White bean soup is meaty and loaded with starchy white beans, softened vegetables, broth, and seasoning. The subtle flavor of the white beans pairs beautifully with the rest of the ingredients while providing bulk and nutritional value to each serving!
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Tuscan bean soup is a complete meal that’s nutritious and delicious - loaded with starchy beans, veggies, and flavorful Italian sausage.
- It’s an easy Dutch oven recipe that stores well in the fridge and freezer - perfect for family meal prep.
- This one-pot white bean soup can be made with little effort in less than an hour.
With cooler days on the way, what better way to cozy up than with a hearty bowl of Italian bean soup!
🛒 Ingredients
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Note: The full list of this White Bean Soup recipe ingredients with their amounts and options are listed in the recipe card below.
- Italian sausage -- you may substitute a chicken or turkey sausage instead of the pork.
- white beans -- we used cannellini beans but great northern also work well.
- diced tomatoes -- we like the Muir Glen brand but you may use any kind you like.
- vegetable broth - if you don't have this on hand and don't want to make a run to the store, use a broth or stock you like and have on hand.
- baby kale leaves -- spinach and Swiss chard also works well.
- onion -- we used yellow onion but you may use white instead.
- seasonings - the dried variety is what we used here.
- Parmesan - we love to freshly grate our cheese. The powdery kind melts into the soup too quickly and it just doesn't have the flavor.
🗒 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- In a Dutch oven, brown the Italian sausage. Once cooked, drain excess fat and transfer the meat to a bowl to set aside.
- In the same Dutch oven, add oil and cook the carrots, onion, celery, and garlic, for about 5 minutes.
- Add the beans, sausage, tomatoes, and seasoning.
- Pour in the broth.
- Mix the ingredients and allow the soup to simmer, covered, for about 30-45 minutes.
- Increase the heat to medium and add the fresh kale.
- Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes until the baby kale has wilted.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and top each bowl with Parmesan cheese.
🔪 Equipment
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You’ll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
- Dutch oven -- you may also use a heavy bottom soup pot.
- sharp knife -- for cutting the vegetables. Always remember you're less likely to cut yourself with a sharp knife than a dull one.
- cutting board -- we like using one that doesn't move easily on the counter.
- dry measuring spoons -- for measuring the seasoning.
- dry measuring cups -- if you want to measure your veggies. But this isn't rocket science - you may add more or less if you like.
- liquid measuring cup -- this is for the liquid going into the Italian soup.
- mixing spoon -- you'll need something to stir.
- ladle -- invaluable to get some of that yummy soup into a soup bowl or cup.
🤔 FAQs
These are the questions we are most frequently asked about making this Tuscan White Bean Soup recipe.
Some soup recipes add a cornstarch slurry or a mixture of all-purpose flour and cold water into the bubbling soup to thicken the soup. While I haven’t added this to my white bean soup, you certainly can if you want a thicker consistency.
Lighter meats such as pork, chicken, and even fish, pair well with the subtle taste of white beans. The sturdier variety of white beans such as Great Northern beans are perfect for prolonged cooking in soups, stews, and chili recipes.
Many Tuscan bean soup recipes add vinegar into the soup mixture to perk up the taste of starchy white beans. While citrus juice also works, vinegar seems to add a special flavor that can’t be beaten.
White beans are legumes that have a starchy inside and white casings. Popular white beans used in white bean soup recipe includes Navy beans, Cannellini beans, Great Northern beans, and Lima beans.
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- If you plan to store this white bean kale soup in the freezer, first allow the soup to cool completely and then transfer the soup into Ziploc bags of individual portions for easy defrosting and reheating of the exact portions you require.
- This white bean soup is already gluten-free. If you want to thicken the soup, add a cornstarch slurry to the mixture to keep the dish gluten-free.
- Browning the Italian sausage first adds a depth of flavor to this soup but you must drain excess fat from the cooked meat otherwise the soup may be overly rich.
- Only add the baby kale at the end of the cooking time otherwise it will disintegrate from prolonged cooking.
📚 Variations
- This escarole and bean soup calls for canned beans but you could use dry beans instead. To prepare dry beans, first wash and rinse the beans and then add them to a pot of water where they are fully submerged. Bring the pot to a boil for a few minutes and then allow the beans to soak for at least an hour.
- This Italian bean soup works well with Navy beans and Cannellini beans but you can also use different varieties of white beans.
- Italian sausage adds delicious flavor to this soup but you can also use regular ground pork. Leaner meat such as ground chicken and ground turkey are also options but they don’t have the same fat content and the taste of the soup may therefore change slightly.
- For a little kick of heat to your white bean soup, use a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes instead of regular canned tomatoes.
- Chicken broth or beef broth can be used instead of vegetable broth for a meatier flavor.
- Add a splash of cream to this soup mixture just before serving for added decadence.
🥫 Storage
Once completely cool, store leftover Tuscan bean soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat single portions in the microwave or larger portions on the stovetop.
📗 Related Recipes
Celebrate soup season by trying this Hearty 15-Bean Soup, Cabbage Roll Soup, or Buffalo Chicken Soup! And we can't forget the Italian comfy-cozy classic, Fagioli al Forno. They are all ultra comforting dishes that can be served for lunch or dinner.
🍽 Serve with
White bean kale soup is a complete meal on its own but can also be enjoyed with a side of cornbread, grilled cheese sandwiches, buttered dinner rolls, or homemade buttermilk biscuits.
And another complimentary side to soups is our cheesy Jiffy Cornbread muffin recipe. We always make sure to have a batch in the freezer for our tummy warming soups.
Our Fall salad comprising of arugula, apples, cranberries, and walnuts would also compliment this delicious hearty soup.
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
Heading into the cooler seasons always gives me an excuse to pull out family-favorite soup recipes and the chance to also experiment with a few tasty variations. This white bean soup is a classic Italian bean soup that’s hearty, comforting, and flavorful.
Another classic bean dish we enjoy often is Pasta e Ceci which is Italian for pasta and chickpeas. If you're looking for a quick and easy 15-minute recipe, try our Chickpeas with Pasta and Spinach recipe. And if a lentil soup is one you'd like to try, our Chicken Lentil soup is not only quick to make but loaded with flavor.
Tutti a tavolo, è pronto!
What's new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy.
📝 Recipe Card
White bean soup is a hearty meal, loaded with tender starchy white beans, browned Italian sausage, canned tomatoes, garlic flavor, baby kale, and softened veggies. Each bowl of soup is served with freshly grated Parmesan cheese for extra comfort-factor!
Another soup we love to make is our Ultimate Cabbage Soup Recipe. The vegetable soup is hearty and satisfying but light in fat and calories. It is a wonderful dish to enjoy after the heavier holiday meals.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
📖 Recipe
Tuscan White Bean Soup With Italian Sausage and Kale
Equipment Needed
- Dutch oven or soup pot
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium carrots sliced (1 cup)
- 1 large onion chopped (1 cup)
- 1 stalk celery chopped (⅓ cup)
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 cans Cannellini Beans (white kidney) or Great Northern (15 to 15.5 oz. each)
- 28 ounces Diced tomatoes, undrained we used Muir Glen organic
- 2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 4 cups fresh baby kale leaves packed
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (2 ounces)
Instructions
- In a 5-quart Dutch oven, brown the sausage until no pink remains. Remove any excess fat. Transfer meat to a bowl and set aside.
- In the same pan heat oil over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onion, celery, and garlic.Cook about 5 minutes stirring frequently, until onion is tender.
- Stir in sausage, beans, tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, black pepper, and broth.
- Cover; simmer 30 to 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
- Increase heat to medium; stir in kale. Cover; cook 3 to 5 minutes longer or until the baby kale is wilted.
- Ladle soup into bowls; top each with Parmesan cheese.
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