What do you do when you find exactly one cup of dried white beans left in the cupboard? The answer for me was to make soup. It’s easy, feeds a crowd, there’s sure to be leftovers for tomorrow’s dinner and well, it’s soup. Which means it’s the belly-warming-immune-boosting goodness we’re supposed to be indulging in right now. And if I needed one more reason, the kids will always eat beans.
On the other hand, they (one 3 year-old in particular,) don’t always jump for joy when their soup is loaded with vegetables. Especially if that vegetable happens to be anything other than broccoli, peas or carrots, little Miss Sparkle’s holy trinity of veggies. No worries though, that just means I have to get creative in how I sneak in the other stuff.
In this soup, I’ve used one of my favorite healthy ingredients that’s so easy to hide in so many different recipes, from savory to sweet, the ever so versatile zucchini. If you’re not feeding a picky eater, then you can just chop the zucchini up and toss it in with the carrots for more texture. But if you’re lucky like me, then the extra little step of sauteeing the zucchini with the onion and garlic and then pureeing it with some of the broth before adding anything else, will fool even the wisest of squash detectives. And as a bonus, it kind of adds a nice “creaminess” to the soup, without any actual cream or dairy.
Other than that, the rest of the recipe is pretty straight forward. Toss everything else into the pot, bring to a boil, then let it simmer for about 20-30 minutes until the carrots are to your desired tenderness. Toss in a little spinach at the end (if you want) with some chopped parsley, red pepper, a generous snowfall of fresh parmigiano and a squeeze of lemon and you have a hearty, healthy and delicious vegetarian dinner or lunch. Opt for vegetable broth instead of chicken and skip the parm and it’s vegan.
I’ve included notes if you are using dried beans like I did. If you have access to canned white beans, all the better and faster. If you don’t and can plan ahead, I recommend soaking the beans overnight. I didn’t. So I did the quick-soak method which only takes about an hour with boiling water but still has great results. Then I cooked the beans for just under two hours on the stove and proceeded with the recipe. An Instant Pot or other pressure cooker will make this step even faster.
Cheers to staying safe, healthy and well-fed at home everyone.
White Bean & Veggie Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 med onion, chopped
- 1 large zucchini, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable)
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 2 cans white beans, drained (or just under 1 cup dried beans) **
- 2-3 tsps chopped rosemary
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable)
- 2 cups water (or more broth)
- 2 cups fresh spinach leaves (or a handful frozen spinach)
For Garnish-
- fresh grated parmigiano reggiano (or similar cheese)
- chopped parsley
- fresh lemon wedges
- red pepper flakes
Instructions
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In a large saucepan or soup pot, heat the oil and add the chopped onions. Put the lid on and sweat the onions for about 5 minutes.
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Add the chopped zucchini and continue to cook with the lid on for about 5-10 more minutes until soft and a little caramelized. Stir in the garlic until fragrant. **If you prefer the texture of the chopped zucchini, then add the garlic to the onions and add the zucchini with the carrots, skip the next step and add the liquid all at once.)
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Pour in 2 cups of the chicken broth and bring to a boil and then puree everything with an immersion blender or by pouring into the blender being sure to let the steam escape.
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Now add the carrots, white beans, rosemary, salt & pepper. Then pour in the remaining 2 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of water & stir everything.
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Bring everything to a boil over a medium flame. Once boiling, turn the heat down and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the carrots are to your desired tenderness.
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Place a little of the spinach into each serving bowl, ladle the soup over & garnish with the parsley, grated parmigiano & fresh lemon juice.
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Store any leftovers in the fridge and enjoy for up to 3-4 days.
Recipe Notes
If using dried white beans like I did you can cook them using your preferred method or this way:
-Either soak 1 cup white beans in a large bowl of water overnight, or for quick-soak method, pour boiling water over the beans and soak 1 hour.
-When finished, drain, rinse with cold water and add to a large pot. Cover with about 5 cups of water, bring to a boil, and then simmer over a low heat for about 1 1/2-2hrs until tender. (they will soften a little more in the soup.)
-proceed with the soup recipe using some of the cooking liquid from the beans in place of the water or broth.
My new favorite soup recipe! It came together so quickly and with so much flavor, especially with the lemon and red pepper toppings! I like the texture of zucchini but I puréed it for that creamy effect! This will
be on repeat, quarantine or not!
thanks for giving this a try! SO glad you enjoyed it! : ))