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Italian White Bean Soup
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Italian White Bean Soup

Immerse yourself in a bit of heaven with this Italian White Bean Soup. Buttery and soft cannellini beans pair with tantalizing herbs to be slowly simmered to perfection. Serve with some bruschetta to finish off one beautiful dish.
Course Main
Cuisine Italian
Keyword Italian soup, Vegan, white bean soup
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Soaking the Beans 6 hours
Total Time 7 hours
Servings 8 people
Calories 108kcal
Author Florentina

Ingredients

  • 3 cups white beans
  • 1 leek or yellow onion diced
  • 1 carrot chopped
  • 1 celery stalk chopped
  • 7 cloves garlic chopped
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 1 sprig sage
  • 1 bay leaves
  • 8 cups water or vegetable stock
  • 1.5 tsp smoked applewood sea salt (or liquid smoke)
  • 1 -2 Tbsp Nutritional yeast optional
  • bread + garlic for bruschetta (1 slice/ person)

Instructions

  • Rinse and pick the beans then cover them with water and soak for 6 hours or overnight. Drain.
  • In a large heavy bottom pot heat up a good lug of olive oil and saute the leek (or onion) with the carrot and celery until they begin to soften.
  • Quickly stir in the chopped garlic and cook for a few seconds just until fragrant then add the soaked beans.
  • Pour in the water and bring to a constant simmer. Add the bay, sage and rosemary, cover with a lid and cook for 45 minutes or until the beans are soft and tender to your liking.
  • Check the beans half way through cooking and see if you might need to add extra water if they are absorbing lots of liquid.
  • Once your beans are perfectly cooked remove from heat, stir in the nutritional yeast and season to taste with the smoked sea salt.
  • Meanwhile grill the bread on both sides until nice dark char marks form. Rub each slice on both sides with a garlic clove, lightly brush with some olive oil and finish with sea salt.
  • Ladle the soup into bowls and tear chunks of the garlic bruschetta over the top. Finish with a light drizzle of olive oil on top and enjoy.

Notes

  • Bean soup add-ins - Lacinato kale, baby spinach, Italian beyond sausage, liquid smoke etc.
  • What are Italian white beans called? - Cannellini beans! You can actually interchange these beans with other white beans such as northern beans.
  • Are butter beans the same as white beans? Butter beans are baby lima beans, another type of white bean, just like cannellini and northern beans but I would not recommend using them here.
  • Can I use canned beans? If you’re in a pinch yes, but a lot of the magic of this soup comes from the broth the beans and herbs are cooked in. If you must use canned beans, just go for this Tuscan White Bean and Kale Soup instead.

Nutrition

Calories: 108kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 464mg | Potassium: 446mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1491IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 3mg