Chef John's Tuscan Bean Soup Recipe

This was SOOOO GOOD!! And I didn't even have the rosemary...didn't miss it! I found the creme fraiche at Publix, but it's easy to make your own. You just need to make it a day or two in advance. Definitely make the homemade croutons! They are delicious, and so much better than the pre-made kind (I used fresh sour dough bread from Publix). The only thing I would do differently would be to decrease the cayenne pepper to 1/4 tsp. My husband and son didn't think it was too hot, but it was burning my mouth! I will definitely make this yummy soup again. Thanks Chef John!!

I followed the recipe fairly closely. The major changes were 1) I used dried cannellini beans that I soaked overnight and boiled separately 2) I used the bean broth plus chicken bouillon and a little bit of chicken stock 3) I used some dried Italian herbs instead of the fresh herbs in the recipe. It was delicious, according to my most discerning critic (wife). I'll definitely make it again. In future I might use sour cream instead of creme fraiche, but the homemade croutons are definitely worth the extra effort.

I didn’t blend the soup and left it diced. I added diced ham

I have previously rated this soup as 5 stars but the website won’t let me edit my earlier review. I have made this about a dozen times and wanted to mention that I was not able to taste the difference between the $8.00 six-ounce creme fraiche and the $1.00 16-ounce sour cream, so don’t waste your money on the creme fraiche. Also, make the effort and do the homemade bread crumbs! This is one of favorite soups of all time!

I made this very close to as-written, just adding spinach and Italian sausage after I puréed the other ingredients. It was absolutely delicious and the whole family liked it! Really the star of the dish was the awesome croutons. The only caution I would add is that it calls for a lot of cayenne- It may be too much for folks who don’t like spicy.

This recipe is very good as is. The only thing to watch for is the salt content given that broth tends to be less salty than bouillon. I made it pretty much as is. UNFORTUNATELY, when I was going to add the creme fraiche....It was moldy so I could not use it! so I added 1/4c of heavy whipping cream to see if it would help but it was OK. The only actual change if that can be considered so was to opt for sprinkling a bit of the cheese on top of the soup instead of adding it to the bread while toasting. Seriously, do not skip this step or add some kind of croutons. Cubed white stale artisan bread, or cubed toasted artisan bread chunks IS A GAME CHANGER for any creamy soup. Next time I hope to have creme fraiche otherwise, just a slice of artisan white bread added while simmering will add body and heartyness to the soup without adding heavy whipping creme or any other type of grease based thickener. Will make this again hands down!

Those croutons! Do not skip them! We made as written - except did not puree the veg before cooking and swapped sour cream for the creme fraiche. This is going into our regular rotation

This soup is a nice comfort food, with creamy texture, a little bite from the cayenne pepper, and the perfect little bit of tang from the lemon and creme fraiche. I didn't have creme fraiche, but I made my own version of it with sour cream mixed with heavy cream. I made it on the first snowfall of the year, just right to share on a blustery night when you don't want to go outside. It was accompanied by a lemon vinaigrette dressed salad and Polish sausage. It is a nutritious, and easy soup recipe that required mostly what I already had in the kitchen. My husband enjoyed it and I'll make it again, for sure!

I did not use cream or emulsify. It was delicious!!!

I don't often write recipe reviews... but this was amazing - and easy! I was skeptical, using canned beans, but I got higher quality brand and tried it. I agree with the chef's note saying it's perhaps more flavorful with minced vegetables rather than taking the step to puree. I added a few slices of minced Canadian bacon. Didn't have creme fraiche, so I instead added a healthy dollop of cream cheese at the end. Otherwise followed the recipe. You could use a little less Cayeene pepper, if you want. Didn't make the croutons this time, but I will next time.

Another fantastic recipe by Chef John. I didn't have the creme fraiche or flat leaf parsley so i used sour cream and curly parsley . I didn't make the bread cubes because of our diets. JJ bragged on this soup recipe for hours. Will make again and again, only problem was that i Halved the recipe because i wasn't sure i would like it. Next time, I tripple it!!!! Thanks again Chef John!

Excellent and very tasty! Get the amount of salt and lemon right and its perfect.

I've made this soup many times. It tastes good and is easy.

This soup is a keeper that I will definitely make at for one of my next dinner parties. As suggested in the notes, I diced the veggies as one normally would, and I just happened to have a little bit of home made creme fraiche left over. I served it with some man fried Dundore & Heister kielbasa.

Made it on a whim — huge success.

Fantastic dish!

Thought I was going to love this, as I like everything in it. I also love soup. I also have loved every other Chef John recipe I have tried. In fact, I actually look for his recipes when I am going to make something because they are usually so dependable. Unfortunately, also we were underwhelmed by this recipe. Maybe it was the blended bean texture, or the somehow too rich flavor (still don’t understand that). My family would not eat the leftovers.

Found this underwhelming, unfortunately. Too much lemon and too much Cayenne. I puree'ed the soup at the end in my Vitamix and feel like the puree took away from the overall meal as well. Won't be making a repeat.

Made as written but used sour cream as that is what I had. Very nice and creamy.

Creamy with lemon and a mild kick of hot. I didn’t have rosemary and used heavy whipping cream that was on hand. Perfect!