If you use vegetable broth, you can quickly prepare a tasty and substantial white bean soup with spinach and leeks that is ideal for vegetarians. I’ve been preparing this soup for years, but when I was expecting my fourth kid, I truly missed it.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 25 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 (1 cup) servings |
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 4 leeks, bulb only, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 (16 ounce) cans fat-free chicken broth
- 2 (16 ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ cup whole wheat couscous
- 2 cups packed fresh spinach
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic; saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, cannellini beans, bay leaves and cumin. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, and stir in the couscous. Cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in spinach and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Reviews
Substituted kale for spinach. Simmered a bit longer to let flavors blend. Next time I’ll toss a Parmesan rind to the simmering soup. This was really delicious and healthy.
It was healthy, but was a little bland. Next time I would add fresh herbs and a little Parmesan cheese.
this soup is now my husband favorite!
This soup is a good basic recipe, but too bland. I sautéed onions, celery, bellpepper and garlic in olive oil, then added sliced fresh mushrooms. Used quick-cooking barley instead of couscous. I also added cayenne pepper, but no cumin. Sliced Italian sausage which has been browned first makes a delicious addition. I will make this again.
Really good soup! I had some time so I made it up to the point of boiling after adding the spices. I also added a ½ tsp of coriander and 1 tsp of basil. I let the soup base rest and cool for about an hour before reheating and adding the couscous and spinach. This allowed the spices to really infuse! I served it with thinly sliced avocado. YUM!
I substituted spinach for kale because it was in my refrigerator. I liked the ease of the recipe. I gave it a 4 because it was a little bland. I did sprinkle some pepper flakes when eating to give it a little kick. I’d make it again.
Good – Added about 3 cups water at end of process, used all of the parts of leek that I could
As written, this soup was absolutely tasteless! Thank you for all who helped contribute to doctoring it up. I added 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, rosemary, thyme, course ground black pepper, kosher salt, regular chicken broth and no couscous. At least that made it edible and not a waste of the delicious leeks!
I was determined to follow the recipe exactly and did until the very end. Added 8oz. of already cooked Italian sausage for my meat eating guy. Delicious.
Super tasty. I did adjust seasonings per suggestions (swap rosemary & thyme for cumin), and only added 1 can of beans. Will def. be making this again!
It was good, but rather flavorless. I had to add a lot more cumin, some ginger, and some red pepper flakes. I’d make it again, but with more spices.
I didn’t use cumin. I used rosemary and thyme as some reviewers suggested. Probably should have left out the rosemary but it was still delicious! I also took my time cooking the leeks as another reviewer suggested. I can’t stand couscous so I used some farro in its place but I didn’t measure it out- just eyeballed it. Got rave reviews from my family!
I would definitely make this again. I used three large leeks because that was one bundle in the grocery. I added a 14oz can of chicken broth and only 1tsp of cumin. I also added a tablespoon or so of better than bouillon. It was a big hit.
I did not have couscous so I added some rice ramen noodles. Yum!
This is similar to a Tuscan-style soup and it is tasty but not one I would make again only because I prefer the Tuscan-style soup better(similar ingredients except no cumin, bay leaves or couscous but Parmesan cheese instead).
Great soup. I made it without any changes. It was even better the second day. I was a little apprehensive about the couscous, but added it anyway. I will definitely make this soup again.
Cooking for one: I followed the recipe but omitted adding all of the spinach. I add fresh spinach to portions as I reheat.
I have made this several times. I have tweeked it for the way my ingredients come.
Simple, tasty, and super filling. I wish I’d remembered to add the lemon wedge recommended by another reviewer. I think that would have made this a 5 star soup.
The spinach was too mushy. Next time I will use escarole and then it will be delicious
Needed more Broth and Less Cumin