Tuscan White Bean Soup

Tuscan White Bean Soup is a comforting bowl of goodness packed with Italian-inspired flavors. This hearty soup starts with a savory base of pancetta and aromatic vegetables seasoned with fragrant rosemary and other Italian herbs. Cannellini beans add substance, while spinach offers vibrant color and a nutritional boost. A touch of heavy cream blended with some of the beans creates a wonderful, lightly creamy texture, finished with parmesan cheese. It’s an easy yet satisfying soup that’s perfect for any night of the week and is make-ahead friendly.

Why I love this soup, and hope you will, too

This recipe is proof that soup can be simple and quick, and still be exactly what you need to revive your spirit at the end of a long day. I love the lightly creamy, savory broth in this soup, made so by blending beans with a little bit of heavy cream.

A little pancetta adds that irresistible salty pork bite and then the whole thing is topped off with freshly shredded parmigiano reggiano. Layers of flavors without loads of effort.

Tuscan White Bean Soup is —

• Hearty and Filling: Cannellini beans and pancetta make this soup substantial enough for a meal.
• Nutrient-Rich: Packed with healthy beans and spinach, it’s as nutritious as it is delicious.
• Creamy Yet Light: Blended beans and a touch of heavy cream create a luscious texture without being heavy and overly rich.
• Made with simple Ingredients: Made with everyday pantry staples and fresh vegetables.
• Bursting with Flavor: Parmesan cheese and Italian herbs add a savory depth that’s just lovely.
• Great for Meal Prep: Make a big batch for easy lunches or dinners throughout the week.

Main Ingredients Notes and Substitutions

Cannellini beans — Also known as white kidney beans, cannellini beans are hearty, nutty, and very flavorful. They are not the same as navy beans or great northern beans (all are different botanical varieties), but they can all be used interchangeably in this soup. White beans make really great soups, like today’s, and also Senate Bean Soup and Creamy White Bean Tortellini Soup.

Aromatics — To create a well-flavored soup base, I start with a generous amount of aromatics, including leeks, onions, carrots, celery, and garlic.

Pancetta — White beans and pork products are a match made in soup heaven. Here, I used readily available pancetta and browned it along with the aromatics for extra flavor. Free free to substitute diced ham or chopped bacon for a similar flavor effect.

Broth — As you may have seen me mention before here on the blog, I go through a bloomin’ ton of soup broth every week, and it’s just not possible to keep up with my own demand for homemade broth. So, I do rely on store-bought. The last few years have seen a surge in the availability of bone broth, so I often reach for that instead of regular stock when a stronger flavor is appropriate. If I feel the regular broth I’ve chosen is a little weak in flavor, I’ll mix in some Better Than Bouillon as a quick fix.

Cream — A little heavy cream at the end of cooking adds a lovely richness that I appreciate in soups. Note in the instructions that it’s blended up with a portion of the beans to create a little body in the soup.

Cook’s Notes

• The broth’s creaminess is created by blending beans with a little heavy cream. I do this outside of the soup pot, even though I’m using an immersion blender. An immersion blender can move an entire pot of soup through its blades much faster than we think it will, and I don’t want to smooth out all of the beans, just some of them. I can control this in a separate container — or use an upright blender.
• Can you use dried beans instead of canned? Yes. My local stores do not carry dried cannellini beans, but you can substitute navy or great northern beans with no problem. The exact cooking adjustments to accommodate the long cook of dried beans are beyond the scope of this recipe, but in general, you’ll need to soak the beans overnight, cook the soup longer, and you’ll need more broth to account for evaporation during the long cooking process.
• Can this soup be frozen? Yes! Simply leave out the heavy cream — and for best results, the cheese as well — until you thaw and reheat the soup to consume. Swirl in the cream and cheese after the soup has come up to temperature.

How to Make Tuscan White Bean Soup

Ready to make the recipe? Skip to the recipe card now to get the full ingredient list, quantities, prep/cooking times, and detailed instructions. Or, keep scrolling for a visual walk-through of making the soup.

Prep notes

Here are some helpful guidelines for prepping the recipe ingredients. Anything that simply needs to be measured out of a container – such as dried herbs and liquids – is not addressed here. Note that you can absolutely measure everything out into separate bowls or containers ahead of time. It’s a classic organizational technique called mise en place — literally, “everything in its place” — that helps the cooking workflow run smoothly.

• Leeks: First, cut off the dark green leaves, right at the point where they connect to the bulb and the stalk is light green. The leaves are called “flags” and while they’re not toxic, they’re not enjoyably edible. You can, however, save them in the freezer — along with other vegetable scraps — to make broth. Each leaf corresponds to one layer of the leek, and their growth is such that dirt can seep down into the edible layers and must be cleaned out. I usually make a deep slice down the center of the leek stalk, leaving the root end intact to hold everything together, and then fan open the layers under running water. Squeeze the stalk back into its round shape to wring out the excess water. (Learn more about cleaning leeks). Once the layers are clean, slice thinly and do a quick chop across the pile of slices.
• Onions: Peel and dice the onions.
• Carrots: Scrub clean, then peel and dice the carrot. Make sure the cubes are fairly small — less than a 1/4″ — so that they fully cook in the soup.
• Celery: Scrub and dice the celery ribs.
• Garlic: Peel and mince the garlic cloves
• Spinach: Wash the leaves and pat them dry with a paper towel (they don’t have to be completely dry). Stack several leaves on top of each and then roll them up. Slice the roll into thin strips.
• Cheese: Grate the cheese block on a fine grater. Hard cheeses don’t melt very well, so a nice, fine grate will help the cheese dissolve right into the soup. So lovely!

Step 1: Saute the aromatics

Saute the aromatic vegetables and pancetta in some oil in a large soup until the vegetables are nice and soft. Stir in the garlic and dried herbs.

Step 2: Cook the soup

Pour in the soup broth and raise the heat to bring the soup to a light boil. Add the bay leaves and rosemary sprig. Empty the cans of beans into the pot. Cook for 10 minutes.

Lower the heat maintain warmth (but no longer bubbling), and fish out the bay leaves and rosemary sprig and discard.

Step 3: Whirl up the beans

Transfer two cups of the soup — make sure to get some beans in there! — to a separate container (a tall jar, like the jar of my Nutribullet, shown above, or a deep bowl). Pour in the heavy cream and use an immersion blender to smooth it out. You can also use an upright blender.

Step 4: Finish the soup

Pour the blended beans back into the soup, and add the spinach and parmesan cheese. Stir well. Taste, and adjust for salt and pepper. Serve with Easy Garlic Bread or Seasoned Oyster Crackers.

Storing

Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat gently on the stove.

This hearty soup with its lightly creamy broth is quick to go from stove to table, and is built to chase away the chill of winter. This is one of those soups that can slip effortlessly into the weekly dinner rotation, and I hope you’ll get a chance to try it.

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5 from 1 vote

Tuscan White Bean Soup

Tuscan White Bean Soup is a comforting, hearty dish made with cannellini beans, pancetta, aromatics, and spinach. Lightly creamy and packed with flavor, it’s perfect for a cozy meal.

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Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: tuscan white bean soup, tuscany white bean soup

Servings: 4

Calories: 265kcal

Author: Karen Gibson

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive, avocado, or vegetable oil
• 1 medium leek, chopped, white and light green parts only
• 1/2 medium onion diced (about 1 cup chopped)
• 1 large carrot , diced small
• 3 ribs celery , chopped
• 4 ounces cubed pancetta
• 3 garlic cloves , peeled and minced
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian herb blend
• 32 ounces chicken or vegetable broth , or chicken bone broth
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary (optional, but lovely)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cans white cannellini beans (15 ounces each), with their juices
• 1/3 cup heavy cream (optional, see notes*)
• 1 cup chopped fresh spinach (about 30 leaves baby spinach)
• 1/4 cup finely grated parmigiano reggiano or pecorino romano , plus extra for garnish
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Heat the oil in a 4 to 5 quart Dutch oven or soup pot over medium until the surface shimmers.
• Add the leeks, onions, carrots, celery, and pancetta and stir well to coat in the oil. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. To speed up softening the carrots, use a lid in between stirs to create a steamy environment.
• Add the garlic and dried herbs, stirring well.
• Pour in the chicken broth and turn up the heat to bring the soup to a boil. While the soup is rising in temperature, add the rosemary springs and bay leaves, along with the 2 cans of beans.
• Adjust the heat to maintain an active simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low. Remove the bay leaves and rosemary sprig and discard.
• In a tall jar or large bowl, add the heavy cream and scoop out two cups of the soup with beans (make sure you get beans in there!). Use an immersion blender to smooth out this mixture. You can also use an upright blender. Add the blended beans mixture back to the soup, and give everything a stir.
• Add the spinach and grated cheese, and let the residual heat of the soup wilt the spinach.
• Taste, and add salt black pepper to your liking.

Notes

* The heavy cream adds a lovely texture to this soup, but if you’re avoiding dairy, just leave it out. The blended beans will step in for creaminess. And also, if you are looking to freeze this soup, leaving out the heavy cream will make this soup very freezer-friendly. For absolutely best results, leave out the cheese as well, and stir it in when you reheat the soup.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 265kcal

Nutritional information, if shown, is provided as a courtesy only, and is not to be taken as medical information or advice. The nutritional values of your preparation of this recipe are impacted by several factors, including, but not limited to, the ingredient brands you use, any substitutions or measurement changes you make, and measuring accuracy.