Black Bean & Tomato Soup with InstaBroth is easy to make and will help you stay on track with your fitness goals. This healthy recipe is high in protein and under 500 calories per serving so you can eat a nutrient dense meal and stay warm!

1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, chopped
1 t olive oil
3 c InstaBroth, chicken
28 oz diced tomatoes w green chilies
2 15.5 oz cans black beans, drained & rinsed
1 carrot, diced
2 T cooked corn kernels, optional
thyme leaves from 3 thyme sprigs
dash red pepper flakes
cooked chicken, 2 breasts cubed or shredded
salt & pepper to taste
half a bunch of cilantro, chopped, save some for decoration

Add olive oil to dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic, cook until shallots soften, about 5 minutes. Add InstaBroth, tomatoes, black beans, carrot, thyme, red pepper flakes and salt & pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer. Use an immersion blender to blend up some of the soup. Or ladle 1 1/2 cups of soup into blender, carefully blend and return blended soup to pot. Add cooked chicken cubes and corn if using. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Before serving add the cilantro.
You can serve the soup as is or add cilantro as decoration. You can also add small dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese, pepitas, tortilla strips. Enjoy!

Protein Essentials Test Kitchen Helpful Planning Tips:  Did you know that onions and shallots freeze well? They do. Next time you are chopping or slicing an onion, instead of wrapping up the unused half onion and sticking it in the fridge where it is doomed to ultimately wind up in the garbage can,  chop or slice the whole thing, double baggie it, label it and pop it in the freezer. Soups and stews are the perfect place for frozen onions and shallots. For the chicken, left over frozen (thawed) or rotisserie chicken is perfect for this recipe. Another tip, get the corn and carrots from the salad bar at the grocery store, you could even swap out the shallot for onions from the salad bar.