Hearty Italian-Style White Bean Soup

A flavour packed Italian-style white bean soup recipe - bursting with fresh vegetables and not only is it healthy but it's low cost too!

We don't know about you, but when it comes to autumn, we love to come home to a large pot of warming soup for lunch. Packed with fresh veggies, great flavours and one that's perfect for dunking bread into!

Autumn soup is great for lunch and if you fancy, you could always take this out with you in thermos food flasks for a sort-of cosy autumn picnic!

Why You'll LOVE This Recipe

Soup'er easy to make! our cosy white bean soup is really simple to make, chop, simmer, blitz, stir and eat!

Packed with loads of vegetables - our Italian-style soup is bursting with fresh veggies. And all that veg counts towards you 5-a-day! Plus this soup is naturally vegan and dairy-free!

Low cost - you can cook up a big panful of this soup for a budget price - especially if you shop at places like Aldi and Lidl and buy the cheaper tins and veggies.

White Bean Soup Recipe 

Serves – 4 

Prep Time – 15 minutes 

Cook Time – approx 30 minutes

Total Time – around 45 mins 

Our Most Popular Alternative – Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Equipment Needed

• Chopping board

• Vegetable knife

• Large saucepan with a lid

• Cooking spoon

• Food processor

Ingredients For White Bean Soup

This wholesome, hearty soup recipe is packed full of delicious Mediterranean flavors.

• Olive oil - you can swap this for butter, sunflower oil or rapeseed oil

• Red onion - finely chopped 

• Clove garlic - finely chopped 

• Celery sticks - sliced 

• Red pepper - finely diced 

• Courgette (fluffy seeds remove) - diced 

• Carrot - diced 

• Dried oregano 

• Potato - peeled and diced

• Fresh basil - learn how to grow fresh herbs at home for cooking here.

• Canned tomatoes 

• Vegetable stock pot - or enough vegetable broth to cover the vegetables

• Canned cannellini beans

For full protein, carbohydrates, calories and nutrition content see recipe card below

How To Make White Bean Soup

You'll love how easy this vegetarian soup is to make!

Step One - sauté the chopped vegetables

• Add the olive oil to a large saucepan over a medium heat and gently fry the onions, garlic, carrots, celery, peppers and courgettes for around 10 minutes to soften them. Add a pinch of salt, this helps the vegetables to release water and soften more quickly.

Step Two - add the rest of the soup ingredients (except the beans)

• Add the dried oregano, the peeled diced potatoes, the vegetable stockpot and canned tomatoes. Give everything a good mix together.

• Then pour over enough boiling water to cover all the vegetables in the pan.

Step Three - cook the white bean soup

• Put the lid on the pan, bring the pan of soup to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer with the lid on for around 15 minutes.

Step Four - add the white beans

• Then add the canned cannellini beans into the soup, bring the soup back to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the cannellini beans are heated through properly.

Step Five - blend half the white bean soup

• Remove around half of the soup and blend into a smooth puree. Then pour it back into the pan of soup and stir together gently. This method makes a really rich, thick, chunky texture soup.

Cooks Note! Only use hot liquids in food processors that are designed for use with hot liquids. Otherwise, wait until the liquids have cooled before blending.

Step Six - serve the white bean soup

• Serve the white bean soup in bowls or mugs, alongside some crusty bread for dunking.

Tips And Variations For White Bean Soup

Use different beans - you can swap the canned cannellini beans for any other canned beans or pulses you like - chick peas, lentils, butterbeans, kidney beans, they all work great in this style of rustic soup.

Add some spice - like your soup spicy? Add some red pepper flakes, or a teaspoon of chili powder.

Add some greens - you could also add some fresh greens to this soup - try chopped kale or spinach.

Add more herbs - try adding in some fresh or dried thyme, bay leaves, rosemary or flat leaf parsley. You can also add more of an authentic Italian taste by simmering the soup with a parmesan rind in the pan. (skip this if cooking vegan or plant-based)

Make it gluten-free - the soup contains no added wheat, so to make it gluten-free just be sure to double check the ingredients you use are all labelled as gluten free.

Get all our delicious soup recipes here

What To Serve with Bean Soups

A big bowlful of rustic bean and vegetable soup goes great with any kind of bread. Toasted, buttered, pitta bread, ciabatta, flatbreads, even breadsticks or crackers are great for dunking! It's one of our favourite autumn recipes.

The soup is delicious served topped with a swirl of extra virgin olive oil and Parmesan cheese shavings (although choose plant based cheese if keeping the recipe vegan)

Fancy something a little extra special try our easy focaccia recipe here.

Storing Leftover Soup

Any leftover soup should be cooled quickly (and within 1-2 hours of making) Then stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and used within 2 days.

You can also freeze the soup once cooled, it keeps good in the freezer for 8-12 weeks. Defrost thoroughly before reheating, and reheat in a saucepan on the hob until heated properly throughout.

Get all our delicious Italian recipes here

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Get Our Delicious Tomato Basil Soup Recipe Here

More Recipes with Beans

• Black bean chilli
• Vegetarian fajitas
• Bean salad