scratch in your Instant Pot or pressure cooker.
• You can use any variety of potato. Waxy red potatoes keep their chunky shape, in turn keeping this soup brothy, flaky potatoes will break down and actually thicken the broth.
• One small fresh green chile, either serrano or jalapeño, with the fiery hot seeds and veins removed, brings in savory flavor and spice, but not a searing picante, ‘I-need-a-beer’ heat. No chile in the house? Add a pinch or two of cayenne pepper instead.
• At the table, we sometimes crumble in salty Mexican cotija cheese or feta.

#Eat Seasonal

Years ago, Becky of Vintage Mixer blog orchestrated monthly recipe roundups featuring produce listed in her seasonal food guide. This soup was part of February’s  roundup back in 2016!! It’s one of those timeless soups, so I’ve brought it forward and updated it for this new decade.

For more seasonal inspiration from a bevy of bloggers, follow the links below. We hope our recipes inspire you into the kitchen to cook something delicious!

Chorizo & Brussels Sprouts Pasta Carbonara by Suitcase Foodist

Citrus, Fennel, and Avocado Salad by Flavor the Moments

Savory Dutch Baby with Roasted Broccoli by Floating Kitchen

Parsnip Hash Browns by Vintage Mixer

Penne Pasta with Cauliflower and Pancetta by Foodie Crush

Rosemary Cheddar Cauliflower Cakes by Food for My Family

Creamed Brussel Sprout Tater Tot Casserole by Climbing Grier Mountain

Mexican Molletes (avocado, bean & cheese melts) by Simple Bites

Honey Mustard Citrus Chicken with Mango Chutney by Kitchen Confidante

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Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Greens and Potato Soup with Hominy and Pinto Beans

A hearty vegetarian soup with potatoes, hominy corn, pinto beans and your choice of nutritious greens like chard, spinach, beet greens, collards. Serve with a tossed green salad for a simple nutritious dinner.  

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American, Southwestern

Keyword: hominy, leafy greens, pinto beans, potatoes

Servings: 8 servings.

Author: Letty | @lettyskitchen

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound red potatoes , well-scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 7 cups vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans, from scratch, or 1 (15-ounce) can, rinsed and drained (see note)
• 1 cup hominy , rinsed and drained
• 2 cloves garlic , finely chopped
• 1 serrano or jalapeno chile , seeds and veins removed, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 7 ounces (about 6 cups) fresh greens (see note)
• 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (see note)
• Crumbled cotija or feta cheese for garnish (optional)

Instructions

• In a non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add potatoes and salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the vegetable broth in a large soup pot. Add the pinto beans, hominy, garlic, chile pepper and cumin.
• Wash the greens and remove the stems. Coarsely chop them and stir into the broth.
• When the potatoes are golden brown, add them. Simmer the soup until the potatoes are just tender, 10 to 15 more minutes.
• Add the lemon juice, taste and season with more salt and pepper, if needed.

Notes

• Greens with tender leaves that don’t take long to cook are best for this recipe.
• Apple cider vinegar can be substituted for the lemon juice.

Nutrition

Calories: 114kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1189mg | Potassium: 445mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1962IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 2mg

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Nutrition information is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. The numbers will vary based on the quantity consumed, brands used and any substitutions.