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This easy white bean soup recipe bursts with bright lemon flavor and is packed with protein and fiber. It’s the perfect quick and easy soup for a busy weeknight!
I created this white bean soup on a chilly evening when I craved something comforting and nutritious but I was in a time crunch. Now it’s become one of our favorites!
We also love this creamy white bean soup with rosemary and garlic, our white bean chicken chili, and this easy black bean soup. Another must try is our lentil soup, although lentils are not technically beans (still delicious, though!).
Key Ingredients
- White Beans: This recipe is one of my favorite white bean recipes. I usually use canned beans, but home-cooked beans would be great! Any variety of white bean will work nicely. I love navy beans, cannellini beans, and great northern beans. You can see how to cook black beans or how to cook chickpeas if you would like to cook the beans from scratch.
- Veggies: To make this bean soup nice and hearty, I add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and lots of greens (like spinach or kale).
- Tomato Paste and Broth: I love the light tomato broth in this soup, which I make by cooking tomato paste in a bit of oil and then adding chicken broth or veggie broth.
- Pasta: I love pasta in my soups, so I add a small amount of dried pasta about 10 minutes before serving. Use something small like orzo, Ancini di Pepe, or pearl couscous. Dried quinoa or another quick-cooking grain would work, too.
- Spices: So the soup is well seasoned and spiced, I add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, fresh thyme, and bay leaves.
- Lemon: Right before serving, I slide a few lemon slices into the soup, which brightens the flavors and looks really pretty. You don’t eat the lemon slices. They are there to steep like tea. I do the same in my lentil soup recipe.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make the Best White Bean Soup
Tip 1: Use one pot. Making this soup all happens in one pot! You’ll start with the onions, carrots, and celery. Cook them in olive oil and tomato paste until they begin to soften. Then add more flavor with garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt. Pour in your broth, add the beans, and toss in fresh thyme and bay leaves. Simmer everything until the veggies are tender (about 20 minutes), then stir in the pasta and cook until done.
Tip 2: Serve with lemon slices and fresh herbs. Before serving, slide in a few lemon slices and stir in fresh herbs to perfume the soup. This adds extra flavor and doubles as a beautiful way to serve your soup. By the way, if you have some white beans leftover, try our lemony white bean salad!
Easy White Bean Soup
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PREP
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COOK
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TOTAL
This hearty vegetable and white bean soup recipe is healthy, easy to make, and tastes fantastic. It’s also vegan when you use a vegan-friendly broth! Since vegetables vary by seasonality, feel free to swap or add different vegetables for the ones listed below. Both cooked and canned beans can be used in this recipe. When using canned beans, we prefer to drain and rinse them before adding them to the soup.
4 to 6 Servings
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, minced, 4 teaspoons
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional for heat
2 (15oze) cans white beans, drained and rinsed, or substitute 3 cups cooked beans
6 cups (1.4L) chicken stock or vegetable broth
3 stalks fresh thyme or use 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup (127g) small dried pasta like Ancini di Pepe, orzo, or pearl couscous
4 heaped cups baby spinach or torn kale leaves without stalks
4 lemon slices
Directions
1Heat the oil in a stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and the tomato paste. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables have softened and the onions are translucent, 8 to 10 minutes.
2Add the garlic, black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and the red pepper flakes. Cook, while stirring, for one minute.
3Stir in the beans, broth, thyme, and bay leaves. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the soup to a boil. Partially cover the pot with a lid, and then reduce the heat to maintain a low simmer.
4Simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
5Add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes more. Then add the spinach or kale and cook until bright green and tender and the pasta is cooked, about 5 minutes more.
6Take the pot off the heat and remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Stir in the lemon slices. Taste and season with more salt and pepper. Serve. The lemon slices are not intended to be eaten but add a lovely lemon flavor to the soup.
Adam and Joanne’s Tips
- Storing: Leftover white bean soup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to a month.
- Creamy bean soup: Add a splash of cream, coconut milk, or dairy-free milk just before serving. Or, remove 1 cup of the soup (with some veggies and beans) and blend it until smooth. Stir the blended cup of soup back into the pot to thicken it and add some creaminess.
- Lentils: When using lentils in this recipe, there is no need to cook them before adding them to the soup. Add them to the broth and cook until tender before adding the pasta, adding 10 minutes to the cooking time.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. Calculations included vegetable broth.
Nutrition Per Serving
Serving Size
1 cup
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Calories
196
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Total Fat
6.4g
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Saturated Fat
0.8g
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Cholesterol
0mg
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Sodium
744.1mg
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Carbohydrate
30g
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Dietary Fiber
6.8g
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Total Sugars
8.1g
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Protein
6.9g
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