Creamy Italian White Bean Soup

  4.3 – 313 reviews  • Vegetable Soup Recipes

I went to a well-known restaurant and had the pecan pie pancakes, so I made them at home. Whipping cream should be added before serving.

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 50 mins
Servings: 4
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  1. 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  2. 1 onion, chopped
  3. 1 stalk celery, chopped
  4. 1 clove garlic, minced
  5. 2 (16 ounce) cans white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  6. 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
  7. ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  8. ⅛ teaspoon dried thyme
  9. 2 cups water
  10. 1 bunch fresh spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced
  11. 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

  1. In a large saucepan, heat oil. Cook onion and celery in oil for 5 to 8 minutes, or until tender. Add garlic, and cook for 30 seconds, continually stirring.
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  3. Stir in beans, chicken broth, pepper, thyme and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and then simmer for 15 minutes.
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  5. With slotted spoon, remove 2 cups of the bean and vegetable mixture from soup and set aside.
  6. In blender at low speed, blend remaining soup in small batches until smooth, (it helps to remove the center piece of the blender lid to allow steam to escape.)
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  8. Once blended pour soup back into stock pot and stir in reserved beans.
  9. Bring to a boil, occasionally stirring. Stir in spinach and cook 1 minute or until spinach is wilted.
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  11. Stir in lemon juice and remove from heat and serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top.
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Nutrition Facts

Calories 245 kcal
Carbohydrate 38 g
Cholesterol 2 mg
Dietary Fiber 11 g
Protein 12 g
Saturated Fat 1 g
Sodium 1014 mg
Sugars 2 g
Fat 5 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

Mary Harper
I did add extra garlic and thyme and also some rosemary. I used all chicken broth instead of water. It was good but tested even better the next day. I’d like to try it with broccoli next time.
Jason Williams
I followed the spirit of the recipe, if not every detail. The main differences are that 1) I used dry Great Northern beans that I had soaked and cooked separately 2) I used the bean broth from cooking the beans instead of water 3) I used dry Italian herbs instead of thyme. In any case it was delicious, and I will make it again.
Rachel Gibson
Made this for dinner tonight – like most other reviewers, I used the recipe as a base and added a LOT. Plus, I used black beans – mashed one can with my potato masher as my immersion blender didn’t like them, before adding them to the soup. I used Better than Bullion vegetable broth (6 cups), carrots, frozen spinach, doubled all the ingredients and used 5 cloves of garlic. I used olive oil to saute the veg before adding the broth. I also added onion powder, garlic powder, rosemary, poultry seasoning, oregano, basil, thyme and black pepper. At the end, I thought it was too much liquid, so I added a handful of orzo pasta. It was outstanding! It didn’t need even a pinch of salt, my mom is no a no-salt diet so that worked out well. I did write down all my changes on the recipe so I could refer to them in future. This is going into permanent rotation at my house. I admit it wasn’t as pretty with the black beans, but we prefer them and it was delicious! I did add lemon juice at the end, but it sure didn’t need any cheese so I left it out. I would encourage anyone making this to read the reviews. I’m not a cook, I’m a good recipe reader lol, and the reviews helped SO much to turn this into a favorite. Four stars because of all the changes I made.
Brandon Stark
My soup was a bit thin even after blending it. I would have added another can of beans if I had one. Fried 2 strips of bacon then used the residual fat along with some olive oil to sauté the veggies. Doubled the celery and garlic and threw in 1 diced carrot. Added a small Parmesan rind while cooking (removed for blending ). Very tasty. My carnivore husband liked it!
Kelsey Cisneros
I’ve been making this for years as a Vegetarian. I add extra garlic, and celery, 100% Vegetable broth, olive oil, I puree half and add an extra can white beans. I add tsp Better than Bullion. LOVE IT! ❤️
James Tate
I added bacon bits, fresh thyme, rosemary and basil, red pepper flakes as well as a half a cup of heavy cream. Came out awesome! Will make it again.
Felicia Braun
used 100% chicken broth – no water
Angie Cooper
Wonderful! I added broccoli just for fun, and it was even more perfect.
Timothy Sanchez
Loved this recipe! Read all the reviews first and then made some changes. I added: 1 tbsn Tomato Paste, can of stewed tomatoes, another can of beans, used all chicken broth and added more, extra garlic and celery and used 1 pkg of frozen spinach. Recipe was an excellent little black dress – just needed some accessories! Will make it again for sure.
Dr. Jack Stephenson
It was bland. Needs bacon bits, all chicken broth, olive oil, and other tips offered by reviewers. Also, pay attention to the instruction about SMALL batches in the blender. I had a soup explosion.
Rachel Noble
Delish! I did put in more garlic….as I am wont to do….. (:
Lindsey Cross
It is easy. However in my opinion soups should simmer longer so I put it on low for 90 minutes. Added 3 carrots fined chopped. Increased the lemon juice to half the lemon and used 3 cans of cannellini beans so there was more to emulsify. I see the photo has Italian sausage. That would have been a nice addition.
Angela Wright
Didn’t really make any drastic changes. Very bland soup. Adding cheese only makes it taste like cheese, not bean soup.
Mrs. Diamond Powell
This was easy and tasty, and it is a very healthy soup (just be careful about salt content). Great for a Mediterranean diet. I made 1/4 of the recipe for 2 first course servings. Used an immersion blender for the purée. I will definitely make this again, maybe with a little truffle oil as suggested by another reviewer.
Christy Saunders
Is it supposed ta be this thin?….next time I’ll add less water….if any….
Karl Hardy
Loved it! I made it as written except decreased the sodium content by using no salt added chicken stock. Would also be very good with sausage or chicken added if you’re cooking for a meat-lover.
Joseph Burke
As written, 3 stars, because it’s the beginning of something that can be great! If the recipe were entitled “Base for Tuscan White Bean Soup”, I’d give it 5 stars. As others have said, modification is needed. As written, this recipe is as tasty as stone soup. More garlic, more broth (or flavor for the added water…), and herbs. Olive oil instead of veggie oil. Basil and parsley, along with a full teaspoon (or more) of dried thyme. A teaspoon of ground black pepper (or more). Cannellini beans are notoriously dry and flavorless, just as is their red kidney bean cousin. They’re a great thickener and filler though. Bay Laurel adds and enhances the lemon complement. Instead of blending contents, I traditionally used a masher. Fried and crumbled capicola added with a Romano Parmesan cheese blend finishes this soup base nicely.
Elizabeth Reid
Used carrots and cauliflower instead of spinach, used double garlic, triple thyme, added cooked chicken, used 32 oz chicken broth NO WATER topped with Parmesan and green onions – best homemade soup I’ve ever made!
Debra Anderson
This is delicious! Love the fresh spinach in the soup
Robert Hughes
Once I added a few items this was a great soup. The recipe is a good base. There wasn’t much flavor to the base. I added salt as I used an unsalted chicken broth. I also added sausage slices to it.
Kevin Rivera
I made the changes recommended by others and started with 1/2 pound dry cannellini beans rather than using canned beans. I also used some dried oregano and rosemary. The result was the best bean soup I’ve ever tasted. This is easily a 5-star (with the changes). I don’t think it would have been very tasty without the changes and additions but I’ll give the recipe creator credit since I rarely follow a recipe exactly. I believe in the TLAR (that looks about right) method of adding seasoning and often sub ingredients based on what I have on hand. This soup is a good base for doing that to get different results. I’m wondering what a little Italian sausage might do….

 

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