Tuscan Bean Soup
A hearty chicken built around dried cranberry or pinto beans, spelt or wheat berries and sweet italian sausage — roughly 75 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. 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 (8)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
Diet: contains meat, based on every ingredient listed below.
Contains: Gluten
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Food-safety and allergen information is general, not medical advice. Follow current guidance from your local food-safety authority, verify product labels, and seek qualified advice for allergies or health conditions.
How to make it
- Soak the dried beans in plenty of cold water overnight, then drain. Simmer them in fresh unsalted water for about 1 hour until tender, and blend half of the cooked beans with a ladleful of their liquid to a smooth puree, keeping the rest whole.
- Meanwhile, rinse the spelt or wheat berries and simmer in salted water for 30 to 40 minutes until chewy-tender, then drain and set aside.
- Finely chop the onion, carrot and celery. Warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large pot and soften this soffritto over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes without browning, adding the garlic for the last minute.
- Remove the sausage from its casing, add it to the pot and break it up with a spoon, cooking until no longer pink and lightly browned throughout.
- Stir in the tomatoes and rosemary, cook for a couple of minutes, then add the bean puree, the whole beans, the cooked grains and the stock; simmer gently for 20 minutes so the flavours meld.
- Strip the kale leaves from their stalks, shred them and stir into the soup, cooking for a further 8 to 10 minutes until the kale is tender.
- Season well with salt and pepper, then ladle into bowls and finish each with a drizzle of the remaining extra-virgin olive oil and a grind of black pepper.
You'll use: Large pot · Saucepan · Blender
Tips & common questions
How long does Tuscan Bean Soup take to make?
About 75 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 7 steps and 14 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — 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.
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Adapted recipe — rewritten in our own wording from an open-licensed community cookbook, not yet independently kitchen-tested by Consomee. How we source, test & correct recipes.
Tuscan Bean Soup is adapted by Consomee from the Wikibooks Cookbook, rewritten in our own wording and used under CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo: Tuscan kale and white bean soup in personalized bowls with spoons on a decorative tree cross cut (16085794138).jpg by Personal Creations, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure — how we source recipes.