Hearty Tuscan White Bean Soup Recipe
Hearty and delicious, this Tuscan white bean soup with kale and lentils is the perfect soup for a cold day. Packed with protein, veggies, fibers, and nutrients, this soup is a nutritious dinner option that tastes great too!
Servings: 12 Servings
Equipment
- Medium Saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 + ½ Cups dry brown lentils
- 3 Cups water
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 4-5 large, or 5-7 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 + ½ Tablespoons Italian Seasoning
- 1, 28 ounce can diced tomatoes (I use petite diced)
- 6 Cups de-stemmed, chopped, and tightly packed curly kale
- 2, 15 ounce cans cannellini beans
- 6 Cups broth of choice (chicken bone broth, chicken broth, chicken stock, or vegetable broth)
- Optional: grated parmesan cheese for topping, French bread for dipping.
Instructions
- Prepare Lentils: Sort through and rinse lentils until the water runs clear. Place lentils and water into a medium-sized saucepan and cook per package directions (the standard brown lentils, sometimes just labeled as lentils on the package, cook for about 20-30 minutes)
- While the lentils are cooking, add the olive oil, onion, carrot, salt, and pepper to a large saucepan or Dutch oven and sauté over medium heat until the onions are translucent (about 10 minutes).
- Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant (30 seconds-1 minute).
- Deglaze your pan by adding in the tomatoes, and scrape the bottom of your pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits / residue (this is where the flavor lives!).
- Add the Italian seasoning and the kale and sauté until the kale is bright green and partially tender (about 5-10 minutes)
- Add the beans, cooked lentils, and broth and let simmer on medium-low for 20 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy! Option to top with grated parmesan cheese and/or with a side of crusty French bread
- Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.*
Notes
Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- Use green lentils instead of brown lentils. Replace 1-for-1 for this swap.
- Try different beans. Great northern beans are the best substitute for cannellini beans. You can also try navy beans or red kidney beans.
- Substitute kale with fresh spinach. Replace the kale 1-to-1 with fresh baby spinach. If you are doing this substitutions, please note that you should not add the spinach to the soup until the very end of cooking. Just before you’re ready to serve, add the fresh spinach to your pot and let it wilt for 1-2 minutes. Spinach has a much more delicate structure than kale, so does not need the extra time sautéing and simmering.
- Option to add celery. If you love adding celery to soups, feel free to do so! Chop 2-3 stocks and add them in at the same time as the carrots and onions to sauté and soften.
- Toss in a bay leaf. Adding in one bay leaf to your soup at the same time as the broth to enhance the soup's depth of flavor. Just remember to pull the bay leaf out before serving!
- Add a squeeze of fresh lemon before serving. Doing this can enhance the other flavors you taste are enhanced, creating an umami effect.
- Top with fresh herbs if desired. Add some fresh parsley or slices of fresh basil are a nice addition on top of this Tuscan soup.
