Rich and hearty kale and white bean soup is loaded with the Tuscan flavors of rosemary, cannellini beans, bacon, and garlic. Kale, onions, celery, and carrots also load this soup with flavor and healthy nutrients.
🥘 Ingredients and Substitutions
- Cannellini beans - for speed and ease I prefer using canned beans, but if you prefer dried they are delicious too. You'll need to soak and boil them before making the soup, though.
- Bacon - Adds a ton of flavor and some cooking fat. Substitute with pancetta or ham, but you'll need to saute those in olive oil.
- Kale - kale adds both loads of nutrients and flavor. Substitute with spinach if you would prefer.
📋 How to Make It
STEP 1: Add the bacon pieces to a large stockpot or Dutch oven. Cook the bacon over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until it has started to get crispy.
Then toss in the chopped celery, onion, and carrots, along with the garlic. Stir everything together and let the vegetables cook for 8 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes to allow them to evenly cook until they are soft.
STEP 2: While the vegetables cook, drain all but ½ cup of the liquid from the beans. Pour the reserved liquid and 1 cup of beans into a food processor and pulse them together 8 times.
Add the processed beans back in with the remaining, unprocessed beans.
STEP 3: After the vegetables are fully cooked, add the beans, chicken stock, rosemary, ½ a teaspoon each salt and pepper, bay leaves, to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil.
⏲ Cooking Time and Temperature
Once you bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the temperature to a simmer and continue to simmer for 45 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the chopped kale. Allow the soup to cool for about 10 minutes. Give it a quick taste to see if any more salt or pepper is needed and serve.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
White bean soup is amazing both by itself or as a side with salad or main course. I've served it with all of these:
- Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken
- Cast Iron Steak
- Butternut Squash and Chicken Tortellini Salad
- Pear Cranberry Chicken Salad
🥣 Storage and Freezing
This soup keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days. It freezes well in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
📖 Recipe
Kale and White Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 2 cans white cannellini beans
- 4 slices of bacon (cut into ½-inch pieces)
- 1 large yellow onion (finely diced)
- 3 whole carrots (peeled and finely diced)
- 4 celery stalks (finely diced)
- 5 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon rosemary (minced)
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- sea salt and pepper
- 3 cups kale (stems removed and chopped)
Instructions
- COOK THE BACON AND VEGGIES: Add the bacon to a large stock pot or dutch oven. Cook over medium-low heat to slowly crisp and render the fat for 5 minutes. Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and rosemary and reduce the heat to low. Slowly cook the vegetables until they are tender, for about 8 minutes.
- PROCESS AND DRAIN BEANS: While the vegetables cook, drain and rinse the beans, reserving ½ cup of the liquid. To a food processor or blender, add the reserved liquid and 1 cup of the beans and pulse 8 times.
- MIX EVERYTHING TOGETHER: When the vegetables are cooked through, add the whole beans, the processed beans, chicken stock, 1 teaspoon of salt, and the bay leaves. Stir the mixture and bring to a boil.
- SIMMER AND LET COOL: Reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and add the kale. Stir to combine and let the soup cool for 10 minutes.
Nutrition
RECIPE EQUIPMENT
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