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Satisfying, hearty beans and healthy greens add flavorful texture to this Tuscan White Bean Soup. This rustic soup delivers flavorful goodness to each bowl.
This Tuscan white bean soup gets loads of flavor from adding cheese rind in while it simmers on the stove.
I was inspired by a recipe for white bean soup I found, so I adapted it a little and came up with this recipe. I had some white beans leftover from when I made the Spanish Style White Bean, Kale, and Chorizo Soup. This was an excellent opportunity to use them up.
This rustic soup delivers a flavorful, delicious texture in a bowl of goodness. There is nothing quite as satisfying as hearty beans and healthy greens in this Tuscan White Bean Soup.
Let me show you how I made it.
Canned or Dried Beans
You can use can beans or dried beans to make the soup. It’s a matter of personal preference. Dried beans are cheaper but take a little more effort to prepare. While there won’t be a dramatic difference, the dried beans will have a better flavor.
Are you using canned beans? Make sure you drain and rinse them. Click HERE to find out why.
How To Prepare Dried Beans
I chose to use 16 ounces of dried northern white beans instead of canned beans. I soaked them overnight, and before I went to work the next morning, I drained and rinsed the beans. Then I added them to a crock-pot with 32-ounces of vegetable stock.
The liquid wasn’t covering the beans enough, so I added a little water until the beans were covered with at least two inches of liquid. I cooked the white beans on low heat for 8-hours. I drained the beans from the liquid and added them to the soup.
What If I Don’t Have A Parmesan Cheese Rind?
If you don’t have a rind, using some parmesan cheese is an acceptable substitute. This will result in some stringy melted cheese stuck to the bottom of the pot. Leave the cheese and serve the soup without including the stringy melted cheese.
Ingredients Needed to Make Tuscan White Bean Soup
A detailed list of ingredients is provided in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Oil: extra virgin olive oil
- Vegetables: onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and spinach
- Liquid: Vegetable stock and water
- Beans: White beans (Great Northern), dired or canned rinsed and drained
- Seasonings: fresh thyme, rosemary, dried oregano, red crushed pepper flakes, kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- Cheese Rind: 2×3 inch parmesan cheese rind (optional) or use a slice of parmesan cheese
How To Make Tuscan White Bean Soup
- In a pot, heat oil over medium-low heat. Sauté onions and garlic until translucent.
- Add in stock, water, beans, thyme, rosemary, oregano, and cheese rind.
- Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add in carrots and celery. Place lid on top of the pot, leaving it slightly ajar. Let the pot simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Remove rind (if not completely dissolved). Add in salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, to taste. Then add in the spinach a little at a time. Cook the spinach until it wilts; about 3 minutes.
- Use caution when seasoning this soup. Make sure you taste it before adding more salt. The cheese rind seems to add more salinity to the soup than I expected.
Such a hearty, stick-to-your-bones kind of soup. Perfect for those cold winter nights or for Meatless Monday!!
Tuscan White Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 2 cups water
- 14 ounce white beans (Great Northern), canned rinsed and drained
- ½ tablespoon fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon fresh rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 2×3 inch parmesan cheese rind optional
- 1 cup carrots chopped
- ¼ cup celery chopped
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 4 cups fresh spinach
Instructions
- In a pot, heat oil over medium-low heat. Sauté onions and garlic until translucent. Add in stock, water, beans, thyme, rosemary, oregano and cheese rind.
- Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add in carrots and celery. Place lid on top of the pot, leaving it slightly ajar. Let the pot simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Remove rind (if not completely dissolved). Add in salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, to taste. Then add in the spinach a little at a time. Cook the spinach until it wilts; about 3 minutes.
- Serve this soup hot with crusty warm bread. Enjoy!
Jordan M says
This recipe looks awesome! We do meatless Monday at our house too. Found you on Foodieblogroll. Nice blog!
debbeedoodles says
Thank you for visiting my blog!! I totally love the challenge of coming up with new Meatless dishes. But it is also really easy to make a pbj sandwich if i don’t feel like cooking. I hope you’ll try this recipe and let me know what you think. 🙂
Dave says
This sounds tasty! I buy beans in bulk…is a “package” a cup and a half dry or more? Also, I’m vegan…do you think it would suffer much without the cheese rind?
Debbie Spivey says
The package if beans I bought was 16oz (2cups). I do not think it would suffer at all without the cheese rind. Thanks for visiting my blog!
Carrie Cullen says
Great soup! I used chopped kale and so cooked it a little longer. I added some nutritional yeast instead of Parmesan rind to keep it vegan… Yum!
Debbie Spivey says
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for your comment. Have a great evening!
John says
Needs more beans and fewer veggies. Too much like a minestrone with beans rather than pasta.
The Mountain Kitchen says
Make it your own John. 🙂
Debbie - MountainMama says
Yum, I love a good bean soup! Pinning!!