Tuscan White Bean Soup

This Tuscan white bean soup is a simple and savory vegan soup recipe that can be made in less than 30 minutes or in the crockpot! It’s made with white cannellini beans, lentils, veggies, and rainbow chard for a creamy and flavorful soup. You will love this vegan Tuscan white bean soup. An instant pot option is provided.

There's nothing more comforting than a hot bowl of soup on a chilly afternoon or evening. Tuscan white bean soup tastes hearty like a stew loaded with white beans, lentils, and veggies, in a tasty, creamy broth. Choose to cook this vegan Tuscan white bean soup on the stovetop, or use a crockpot, walk away, and come home to find it ready for dinner.

Jump to:

• Protein and Fiber
• Hearty Tuscan White Bean Soup Ingredients
• White Bean Soup Variations
• Tuscan White Bean Soup Ingredient Substitutions
• How to Make Vegan Tuscan White Bean Soup
• What to Serve with Tuscan White Bean Soup
• Recipe FAQs
• Tips
• More Vegan Soup Recipes to Try
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

Protein and Fiber

Despite consuming protein from various plant sources, people transitioning to a plant-based diet are always concerned about protein. However, most people don't eat enough fiber. This Tuscan white bean soup contains 12 grams of fiber and 13 grams of protein per serving. So, if you're looking for an incredible-tasting soup with abundant fiber and protein, this soup is for you!

Hearty Tuscan White Bean Soup Ingredients

• Brown Lentils: I sued brown dried lentils, rinsed and picked them over to remove any debris.
• Cannellini Beans: Cannellini beans are wonderfully nutritious. They're fat-free and an excellent fiber, folate, iron, and magnesium source. One ¼ cup serving contains 11 grams of protein! Adding nutritious foods like dried cannellini beans may help control blood sugar levels.
• Lemon: I prefer to use fresh lemon juice whenever possible; this ingredient is added at the end of cooking, not combined with the other ingredients.
• Rainbow Chard: Although the whole plant is edible, I remove the stalks and use the leafy greens in the soup. Chard is a superfood and one of the healthiest veggies on planet Earth. One hundred grams of chard will give you three times the amount of vitamin K you need daily, and you'll get more than 20% of your daily doses of vitamins C and A.
• Carrots: Carrots added to soup adds a slight sweetness that removes the bitterness of greens.
• Yellow Onion: Yellow onions are richer in antioxidants than other types. Yellow onions may contain almost 11 times more antioxidants than white onions. Cooking can significantly reduce levels of some antioxidants.
• Garlic: I prefer fresh garlic cloves with making soups and stews.
• Bay Leaf: Essentially, bay leaves add flavor to a soup or stew, and the tea-like (oh-so-slightly menthol) aromas help lighten up a hearty dish, so it's less likely to bog you down after a big meal. The bay leaf shines more if you're making homemade broth or stock.
• Vegetable Broth: I buy organic vegetable broth in bulk at Costco because I often use it.
• Salt/Pepper: To taste

White Bean Soup Variations

For a creamier, thicker soup, include these additional Ingredients:

• Diced Canned Fire-Roasted Tomatoes: Fire-roasted tomatoes add an additional level of flavor and make the soup more of a stew.
• Nutritional Yeast: Adding nutritional yeast makes the broth thicker and cheesy like a stew, rather than a soup.

Tuscan White Bean Soup Ingredient Substitutions

• For a quicker 15-minute soup option on the stovetop, use precooked lentils. Trader Joe's sells cooked, steamed brown lentils in their produce section. Or try canned brown lentils, drained.
• Use white navy beans, Great Northern beans, or lima beans (butter beans).
• If you don't have fresh lemon juice, use bottled lemon juice instead.
• Choose kale, instead of kale for a Tuscan white bean and kale soup recipe.
• Any type of root vegetable, such as parsnips, replaces carrots in this vegan Tuscan white bean soup.
• White onions are often substituted for yellow onions in recipes.
• One clove of fresh garlic equals ¼ teaspoon of granulated garlic powder. The same conversion applies to dehydrated or freeze-dried garlic or even minced refrigerated garlic.
• Yondu is an excellent way to replace vegetable broth when mixed with water.

How to Make Vegan Tuscan White Bean Soup

As many of you know, I love my crockpot. I'm old-fashioned and love adding ingredients to a crockpot and walking away. But you can also make this delicious soup on the stovetop in 15 or 30 minutes.

Crockpot Directions

1. Combine the vegetable broth, white beans, onions and carrots, nutritional yeast (if using), tomatoes (if using), garlic, bay leaf, salt, and pepper in a 5-6 quart crockpot.
2. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours until lentils are softened.
3. Then, right before serving, stir in rainbow chard and lemon juice. Stir, cover, and allow chard to wilt.
4. Variation: If using cooked lentils instead of dry lentils, reduce cook time to 4 hours.
5. Don't forget to remove the bay leaf before serving.

Stove Top Directions

1. Saute onion and garlic in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add carrots, dry lentils, white beans, nutritional yeast (if using), tomatoes (if using), , and a bay leaf.
3. Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
4. Cover and reduce heat to simmer.
5. Simmer for 25 minutes.
6. Add chard and lemon juice; stir to wilt.
7. Variation: If using precooked lentils, follow the same directions, but cut cook time to 15 minutes.
8. Remove the bay leaf before serving.

Instant Pot Directions

1. Select "Sauté" on the Instant Pot and wait until the display reads "Hot."
2. Add the garlic and onions and saute until the onions are translucent. Add a little vegetable broth if it sticks.
3. Add the diced carrots and stir into the onion garlic/mixture.
4. Sauté a few minutes until tender, stirring as needed.
5. Add the lentils, beans, bay leaf, vegetable broth, nutritional yeast (if using), and canned fire-roasted tomatoes (if using).
6. Close and lock the lid and press "Cancel."
7. Turn the pressure release valve to "Sealing."
8. Select "Manual" or "Pressure Cook" on "High" pressure for 1 minute.
9. Allow a 10-minute natural pressure release (NPR) when the cycle completes.
10. Turn the pressure release valve to the "Venting" position to release any remaining steam.
11. Carefully open the lid, and add the Swiss chard and lemon juice. Stir to combine, and serve.

What to Serve with Tuscan White Bean Soup

This vegan Tuscan white bean soup recipe is great with an Italian chopped salad and crusty bread. Or try a Panzanella salad! And don't forget the crusty bread to soak up any delicious broth left in the bowl. Try not to lick the bowl.

Recipe FAQs

Tips

• Dice the vegetables in similar sizes to promote even cooking. I use a vegetable chopper, which saves time in the kitchen.
• For a thinner soup, add more vegetable broth.
• If you prefer a thicker soup, try the variation adding nutritional yeast and canned fire-roasted tomatoes.
• Add fresh tomatoes if preferred.
• Vegan Tuscan white bean soup stays fresh, refrigerated for up to 5 days.
• I suggest freezing the soup for up to three months in Souper Cubes. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat in a pan or in the microwave.
• Serve with crusty bread.

This vegan Tuscan white bean soup recipe is a hearty, healthy bowl of comfort. Try not to lick the bowl!

More Vegan Soup Recipes to Try

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