I love a big bowl of warm, comforting soup as the weather begins to cool. But can comfort food be healthy? Yes, yes it can- and this Tuscan Bean Soup fits the bill! Packed with vegetables and white beans, this soup is a great source of protein, folate, iron, fiber, vitamins A, C, and K – just to name a few.
Last year, on a cool autumn evening, my husband and I went to a drive-in movie (we have a drive-in theater just a few miles down the road – how cool is that!?) We decided to make a picnic of it, so I packed Tuscan Bean Soup into a thermos, brought a loaf of crusty old world bread , and a bottle of white wine. We sat in the car, wrapped in a blanket, and enjoyed a warm bowl of delicious soup with a dixie cup of wine and watched the movie.
Tuscan Bean Soup is so hearty and packed with flavor – it tastes like it’s been simmering away on the stove all day. In reality, it only takes 30 minutes of cook time! Easy, healthy, and filing – this dish redefines comfort food!
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 cup celery, sliced
- ½ head savoy cabbage, about 8 cups
- 1 small bunch kale, about 4 cups
- 2 - 14 ounce cans diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 - 14 ounce cans cannellini beans or great northern beans, rinsed and drained
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- crusty bread, cut into thick slices
- parmigiano-reggiano, grated, for serving (optional)
- In a large heavy-bottemed pot over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery. Sauté for approximately 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.
- Add the savoy cabbage and kale, stir until wilted, another 5 minutes.
- Stir in the tomatoes and beans. Add the thyme, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, and ½ teaspoon salt.
- Pour the chicken stock over the ingredients in the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes. Season with additional salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
- While be soup is simmering, toast the bread slices.
- Remove the bay leaves and stems of thyme. Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle with grated parmigiano-reggiano, and serve with the toasted bread. Enjoy!
Saute the Onions, Garlic, Carrots, and Celery:
Add the Savoy Cabbage and Kale:
Add the Tomatoes, Chicken Stock, Thyme, and Bay Leaf – Simmer:
Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Regiano and Toasted Bread. Enjoy!
I made this tonight for dinner – it is cold and gloomy here in So Cal and it was perfect. Not only did it taste good, it is very, very colorful. Only changes: As hard as I try, I can’t get that man of mine to have a meal without meat so I had Whole Foods make up some all white meat turkey Italian sausage in bulk and browned that before the carrot/onion/celery sauté and I always keep parmesan rinds on hand and added one during the boiling process to add some flavor. Just remember to remove it or not to accidentally serve it with the soup. (Didn’t make the toast, because I would have eaten too much of it.) This was delicious and a perfect soup for winter.
Hi Cherie! Adding the turkey sausage is a fantastic idea – such a wonderful way to make it a really hearty meal while still keeping it healthy! Adding a parmesan rind is another great idea. I’ve actually forgotten to remove a parm rind from soup before – I think it kinda freaked my husband out because he didn’t know what was floating in his soup 😛
It’s been cold and grey in NorCal too. I’m ready for spring! I hope you guys are staying warm and I’m so glad you enjoyed the dish! 🙂
We made this recipe today and it was awesome! Doubled the ingredients so we could have it all week 🙂 Will use this recipe again, thanks!
Hi Noelle! That’s great! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed the recipe! Now that the weather is starting to cool off a bit, I can’t wait to make a big batch myself 🙂 Hope you have a great weekend!
I almost started feeling a bit envious while reading your description of you and hubs at the drive-in … what a wonderful way to spend an evening! This soup would have been so much better for you than popcorn, too … looks just incredibly tasty and wholesome!
The drive-in is definitely a lot of fun! And yes, this is so much better than just munching away on popcorn 🙂
I love all the vegetables in this soup! A bowl of this will nourish your mind and your body at the same time. No tastier way to eat your vegetables. And I love your photos… they are positively mouth-watering!
Thanks, Meggan!
Love this soup! And the stage you set for your picnic…what a fun evening!
Thanks, Annie! It was a lot of fun!
This looks wonderful and I do love to make soup. I’ll make this as soon as the weather gets cool. But that might take awhile since I live in Florida.
Sheila
This may be the Swede in me talking, but it’s actually pretty good at room-temp as well! I hope you enjoy!
One of my all time favorite soups. I made some a couple of weeks ago and I just can’t get enough. I love the addition of the cabbage, I’m going to try your recipe next.
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it! I think the cabbage adds a nice texture and flavor to the soup, not to mention added healthy goodness 🙂
I just love exploring soup recipes, especially now, when winter is coming! This looks healthy, flavorful and delicious!Pinned!
Thanks! 🙂