As simple as it is delicious, this White Bean Soup recipe with kale, vegetables, and rice, is comforting, satisfying, and the perfect bowl to warm you up on a cold day.
My mom has been making some version of this delicious white bean soup recipe for as long as I can remember! It’s one of my favorites, and I’m sure that your family will love a big bowl of this tasty vegetarian bean soup as much as mine does.
This Mediterranean-style white bean soup is packed with vegetables, fiber-rich cannellini beans, and rice, in a savory broth. With 20 grams of protein per serving, it’s also completely vegetarian, naturally gluten-free, and ready in about half an hour!
We first shared this recipe back in 2018, but we decided to tweak the recipe to make it even better now. We’ve updated this post with new photos and tons of useful tips.
If you’re looking for the best soup recipes, look no further! After you’ve made this recipe, try my personal favorite Chicken Enchilada Soup, or creamy and comforting Chicken Pot Pie Soup.
Your kiddos will love my homemade version of classic Alphabet Soup too!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- One Pot Recipe – Skip the sink full of dishes tonight! All you’ll need to wash is a cutting board, a soup pot, and your serving dishes. Recipes like this one make dinner time less stressful and give you time to enjoy the meal with your family.
- Amazing Leftovers – Like many soups, this one seems to get better once it’s had time to rest in the fridge. You can store this soup in the fridge or the freezer and warm it up whenever you’re in need of a cozy meal.
- Simple Ingredients – This vegan bean soup recipe calls for canned white beans, vegetable stock, fresh veggies, and a few pantry staples. Keep a few cans of beans in the pantry and you’ll be ready to make this delicious soup any time of the year.
Key Ingredients for White Bean Soup
Here’s what you need to make the best white bean and kale soup:
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Cannellini Beans: These medium-sized white beans are used often in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking. They’re versatile, creamy, and high in fiber and protein. If you’re using canned beans, be sure to rinse and drain them first. If you’d prefer to use dry beans, keep reading for simple cooking instructions.
- Soup Vegetables: Diced onion, carrot, and celery are standard for so many soup recipes. They add wonderful flavor to this dish.
- Kale: For even more nutritious veggie power, chopped kale is added to the soup at the very end. You can use common curly kale or lacinato kale. You can also substitute spinach, escarole, or another leafy green that you enjoy.
- Flavorings: Fresh garlic, dried bay leaves, and Italian seasoning give vegetable broth the perfect savory notes.
- Rice: To make this bean soup extra filling, I like to add long-grain white rice to the pot.
How To Make White Bean Soup
- Sautee Soup Veggies: In a dutch oven or large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the onion, celery, and carrot for a few minutes, or until the onion is soft and translucent. Then, add the minced garlic to the pot and saute for just 30 seconds.
- Fill the Pot: Pour the vegetable stock over the vegetables, add rice, bay leaves, and Italian seasoning, and bring to a boil.
- Simmer: Reduce the heat to simmer. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for 10 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
- Add the Beans and Kale, and cook for about 2 minutes or just until the kale has wilted. Remove from the heat and serve topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese and crusty bread.
Tip!
Cannellini beans are easy to find in most grocery stores, but you can make this recipe with any kind of white beans you have on hand too. Try Great Northern beans or Navy beans in this soup.
White Bean Soup Recipe Tips
- This soup recipe is pretty forgiving! Be sure to use quality ingredients, and you’ll end up with a delicious pot of bean soup without much fuss.
- If you’d like to make soup with dried beans, rather than canned ones, you just need to cook them first! Soak 1.5 cups of dry cannellini beans in water overnight to make them easier to digest and to cut the cooking time, then cook until tender. I usually cook beans in the instant pot. Soaked beans take 20 minutes at high pressure.
- When sauteeing, use light olive oil rather than extra virgin. Save the good oil for homemade apple cider vinaigrette or an amazing Greek salad!
- Be sure to remove the stems from the kale. They are difficult to chew. Save them in the freezer for the next time you make homemade vegetable stock!
- The kale and beans only need a few minutes to cook. Overcooking the kale will make it lose its bright green color.
- You can leave the rice out if you like, but it makes this soup extra filling, and I love how it soaks up all of the delicious flavors of the broth.
- For a creamy texture, try blending up some of the beans before adding them to the soup.
- Instead of parmesan cheese, top your bowl of soup with your favorite vegan substitute, or nutritional yeast.
- If you aren’t concerned with keeping this recipe vegan and vegetarian, feel free to experiment with adding meat or chicken, or cooked bacon to this soup for a smoky, salty addition.
Storing Tips
White bean soup stores and freezes very well! Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat, thaw as needed, and warm in a saucepan on the stove, or microwave until hot.
What To Serve With White Bean Soup
My favorite thing to serve with this white bean soup is crusty bread! I love to dip the bread into the broth while I’m eating. Pick up your favorite from your local bakery, or try your hand at making a rustic loaf of No-Knead Bread at home.
You might also enjoy making copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks or turning a loaf of bread into Easy Crispy Garlic Bread.
Need a sweet treat for dessert? Make a batch of cookies to share with your family, like my classic Half Moon Cookies, or decadent Chocolate Caramel Cookies!
More Delicious Soup Recipes
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Recipe FAQs
Yes, you absolutely can double the recipe. Just make sure that you use a large enough soup pot to hold all of that vegetable bean soup goodness!
I love cooking with beans! Try my Middle Eastern White Beans, simple White Bean Salad, or Ham and Bean Soup next.
Cannellini beans are a great and inexpensive source of protein. A half-cup of cannellini beans contains 8 grams of protein, plenty of fiber, and other vitamins and nutrients.
Yes, this soup and most bean soups can be frozen and reheated later. Freeze servings of white bean soup in individual freezer bags or containers for up to 3 months.
To thicken cannellini bean soup without adding dairy, puree some of the beans in a blender before adding them. This will give your broth a wonderful creamy thickness.
Yes, this bean soup recipe is inspired by both Italian cuisine and Mediterranean diets. You can call this Tuscan white bean soup, Mediterranean white bean soup, or just “delicious white bean soup”!
Enjoy making AND eating this delicious white bean soup with kale and rice! And remember, soup isn’t just for cold winter nights. You can make this easy recipe any time of the year, so be sure to Pin it for later.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
White Bean soup
Equipment
- 6-quart Dutch Oven or large pot
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil not extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion
- ½ cup celery diced
- ½ cup carrot diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 5 cups (1200 ml) vegetable stock
- ¼ cup (50 grams) rice any type
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 x 15oz cans (2 x 400g cans) cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups kale or spinach, roughly chopped
- Grated parmesan or vegan substitute, optional, for serving
Instructions
- In a dutch oven or a large pot, over medium-high heat, heat olive oil and saute onion, celery, and carrot until the onion is soft and translucent. Add garlic, and saute for 30 seconds.
- Pour the stock over the vegetables, add rice, bay leaves, and Italian seasoning, and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to simmer, season with salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for 10 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
- Add the cannellini beans and kale, and allow the kale to wilt (about 2 minutes).
- Serve hot, topped with grated parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes:
- To Use Dried Beans: In place of canned cannellini beans, you can use 1.5 cups of dried beans. Soak them overnight for easier digestion, and then cook until tender before using in this recipe. In the instant pot, cook soaked beans for 20 minutes at high pressure.
- Great Northern or navy beans can be used in place of cannellini beans if you prefer.
- The kale and beans only need a few minutes to cook. Overcooking the kale will make it lose its bright green color.
- You can leave the rice out if you like, but it makes this soup extra filling, and I love how it soaks up all of the delicious flavors of the broth.
- For a creamy texture, try blending up some of the beans before adding them to the soup.
- If you aren’t concerned with keeping this recipe vegan and vegetarian, experiment with adding ham or cooked bacon to this soup for a smoky, salty addition.
- Parmesan cheese is optional, but a delicious addition! To keep this recipe vegan, top your bowl of soup with your favorite vegan substitute, or nutritional yeast.
- To Store: Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave to enjoy again!
- To Freeze: Store individual servings of this soup in freezer containers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight before reheating.
- Because this soup freezes well, feel free to double the recipe!
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
This recipe first appeared on Little Sunny Kitchen in March 2018, but it was slightly tweaked and republished in March 2023 with new images and more useful tips.
Barbara says
Made this delicious White Bean Soup, for the second time, the only change is instead of using kale used spinach, we are not fans of kale. Regardless, this soup was delicious and the left overs even better. Thank you for sharing your recipe
Diana says
I’m glad to hear the soup turned out delicious! Thank you for trying the recipe and for your kind words!