Hearty Tuscan White Bean Soup

This hearty Tuscan white bean soup has become a favorite fall/winter recipe of mine. It’s a brothy soup that somehow still has a creamy mouthfeel without any cream being added.

This vegetarian Tuscan white bean soup comes together in one pot, and couldn’t be easier to make. Make a big batch ahead of the week or whip it up on the weekend – you can’t go wrong with this recipe. 

Tuscan White Bean Soup Ingredients

• Cannellini beans or butter beans: Full transparency, any white bean (ie. butter beans, cannellini beans, great northern beans) will work well in this soup, so use what you have on hand. 
• Shallots
• Celery
• Carrots
• Dino kale: Dino kale or curly kale are two varieties that work well in this soup, or you can swap out the kale for equal parts spinach. 
• Garlic
• Tomato paste
• Dried Italian herbs
• Fresh thyme: I love the flavor fresh thyme adds to this soup.
• Aleppo pepper: 
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt

Method Behind This White Bean Soup

Prep the sofrito ingredients (aka mise en place).

To a large pot or Dutch oven, add the olive oil and shallots. Heat the pot over medium heat and let the shallots cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until translucent. 

Next, add in the carrots and celery, and continue to cook for an additional 10-12 minutes (make sure to stir now and again). It’s super important to let the sofrito mixture cook down as it’ll build tons of flavor and caramelize the carrots. 

Add the tomato paste and garlic towards the tail end of cooking down the sofrito mixture – I like adding the garlic at the end of the saute so there’s enough time to toast it without burning it. Saute for an additional 2 minutes to toast the garlic and cook off the sharpness of the tomato paste. Then sprinkle in the dried herbs and aleppo pepper, and stir to bloom the spices, about 1 minute.

Finally, add the beans, salt, bay leaves, and water/stock. Stir to combine. Cover the pot partially with a lid, reduce the heat to medium-low, and let the soup simmer for 10-15 minutes. Taste the broth and adjust for salt as needed.

Once 15 minutes is up, remove 1 cup of the soup and blend it in a high-speed blender or a jar with an immersion blender. Pour the blended soup back into the pot, along with the kale, and stir to combine. Continue to simmer the soup until the kale (or spinach) has wilted, about 10 minutes. Keep in mind that the longer you simmer this soup, the more flavor will develop. Season with additional salt if needed, before serving.

Notes & Storing Reccs

• Cook the sofrito for longer than you think. Trust me, cooking the sofrito mixture (aka the shallots, garlic, carrot, and celery) for a solid 10-15 minutes over medium heat will help the carrots caramelize a bit and build a delicious fond on the bottom of the pan, which equal loads of flavor.
• Add more beans or throw in leftover chicken/turkey. I used 2 cans of cannellini beans, but 3 cans would also work if you wanted to bump the protein up. Alternatively, if you have any leftover shredded chicken or turkey, feel free to throw that in – it goes so well in the soup.
• Blend the 1 cup of soup separately in a jar with an immersion blender or a blender like a Vitamix. I know it seems like you’d save on dishes if you blitz the soup directly in the pot, but you’ll end up ruining the integrity of the beans and veggies. Additionally, make sure to blend the soup until it’s silky smooth. This will add so much creaminess!
• I love serving this white bean soup with toasted (and heavily buttered) sourdough bread. Although it does taste phenomenal on its own!
• If you have any leftovers (which I highly doubt because it’s so good haha) store the soup in the fridge for up to 5 days. Keep in mind that as the soup sits, the flavors will meld and become more pronounced. 

So excited for you to  make this soup! Don’t forget to leave a starred rating and review – love hearing your feedback.

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