Description
This creamy and flavorful white bean soup is a simple, vegan, and budget-friendly Mediterranean-inspired dish that comes together in just 25 minutes. Packed with wholesome ingredients like cannellini beans, vegetables, and aromatic herbs, it provides a delicious, nutritious, and comforting meal perfect for any day of the week.
Ingredients
Beans and Vegetables
- 2 cans (28oz – 800 grams) cannellini beans or white beans, drained
- 1 medium-size onion, diced
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1-2 garlic cloves, diced or pressed
- 1 cup (7 oz – 200 grams) frozen spinach (optional)
- 2 medium-size potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
Liquids and Oil
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for serving
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) white
- 2 cups (500 ml) vegetable broth or hot water
Herbs, Spices and Flavorings
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 sprig rosemary (or 1 Tbsp chopped fresh leaves / 1/2 tsp dried)
- 1/2 tsp paprika (optional)
- 1/2 tsp fine salt, plus more to taste
- 1/8 tsp black pepper, plus more to taste
Instructions
- Sauté the Vegetables: Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add diced onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring often, until the onion softens and becomes translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add Aromatics and Main Ingredients: Stir in the garlic, drained beans, tomato paste, potato chunks, rosemary, and paprika if using. Cook while stirring frequently for about 1 minute to combine flavors.
- Deglaze with Wine: Pour in the white and stir well. Let it simmer for about a minute until the has largely evaporated.
- Add Spinach, Broth, and Seasoning: Mix in the frozen spinach (or fresh greens if using), vegetable broth or hot water, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Increase heat to bring the mixture to a boil.
- Simmer the Soup: Cover the pot, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently for 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender and soup is thick and creamy.
- Finish and Serve: Remove from heat. Take out the rosemary sprig if used whole. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Divide soup into bowls, drizzle with olive oil and freshly ground black pepper. Optionally serve with crusty whole grain bread and grated parmesan if not vegan. Enjoy!
Notes
- Vegetable broth can be homemade by simmering vegetable scraps and herbs for 5-10 minutes. For quicker prep, use hot water with low-salt vegan vegetable broth cubes.
- Adjust seasoning carefully if using salty broth; start with a small pinch of salt and add more at the end as needed.
- Leftovers store well refrigerated up to 3 days or freeze in airtight containers for up to 2 months.
- Fresh rosemary sprigs lose leaves into the soup, which is fine but you may want to remove or chop the leaves before cooking.
- Frozen spinach is convenient, but fresh spinach can be used (add in last 5 minutes of cooking). Kale or chard require 5-10 minutes longer cooking.
- Nutritional values are approximate estimates only.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl (approximately 1/4 of recipe)
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 160 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 57 g
- Fiber: 13 g
- Protein: 19 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
