Tuscan White Bean Soup
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Tuscan White Bean Soup is savory and creamy, made with white beans, spinach, parmesan, and spices, with minimal prep time and ready in 40 minutes!
This soup is a family favorite! For more ideas, check out this tomato-based Kale and White Bean Soup, Slow Cooker Kale and White Bean Soup, or find all of my soup recipes here.
Tuscan White Bean Soup is perfect for the cold weather, and is one of my favorite hearty soups to make. This is a pretty simple soup so don’t worry about anything complicated here, and it’ll still deliver lots of flavor.
Plus, the leftovers only get better after sitting in the fridge, making it perfect to make ahead of time or meal prep! Serve this with extra parmesan and some gluten free crusty bread for dipping. It’ll become one of your favorite soup recipes!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Beans.For this recipe we’re using cannellini beans. They’re creamy and buttery tasting, and help add some richness to the soup when we puree half of them. You could also use navy beans or great northern beans, but they won’t turn out quite as creamy as cannellini.
Fresh Spinach. This adds both flavor to the dish and color for presentation, plus it’s full of nutrition. A few cups of fresh baby spinach cook down to a much lesser volume. You could also make this soup with kale instead. The trick is to add any greens last, so they won’t over-cook.
Carrots.These add flavor and bulk to any soup, but also a bit of sweetness that helps balance out the savory and salty notes of the dish.
Celery and Onion.These are known as aromatics, meaning your kitchen will smell amazing while you’re cooking them! Plus they add a really nice savory note to the soup. I like to use Vidalia onion most of the time, but yellow onion will also work. Vidalia onions are slightly sweeter.
Fresh Garlic. You can use fresh chopped garlic, or garlic powder for an easier version. The golden rule is that one whole garlic clove equals 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic, or 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder. This recipe uses 5 whole cloves garlic, which would be 1 1/4 teaspoon granulated.
Add more or less to your taste, because this recipe is definitely written for garlic lovers!
Grated Parmesan Cheese. This adds some creaminess to the dish once it melts, and also a nice rich and salty flavor. I usually serve the soup with an extra dish of parmesan on the table.
Broth.You can use either chicken broth or vegetable broth. Just make sure it’s gluten free.
Spices. Add kosher salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. A small amount of red pepper flakes goes a long way. You can add any additional salt needed at the end.
Herbs. Herbs are a big part of the flavor profile in this soup, and we’re using a combination of dried and fresh herbs. We’re using dried thyme, oregano, rosemary, and marjoram. But we’ve added fresh parsley for some bright flavor and color for presentation. You could also use fresh rosemary or thyme.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil. This prevents the initial veggies from sticking to the pan. You can also drizzle a little bit of oil on the top of the soup for presentation. If you want more flavor, you can use butter to initially cook the veggies instead of olive oil.
Lemon Juice. This adds a bright flavor which really helps balance out the savory notes in the soup.
How to Make White Bean Soup
- Over medium-high heat, add olive oil, carrots, onion, and celery to a soup pot or dutch oven, stirring often. Once they’re mostly cooked down, about 5 minutes, move the veggies to the side of the pot and add the garlic. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes, then add spices and herbs (except fresh parsley) and stir everything together.
- Add half of the beans to a blender with 1 cup of broth. Puree until smooth, then add to the pot with the rest of the broth and beans. Bring everything to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
- Stir in the spinach and fresh parsley and simmer for an additional 5 minutes, until the spinach is wilted.
- Stir in the lemon juice and parmesan cheese. Serve with additional parmesan and parsley for topping at the table. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.
Storage
Refrigerate leftover white bean soup (that has cooled completely) for 2-3 days in an airtight container. Reheat the soup in a saucepan over medium heat and add a small amount of water to the soup until you get the desired consistency.
Freeze leftover soup for 2-3 months. Wrap it tightly in an airtight container, and again in aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. Make sure to leave a little bit of room at the top of the container, as liquids expand slightly when they freeze. Thaw in the refrigerator the night before using.
Frequently Asked Questions
We’re thickening this soup with just the beans. The trick is to puree half of the white beans in the recipe with a small amount of the broth in a blender or with an immersion blender. This gives the soup a creamy texture, and the beans have a nice buttery flavor naturally.
If your soup is still too thin, you can whisk 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in a small amount of cold water, then slowly stir it into the soup as it simmers. The heat will make the cornstarch start to thicken the soup in a few minutes.
Cannellini beans tend to be softer and have a more buttery rich flavor and texture. They will make the soup more creamy and rich when pureed and add a really nice flavor. Other types of white beans tend to hold their structure better, but won’t add quite as much flavor or creaminess as the cannellini beans. Any of them would work in this recipe, though.
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Recipe Variations
- Make this even more creamy by adding 1/4 cup of half and half right before serving. Don’t add this too early, or while the soup is at a boil, or it can curdle. For a creamier soup, use heavy cream.
- If you’d like to add more spice to this recipe, add 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste. You can also add a few dashes of hot sauce.
- Add whatever fresh vegetables you’d like! Try mushrooms, shredded cabbage or Brussels sprouts, green beans, peas, cubed potatoes, or cubed butternut squash or sweet potatoes.
- Make this soup vegan by using vegetable broth only, and a vegan parmesan cheese (or omit the parmesan entirely). You can also add 1/4 – 1/2 cup canned coconut milk for more creaminess.
- For even more depth of flavor, add the parmesan rind to the soup while it’s simmering. Remove the rind before serving.
- Try topping with crispy crumbled bacon for extra flavor. For more protein, add some shredded rotisserie chicken right at the end, just so it warms up a little bit.
Cooking Tips
- We’re using canned beans because they’re already cooked and soft. Dry beans won’t work for this recipe.
- Make sure to stir the soup every so often, to make sure everything cooks evenly and nothing burns on the bottom of the pot.
- I like to use a dutch oven because the heat distribution is really nice and definitely makes the flavor better.
- If you don’t like the rosemary leaves, then add some whole rosemary sprigs to the pot. Remove the rosemary sprigs before serving.
- This soup is freezer-friendly, so it’s easy to make a double batch and freeze half for a dinner another night!
If you loved this recipe, be sure to leave a 5 Star review below, and tag me with a photo of your finished recipe on Instagram @Jacqui_DishingDelish!
Tuscan White Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 medium carrots , peeled and chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion , chopped
- 3 medium celery stalks , chopped
- 5 cloves garlic , minced
- 3 15 oz cans cannellini beans , drained and rinsed
- 5 cups vegetable broth , gluten free
- 2 cups baby spinach , roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon marjoram
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Equipment
- 1 Dutch oven or soup pot
Instructions
- Over medium-high heat, add olive oil, carrots, onion, and celery to a dutch oven, stirring often. Once they're mostly cooked down, about 5 minutes, move the veggies to the side of the pot and add the garlic. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes, then add spices and herbs (except fresh parsley) and stir everything together.
- Add half of the beans to a blender with 1 cup of broth. Puree until smooth, then add to the dutch oven with the rest of the broth and beans. Bring everything to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
- Stir in the spinach and fresh parsley and simmer for an additional 5 minutes, until the spinach is wilted.
- Stir in the lemon juice and parmesan cheese. Serve with additional parmesan and parsley for topping.
Notes
- We’re using canned beans because they’re already cooked and soft. Dry beans won’t work for this recipe.
- Make sure to stir the soup every so often, so everything cooks evenly and nothing burns on the bottom of the pot.
- This soup is freezer-friendly, so it’s easy to make a double batch and freeze half for a dinner another night!
Nutrition
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Fantastic soup! Â I used homemade chicken and Turkey broth I had in the freezer.
Really flavorful and delicious. Â I added turkey sausage and petite diced tomatoes. Â This will become a regular.
Good light soup.  I made it with chicken broth and dried herbs since I didn’t have any fresh. My hubby loved it!