Italian White Bean Soup
The ultimate comfort food, this Italian white bean soup is ready in just 15 minutes and is the perfect lunch or simple dinner recipe. Easy to make, this hearty Tuscan white bean soup can even be made in advance for meal prep.
Soup is certainly a go-to recipe when I’m craving something incredibly comforting but easy to make. If you love this Italian white bean soup, you should also try Spicy White Bean Soup or Butter Bean Soup, both ready in 20 minutes and packed with flavor.
Top reasons you should make this soup
- Easy to make
- Ready in 15 minutes
- Simple ingredients
- Meal prep friendly
- Great freezer meal
- Healthy (vegan, gluten free, dairy free)
Ingredients
- Onions and garlic – these aromatic vegetables add a ton of flavor and create a base for the soup.
- Vegetable broth – vegetable broth is one of my secret ingredients for 15 minute soups. It helps the soup taste like its been simmering on the stove for hours. Chicken broth/stock or bone broth can also be used.
- Pesto – pesto adds so much flavor and a creamy texture to the soup. Use fresh homemade basil or store bought.
- Diced canned tomatoes – be sure to drain the tomatoes so they don’t water down the soup. You can use regular or fire roasted tomatoes.
- Spices: Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt – these easy to find spices help to add so much flavor to the soup.
- Balsamic vinegar – balsamic vinegar is a must in my kitchen anytime I’m using canned tomatoes. Balsamic vinegar helps to deepen the flavor of the soup making it taste like it has been cooking for more than 15 minutes.
- White beans – white beans add fiber and protein to this soup and help to really make it so filling. You can use whatever your favorite white beans are (cannellini, great northern white beans, navy beans or even chickpeas).
- Kale – I like lacinato kale (sometimes called Tuscan kale or dino kale) but use whatever kale you have on hand.
How to make italian white bean soup
Chop the veggies: Finely chop the onion and garlic. Remove the stem from the kale and chop it into small bite size pieces.
Cook the onions and garlic: Cook in preheated pot 3-4 minutes until translucent and the onions start to leave brown bits at the bottom of the pot.
Mash the white beans: Rinse and drain the beans. Add one can of beans to a bowl and mash the beans to help thicken the soup. Alternatively, you can blend the beans in a blender or food processor with about 1 cup of vegetable broth.
Cook the soup: Once onions are cooked, scrape the bottom of the pot with vegetable broth then add the rest of the ingredients except the kale. Bring the pot to a boil over medium high heat.
Add the kale: Once the soup is boiling, turn off the heat and add the kale. Let the kale wilt into the hot soup then serve hot.
Top tips
- Smashing the white beans with a fork or blending it with vegetable broth helps to create a thick, creamy soup without any cream or milk.
- It’s important to remove the thick stems from the kale as they are more bitter and won’t break down in the short cooking time.
- This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if needed. It freezes well and would be great for meal prep as it’s even better the next day. It’s also a great recipe to feed a crowd and would be wonderful for parties or potlucks.
- Use fresh homemade pesto or store bought. If you need your recipe to be vegan/dairy free – be sure to use a dairy free pesto (Trader Joe’s has a great one) or make your own!
Other additions
- Veggies: Can add carrots and celery to the onions and garlic for a more robust soup
- Starch: Add in a box of pasta (add about 4 cups of water to the recipe and boil the pasta in the soup), cooked rice, quinoa, potatoes or sweet potatoes (boil the potatoes in vegetable broth for 15 minutes before adding the pesto and the rest of the ingredients)
- Protein: Add in shredded chicken or cooked shrimp for a boost in protein
- Spice: Add crushed red pepper flakes or a few dashes of hot sauce to the soup
What to serve along side of tuscan white bean soup
- Crusty bread or Almond Flour Corn Bread or Homemade Crackers
- Salad: Some great salads to serve along side of this soup would be Greek Salad with Kalamata Olive Dressing, Mediterranean Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Tahini Dressing, Italian Quinoa Salad or Kale Brussel Sprouts Salad with Lemony Dressing.
Common questions
What is the best pesto to use?
This recipe works great with homemade or store-bought pesto.
If you want a store bought vegan friendly pesto, I recommend Trader Joe’s Kale Cashew Basil Pesto, ROI Pesto, Amore Pesto Paste or Seggiano Fresh Basil Pesto. However most of these options are not nut free.
Quick and easy homemade pesto recipes:
- Spinach Walnut Pesto
- Cashew Arugula Pesto
- Pea Pesto
- Tahini Pesto (this is nut free – uses tahini, a sesame seed paste instead of nuts)
- White Bean Pesto (this is also nut free and super creamy)
Note: in any of these recipes above, you can use hemp hearts, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds in place of the nuts to make them nut free.
What are other greens instead of kale?
If you don’t have kale on hand, you can also use baby kale, baby spinach, swiss chard, collard greens or even broccolini all finely chopped.
What are the best beans for this soup
White beans are creamy on the inside and have a slightly mild and nutty flavor.
- Cannellini beans
- Great norther white beans
- Navy beans
- Chickpeas (if needed)
Can you use dried beans?
This recipe wasn’t written to cook dried beans. If you have dried beans, you can make dried beans in the instant pot in about 1 hour. Follow the same directions as those listed for black beans in the instant pot (no soaking required).
If you make a pound of beans at once, you can refrigerate (up to 5 days) or freeze for up to 3 months.
How to make soup creamy without adding cream or milk?
The trick to getting this soup thick and creamy without any cream or milk is to mash the beans with a fork or to blend 1 can of the white beans with 1 cup of vegetable stock and add that to the soup. The beans help to make the soup hearty and so creamy without needing any dairy.
Storing leftovers
- Fridge: Store any leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Store leftovers in the freezer for up to 3 months. I like to freeze the soup in individual portions using Soupercubes. Once frozen, you can pop the soup out of the cube and transfer it to a freezer safe bag. Be sure to label your soup with the name, date and use by date.
More soup recipes to try
Mexican White Bean Cauliflower Soup
Italian White Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion
- 4 medium cloves garlic
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup pesto
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp italian seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 cans white beans
Instructions
- Start by chopping the onions, garlic and kale. Be sure to remove the thick stem from the kale before chopping.
- Rinse and drain the white beans.
- Preheat a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, spray with olive oil or avocado oil spray and add the chopped onions.
- Cook the onions for 2-3 minutes then add the garlic. Cook 1 more minute.
- While onions are cooking, mash 1 can of white beans with a fork (or you can blend them with 1 cup of vegetable broth with a blender or in a food processor).
- After garlic has cooked with onions for 1 minute, add 1/2 cup vegetable broth and scrape the bottom of the pot.
- Add the rest of the ingredients except the kale. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add the chopped kale to the pot and turn off heat.
Notes
- Mashing the white beans helps to create a thick, creamy soup without any cream or milk. You can also blend the beans with about 1 cup vegetable broth.
- Double or triple the recipe easily. It freezes well and would be great for meal prep as it’s even better the next day.
- Use fresh homemade pesto or store bought.
- Be sure to remove the thick stems from the kale, they are bitter and will not cook down quickly in the soup.
- Veggies: Can add carrots and celery
- Starch: Add in a box of pasta (add about 4 cups of water to the recipe and boil the pasta in the soup), cooked rice, quinoa, potatoes or sweet potatoes (boil the potatoes for 15 minutes before adding the pesto)
- Protein: Add in shredded chicken or cooked shrimp for a boost in protein
- Spice: Add crushed red pepper flakes or a few dashes of hot sauce to the soup.
