Creamy Italian White Bean Soup Recipe

I love Tuscan White Bean soup. This recipe is a good base, however many of the suggested modifications should be considered. Chicken or vegetable broth, extra garlic, and extra thyme & rosemary. I prefer using broccoli over spinach for much more taste. As a final touch, three necessities: 1. Fresh Parsley! About a handful chopped. Really adds a fresh taste. 2. Good Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Stir in about a 1/4 cup at the very end. Can't make a decent italian soup without using a decent olive oil. 3. And finally, some freshly grated quality parmesan cheese on top. None of that store shelf canned stuff. Good cheese goes a long, long way.

This recipe is just OK as is. But with a few modifications it’s excellent! Use olive oil instead of vegetable oil. No self-respecting Italian would ever use vegetable oil. Use escarole instead of spinach. If you can’t get escarole, spinach is an ok substitute but it’s not as good. Increase the garlic to 4 cloves. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. When it’s hot, turn it down to low and add the garlic. Sauté the garlic over low heat until it’s soft and translucent - it takes several minutes. Don’t let it brown. Then add the onion and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook until onion is soft. Instead of water, use all chicken broth for the liquid. Add chopped Italian parsley and a couple of bay leaves when you add the other herbs and spices. That’s it!

Made this for dinner tonight - like most other reviewers, I used the recipe as a base and added a LOT. Plus, I used black beans - mashed one can with my potato masher as my immersion blender didn't like them, before adding them to the soup. I used Better than Bullion vegetable broth (6 cups), carrots, frozen spinach, doubled all the ingredients and used 5 cloves of garlic. I used olive oil to saute the veg before adding the broth. I also added onion powder, garlic powder, rosemary, poultry seasoning, oregano, basil, thyme and black pepper. At the end, I thought it was too much liquid, so I added a handful of orzo pasta. It was outstanding! It didn't need even a pinch of salt, my mom is no a no-salt diet so that worked out well. I did write down all my changes on the recipe so I could refer to them in future. This is going into permanent rotation at my house. I admit it wasn't as pretty with the black beans, but we prefer them and it was delicious! I did add lemon juice at the end, but it sure didn't need any cheese so I left it out. I would encourage anyone making this to read the reviews. I'm not a cook, I'm a good recipe reader lol, and the reviews helped SO much to turn this into a favorite. Four stars because of all the changes I made.

My wife and I have been making this soup every few weeks for about ten months. We loved the recipe as written, but, as with all recipes, it has slowly evolved over time to suit our tastes. We have eliminated the water and use straight broth - either chicken or vegetable. We doubled most of the spices except for the black pepper. We like the soup very thick, so we use three cans of beans. This recipe inspired us to buy a stick blender which makes both the preparation and cleanup quicker and easier. We sometimes blend the whole batch without removing any.

I only rated a 4 star because I knew I was going to have to modify this recipe a little. I added chopped carrots and diced ham to the celery and onion. When a recipe calls for 1 clove of garlic, I use 4 as I did with this soup. I removed 2 cups of beans with a slotted spoon, added some parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes squashed it all with a fork until smooth. I also added the juice of one lemon and some lemon peel! Delicious!

For what it's worth, let me add my own two cents. Knowing beans do not have much flavor I did the following: Roasted a whole bulb of garlic and added that AFTER I pureed the bean/veggie mixture. I also added 2 Tbl of butter to the olive oil, which gave it a richer flavor. I also added crushed red pepper (to taste). With these additions the soup was OUTSTANDING!! Drizzle good EVOO on top with a sprinkle of parmesan...fabulous!

This was wonderful! I did use an immersion blender to blend maybe half to 2/3rds of the soup, then put it back in the pot. I also added 2 plus links of broken up Italian turkey sausage -- browned it after using the immersion blender, then added to soup. I also drizzled a bit of white truffle oil at the end, which another reviewer suggested -- the perfect addition!

This soup is delightfully delicious. I made some changes but stayed true to the flavour profile. Specifically, I used salt-free chicken stock (no water) and added some sea salt at the end to taste. Also, much more thyme and freshly-ground black pepper, as well as 5-6 cloves of garlic and three tablespoons of lemon juice. I also added a little grated Pecorino Romano on top. So gooood...

As written, 3 stars, because it's the beginning of something that can be great! If the recipe were entitled "Base for Tuscan White Bean Soup", I'd give it 5 stars. As others have said, modification is needed. As written, this recipe is as tasty as stone soup. More garlic, more broth (or flavor for the added water...), and herbs. Olive oil instead of veggie oil. Basil and parsley, along with a full teaspoon (or more) of dried thyme. A teaspoon of ground black pepper (or more). Cannellini beans are notoriously dry and flavorless, just as is their red kidney bean cousin. They're a great thickener and filler though. Bay Laurel adds and enhances the lemon complement. Instead of blending contents, I traditionally used a masher. Fried and crumbled capicola added with a Romano Parmesan cheese blend finishes this soup base nicely.

This soup is so easy and very delicious! I had some ground turkey and added little turkey meatballs to this soup ( my mother used to make a similar soup with these little polpetinas ) I mixed the ground turkey with grated pecorino Romano cheese, fresh parsley, a beaten egg, some garlic powder and fresh ground pepper. Before adding the spinach as the recipe calls for, i added the little turkey meatballs to the soup to cook which took about 8 minutes. Check to see that they are cooked all the way through and not still pink. Then I added the spinach and lemon juice. Great recipe to start with and it inspired me to add my mama’s polpetinas!

Only gave it 4 stars because this is a wonderful starter for vegetarian soup, except for some major issues: I added low sodium ( I watch my sodium intake) chicken broth and chicken stock 1 carton of each instead of water . I also used EVOO instead of veggie oil And sautéed with EVOO and also added some EVOO at the end I also used some hot pepper flakes at the end just a pinch served it with fresh grated Romano next time I would add more beans to make it thicker and possibly more spinach I really like this recipe it’s A good base to start with and the changes that I’ve made here made it delicious I’m not a huge fan of lemon juice so I only used a teaspoon of lemon juice I will definitely make this again with the changes that I incorporated and even because I try to eat a high-fiber I’m going to add even more possibly one or two more cans of beans . This could also be changed to a non-vegetarian soup by adding freshly sautéed pieces of chicken breast I think this soup would do well either way I may try the chicken next time it’s not hard there’s just a lot a little tedious prep work and I Grew up making things homemade in the kitchen with my mom she cooked everything at home . But I digress lol enjoy!

I used veggie broth and I used navy beans

We just made this as directed and boy did it disappoint. I added extra garlic, seasoning and even a parmesan rind. Will not make again.

It was really good. Added a little more of the seasonings. But other than that, followed the recipe. Will definitely make it again.

This was perfection on a plate.

This was fantastic. I upped the sage, added poultry seasoning and rosemary. Other than that, followed the recipe. Don’t skip the lemon juice. It added an acid that made the show.

I made this last year. I'm planning on making it again tonight. Love the flavor and the homemade warm feeling of hot soup.

I made the soup recipe as is. Not bad! But the next time I make it I will tweak it to give it more flavor.

Added extra broth, celery, and garlic. Super Great Wonderful!

I doubled the recipe and substituted escarole for spinach. I also added rosemary to onions/celery. Finally I used my emersion blender - so much easier!