Italian White Bean Soup
This chicken builds dried white beans, leeks and carrot into a hearty meal you can have ready in about 70 minutes. Scroll down for the ingredient checklist, a serving scaler and unit converter, and the method broken into 7 steps.
You'll mainly reach for large pot and saucepan. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention.
What you'll need
Shopping list (5)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
π Unit converter
How to make it
- Soak the dried beans in plenty of cold water overnight, then drain and rinse; this shortens the cooking time and gives a creamier result.
- Melt the butter in a large heavy pot over medium-low heat and gently sweat the chopped onion, sliced leeks, diced carrot and celery with a pinch of salt for about 10 minutes, until soft but not coloured.
- Stir in the minced garlic and cook for a further minute until fragrant.
- Add the drained beans, stock, bay leaf and thyme, bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook partly covered for 1 to 1.5 hours, until the beans are completely tender; add salt only in the last 20 minutes so the skins stay soft.
- Remove the bay leaf and thyme stems, then blend about a third of the soup until smooth and stir it back in to thicken the broth while leaving plenty of whole beans for texture.
- Taste and adjust with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Ladle into warm bowls, drizzle with olive oil and finish with a generous scattering of grated parmesan.
You'll use: Large pot Β· Saucepan Β· Blender
Ingredient substitutions
- Butter
- olive oil (ΒΎ the amount) Β· coconut oil Β· margarine
- Parmesan
- pecorino Β· grana padano Β· aged asiago
Tips & common questions
How long does Italian White Bean Soup take to make?
About 70 minutes from start to finish β an estimate based on the 7 steps and 14 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of butter?
Try olive oil (ΒΎ the amount). See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes β use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
How should I store leftovers?
Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.
Related recipes
Italian White Bean Soup is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Veggie Italian Sausage and Cannellini Bean Soup.jpg by Thriving Vegetarian, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top β how we source recipes.