Tuscan Kale White Bean Soup
This soup is a staple in my house! It’s one of my favorite ways to warm up on a cold winter day. However, if I’m being honest, I serve it all year long, and I always make sure to have a batch in the freezer for busy nights!
Jump to:
- Tuscan White Bean Kale Soup
- Reasons to Love this Tuscan Kale Soup
- Kale White Bean Soup Ingredients
- How to Make White Bean and Kale Soup
- Serving Suggestions
- How to Store Kale and White Bean Soup
- Video: How to Make Tuscan White Bean and Kale Soup
- More Soup Recipes
- More Favorites from Little Broken
- Tuscan White Bean and Kale Soup
Tuscan White Bean Kale Soup
There’s just something about the rich flavor and creamy consistency that always hits the spot. Even better, my picky eaters don’t even realize it’s healthy.
My secret to the perfect consistency is to blend some of the beans. Then, I simmer the soup slowly to blend all the flavors together. The result is a delicious soup that doesn’t need an extra touch of anything, not even salt.
This soup is definition of comfort food, and with a 5-star rating, it’s safe to say that readers agree. I love to pair it with Sourdough Garlic Bread or Bread Crisps for a filling meal, but it’s perfect on its own!
Reasons to Love this Tuscan Kale Soup
- Made with simple, easy to find vegetables, and pantry ingredients.
- This tuscan bean soup has the best texture. It’s thick with the right amount of broth. The trick is to blend up some of the beans with little broth before adding to the soup. It thickens the soup without any cream.
- It’s freezer friendly. Make some soup now and freeze some to enjoy later. It defrosts well too.
Kale White Bean Soup Ingredients
- cannellini beans
- chicken broth
- bacon
- onion, carrots, celery
- garlic
- fresh rosemary
- potatoes
- kale
- parsley
Best Type of Beans for this Soup
Cannellini beans are the best type of beans for this soup. They retain their shape and texture well when cooked. Not to mention they have an earthy flavor and tender flesh.
Another great option is Great Northern beans. They are smaller than Cannellini beans but very similar in taste. Plus they take on the flavors of the foods they’re cooked with, making them very flavorful.
How to Make White Bean and Kale Soup
1. Combine one can of drained and rinsed beans in a blender or food-processor with 1 cup of chicken broth.
2. Blend until smooth. Drain and rinse the other two cans of beans and set them aside.
3. Cook bacon in a dutch-oven over medium heat until bacon renders fat and crisps up. Add onions, carrots, and celery to the bacon. Stir and cook until softened, about 6-7 minutes.
4. Stir in garlic and rosemary. Cook until fragrant.
5. Add blended beans, drained beans, potatoes, and the remaining chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and broth slightly reduced.
6. Stir in kale and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes.
7. Add chopped parsley.
8. Taste the soup and add more salt if needed.
Serving Suggestions
This Tuscan bean soup is delicious topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and something crunchy like Cheese Popovers, Parmesan Cheese Crisps, Sourdough Croutons, or Easy Salad Pizza.
If you want to turn the soup into a more filling meal, try pairing it with one of these salads: Chopped Autumn Salad or Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad. Toast is always a winner with soup too. Try Avocado Toast or Tuna Avocado Melt.
How to Store Kale and White Bean Soup
Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Or, freeze leftovers for up to 3 months.
Thaw in the fridge overnight, and reheat in a pot over medium heat or in 30-second increments in the microwave until your desired temperature is reached.
Video: How to Make Tuscan White Bean and Kale Soup
More Soup Recipes
- Sausage Zucchini Soup
- Easy Italian Wedding Soup
- Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Soup
- Sicilian Chicken Soup
- Italian Sausage and Kale Soup
More Favorites from Little Broken
Tuscan White Bean and Kale Soup
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 40 min
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: Tuscan
Description
Cozy up to this Tuscan white bean and kale soup with bacon, cannellini beans, fresh rosemary, and lacinato kale. It’s hearty, thick, and crazy flavorful.
Ingredients
- 3 (15 oz.) cans cannellini beans, divided
- 4 cups chicken broth, divided
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil or avocado oil
- 3 strips bacon, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped, about 1 cup
- 1 medium carrot, chopped, about 1/2 cup
- 2 ribs celery, chopped, about 1/2 cup
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp. fresh minced rosemary
- 1 medium russet potato, peeled and 1/2-inch diced, about 1 1/2 cups
- 2 cups chopped lacinato kale or curly kale, lightly packed
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving, optional
Instructions
- Drain and rinse one can of cannellini beans. Add to a blender or food processor with 1 cup of chicken broth. Blend until smooth. Drain and rinse the other two cans of beans and set them aside.
- Heat oil in a large dutch-oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until bacon renders fat and crisps up.
- Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook until softened, about 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in garlic and rosemary. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, while stirring constantly.
- Add blended beans, drained beans, potatoes, and the remaining chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium or medium-low heat, for 20-25 minutes, uncovered, or until vegetables are tender and broth slightly reduced.
- Stir in kale and simmer for a few minutes or until wilted. Taste the soup and add more salt if needed. Stir in chopped parsley. Serve soup with grated Parmesan cheese. It’s also really good with crusty bread for dipping.
Notes
- Leftovers: Store leftover soup in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Beans: Great Northern beans are a great substitute for cannellini beans.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 445
- Sugar: 3.8 g
- Sodium: 1638.1 mg
- Fat: 9.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 68.7 g
- Protein: 23.9 g
- Cholesterol: 13.2 mg
Can I freeze this soup? Can I make in a slow cooker?
I don’t have slow cooker instructions but I would imagine it would work. It should be fine to freeze.
this is a type of minestra – italians would add nutmeg, a handful of pasta, finish with lemon and often boil parmesan rinds to give a creamy texture
Deeelicious! Followed the recipe but had to add more chicken stock. I like it soupier. ❤️
Made this recipe however I added linguica which added a real nice flavor. Definitely will make this a regular addition to our soup menus.
This soup is SO delicious!! I used 2 cans of great northern beans because that’s what I had on hand. I mashed one can with a potato masher because I didn’t want to get my blender out. It’s a lazy Sunday day! 🙂 I also cooked the bacon and took it out to add on top of the soup. That’s just my preference. Followed the rest of the recipe as is. I will definitely be making this recipe again and I’m looking forward to trying more of your recipes!! Thank you so much for sharing!!
This soup was so delicious and easy to make. My son normally tries to pick all the veggies out of his soup, but not with this soup. Both kids ate every bite. Definitely going in to our normal rotation!
Made this tonight for dinner, my family loved it. Thank you for sharing!
So Flavorful Made with simple ingredients Love it!!
A fabulous recipe, lots of flavor & consistency. I used my own bone broth & changed up the bacon for chopped ham. High on my soup list for a remake.
LOVE THIS! I make it entirely plant-based and it’s so delicious.
AMAZING soup! Is now part of my staple recipes. Thank you!
Thank you! I’m so happy to hear that.
I have made this soup quite a few times since I found this recipe. It’s always a crowd pleaser! Love adding crumbled sausage, and the parmesan on top is so good. Sourdough bread is a must for dipping!
Delicious and easy! I had kale to use up the other week and this was perfect. I like how blending the chickpeas gives the broth a creamy texture without adding dairy. Making it again today.
Love this soup. I added some crumbled sausage! A real pleaser!
Loosely followed this recipe because I was ill-prepared to follow it exactly … I also didn’t measure because I like to live on the edge. The major adjustments I made were omitting the bacon (vegetarians, amirite? *eyeroll* haha!) and didnt have regular potatoes (I know, how do you not have regular potatoes?) but sweet potatoes worked great! Love how the minimal seasoning allows the veggies to speak for themselves and the beans in the broth add a nice creaminess to the dish without the added cholesterol. Will definitely revisit this one!
This was very good. Would make again but next time will take the bacon out and use as topping so it stays crispy
Delicious! I didn’t have a blender so I mashed up 1/3 of the soup in a small bowl using a potato masher then returned the mixture to the stove. I added 2 cups of cooked shredded chicken and fresh lemon juice at the end. A new winter favorite!
This soup is just what I was looking for, as it is so smooth and full of flavor, Nice to snuggle up to on a cold winter’s day. Oh and don’t forget the buttered bread for dipping,
I like your Recipe
This soup has brought our family together so much and we need a new soup for fall and winter so good ????????????????????????