I love how easy this white bean soup recipe is to make. You go from cans to a creamy luxurious soup in minutes. It is incredible served with toasted bread for dipping (I especially love it with focaccia bread!). We love white beans! They are readily available, hearty, creamy, and healthy! This is a blended soup, but for a rustic version, see our white bean soup with kale. I also love white beans in salads, and I especially love this white bean salad with prosciutto!
Key Ingredients
White Beans: I use canned cannellini beans for this soup, but you can use whatever white beans you have available (Great Northern and Navy beans being good examples). If you want to cook your beans from scratch, I recommend looking at our chickpeas recipe for guidance. Onion and Garlic: Since this recipe is intended to be quick and easy, we keep the base veggies simple. I saute onion and garlic in olive oil before adding red pepper flakes (for heat and optional), the beans, and broth. Rosemary: I love the combination of olive oil, white beans, and rosemary. I love fresh rosemary, but dried is fine if you don’t have any! I have included tips in the recipe for dried rosemary. Broth: You can use your favorite store-bought broth (veggie or chicken) or make your own. I love this homemade veggie broth and this easy chicken broth. Cream (optional): The blended beans already make our soup super creamy, but a small splash of cream doesn’t hurt! If you are dairy-free, add your favorite unsweetened nondairy milk.
1 medium onion, chopped, about 2/3 cup 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary 2 (15oz) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed, or 3 cups cooked white beans 4 cups (946ml) vegetable broth or chicken broth Salt and fresh ground black pepper 2 to 4 tablespoons cream or unsweetened nondairy milk Baguette, sliced and toasted for serving 2Stir in the garlic, red pepper flakes, and rosemary, then cook for 1 minute. 3Add the beans, broth, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and a 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. 4Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook at a low simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. 5Remove the pot from the heat and blend until smooth using an immersion blender (or a regular blender). 6Taste the soup and adjust with more salt and/or pepper. To make it creamier, stir in a little cream or nondairy milk.
