This EASY Bean Soup is the answer to the “What’s for dinner?” dilemma. You probably already have most of the ingredients in your pantry, and turning them into a filling veggie soup is a breeze.
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The best bean soups have a lived-in quality, as if they’ve been simmering on the back burner for hours, just waiting for you.
Bean soups have the distinct advantage that they taste great either way. This Tuscan White Bean Soup uses canned beans to make a 30-minute meal that tastes like it was made all day.
What is Tuscan Bean Soup?
Long-boiled bean soup is a tradition throughout Italy. This one takes a few shortcuts by using canned beans, but in the end the flavor will be pretty close to soups that have been simmered for hours.
How to make Tuscan Bean Soup
When starting this soup, sauté the veggies first to add lots of flavor to the soup. Cook the carrots, onions, and celery with oregano sprigs, then stir in the beans and chicken broth.
To ensure your soup has that appealing “cooked all day” quality when using canned beans, just puree some of the beans before they go into the pot. This will give your soup that slightly aged texture that good bean soup should have.
Let the soup simmer briefly, then add baby cabbage or spinach to keep its pretty green color and texture. Sprinkle the bowls with olive oil and more parmesan. You’ll be ready in under half an hour, but your soup tastes like an afternoon’s exertion.
What to serve with Tuscan Bean Soup
Parmesan toast is an easy side dish while the soup is simmering. All you need is baguette slices, olive oil and grated parmesan. Toast the bread, sprinkle with olive oil and cheese and melt in a toaster for a minute. They add a lot of crunch to your dinner.
You can also serve the soup with garlic bread or homemade light rye bread.
Can You Freeze Tuscan Bean Soup?
Yes, you can freeze this soup. Just make sure you dip the veggies in the liquid beforehand to keep them from drying out in the freezer (this goes for all veggie soups). Allow the soup to thaw completely in the fridge for a day.
Italian soups are such classics! Try these!
- Minestrone
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Vegan chickpea minestrone
- Italian egg drop soup
Easy Tuscan Bean Soup
If you’re on a gluten-free diet, use gluten-free bread for the parmesan toasts or substitute another gluten-free side dish for the toasts.
ingredients
For the soup:
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3 tablespoon olive oil
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2 Middle carrotsthick cut
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1 big Onion, roughly chopped
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1 stem Celery, roughly chopped
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1 clove Garlic, finely chopped
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3 branches Fresh oregano
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1/4 teaspoon Salt
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Black pepper, taste
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2 (15-ounce) cans Cannellini beansor other small kidney beans, drained and rinsed
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5 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
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4 cups baby kale or baby spinach, stems removed if tough
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1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, for garnish
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Olive oil, serve
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extra grated parmesanserve
For the parmesan toast:
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1/2 Baguettethinly sliced
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olive oil
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1/2 Cup grated parmesan
method
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Cook Vegetables:
Heat the olive oil in a soup pot. When hot, add carrots, onion, celery, garlic, fresh sprigs of oregano, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables look tender and onions become translucent, 10 minutes.
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Prepare beans:
On a plate, mash 1/2 cup beans with a fork or potato masher. Add them to the vegetables in the pot. Cook for 2 minutes while stirring.
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Cook a soup:
Add the remaining beans to the pot and stir well. Pour in the chicken broth and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, partially cover the lid and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the carrots are tender and the liquid is fragrant.
Discard the oregano sprigs; the leaves will have fallen into the soup. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
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While the soup is simmering, prepare the parmesan toast:
Toast the bread until golden brown on both sides. While the toast comes out of the toaster still hot, sprinkle with olive oil and cheese. If you have a toaster, place them in the toaster for 1 minute to melt the cheese; otherwise, place the toasts in a skillet over medium-high heat, cover and heat for about 1 minute or until cheese is melted.
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Add the vegetables to the soup:
Add the kale or spinach to the saucepan and simmer an additional 2 minutes, or just until the greens wilt.
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Serve soup:
Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle with oregano and more olive oil, if you like. Serve with parmesan toast and extra parmesan for sprinkling.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 420 | calories |
| 18g | Fat |
| 48g | carbohydrates |
| 19g | protein |
