This soup, well, it’s my soul food. It’s my favorite soup to make on a rainy night. Or snowy afternoon. Or really, just about any time. There are freezer bags of it in my freezer. I usually make it in bulk. And each time I have made it, I have changed the ingredients around and tried to make it healthier each time. It’s a pretty forgiving soup: you can put whatever you want in it, and I still think it’s incredible.
Originally, I had tried to recreate the infamous soup at Olive Garden: the Zuppa Toscana. (a little hard to do without sausage and all that jazz). I cooked some veggie sausage and popped it in once-it was all right, but even better without it (at least I thought so). I used a ton of cream and made it really heavy that time. Ever since, I have been steadily decreasing the amount of heavy cream I add in, gradually decreasing it to only 1/4 cup for the whole batch. (To keep this vegan-friendly, just omit the cream. I love it both ways, but I admit I like the added richness to the soup with the cream.)
It’s cheap to make. It’s über healthy. It has healthy dose of fiber from all those white beans. And this incredible, buttery, almost velvety texture that is just as good after freezing. And it’s absolutely perfect for a cozy fall afternoon.
White Bean and Kale Soup
Servings: about 8
Ingredients
1-2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped (about 1-2 medium carrots)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups water
4 cups vegetable broth
5-6 red potatoes, chopped (I leave the skins on!)
Two 15-ounce cans cannellini beans (white kidney beans), or 5 cups fresh cooked beans
One large bunch kale (any type-I’ve used all kinds, but I like lacinato for this), deveined and torn into pieces
1/4 cup heavy cream, optional
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
1. In a sauté pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering.
2. Add the celery, carrots, and onion, and cook, until the onions are softened, about 4-5 minutes or so.
3. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for another minute or so. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Meanwhile, in a large saucepot over medium-high heat, bring the water and the vegetable broth to a boil.
5. Add the cooked vegetables and the potatoes to the boiling water/broth mixture. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 20-30 minutes (or until the potatoes are cooked through).
6. Add the beans, kale, and the cream (if using) and cook, stirring frequently, until completely heated through and the kale is wilted, about 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Source: A Curvy Carrot original.
Jillian {Her Split Ends} - Sounds DELICIOUS!! and so easy to put together! {which is super important!!}
Cheers
~ Jillian
http://www.hersplitends.com
Erin@LawStudentsWife - I have a deep, childhood-into-adulthood love that Olive Garden soup. What a yummy, healthy variation that I bet warms from the inside out. Kale + white beans is such a tasty combo too. Thanks!
Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes - This looks so good! I love kale in soups
Colleen ~ - yes!! can’t wait to try it as the weather is starting to get “chilly” (70’s) in texas!! 🙂
Angie@Angie's Recipes - A comforting and healthy bean soup. Love soups with veggies.
Jo - Your white bean/kale soup sounded so great to me, I had to try it. I had a couple of Italian sausages that I cut up and browned, and added some canned chopped tomato,too. I am retired and I live alone, so I serve it up in a big coffee cup, adding about a tablespoon of half and half. I don’t use the 1/4 cup of cream! Absolutely yummy. I don’t always require meat, but I always use what I have on hand in soup, its so very forgiving!
I will be watching your blog for further interesting things. Zuppa is my favorite wintertime meal!
Jo in MN
Kale and white bean soup | life is like a dumpling - […] by the Curvy Carrot Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this. This entry was tagged food, […]
Amanda - I tried this the other day and it was delicious! I had never made soup before but this was easy. My husband said it tasted even better the next day.
Amy - Hi ! Just made the soup last night, the store was out of kale, so I used spinach as a substitute! Delish
Amy N. - I made this soup yesterday, and everyone loved it (even my 17 year old- and you know what kind of endorsement that is!). I did add 1/4 cup of almond milk in place of the cream, but as noted in the recipe, I don’t think it was necessary. I also didn’t have the carrots on hand, so I subbed with sweet potato.
This soup was rich and flavorful- I’m sure we will have it as a staple this winter. Thanks for the recipe!!
Hilary M. - I didn’t use the cream, added a jar of chunky tomatoes and seasoned with sprigs of thyme, oregano and marjoram. I served it with a generous sprinkling of shaved Parmesan and a good shake of cayenne. Yummy!
Dawn - I made this soup a few weeks ago and wanted to say that it was absolutely delicious. Definitely something I will make again!
Best,
Dawn
Terry - Just made this today, turned out yummy! http://instagram.com/p/ThNQ89CEx2/
Paula - Made this today, and am on my second bowl. It is delicious!
Jasmine K - Made this for the second time this week! My family loves it!
Laurel Irwin - Made it tonight for my husband and I love it! I don’t think the cream is really necessary. I pureed half of it in my Vitamix then added it back in to the soup for a really creamy variation. It turns it green, though, beware 😉 Then just added cracked pepper, sea salt, and cayenne for some kick. Awesome!
Jeannette - I made this soup for dinner. It was awesome! I added some ground flax seed, cayenne pepper and sun dried tomatoes and a bit more broth. Definitely will make it again. And I used 1/4 light half & half instead of heavy cream. Thanks for sharing!
Denise - I like the suggestion to puree some in the vita mix. Everyone is devouring it now so I can’t get near the pot. I had a small fennel bulb I sauteed with the onion. Yummy. I skipped the cream part but love the sweet potato idea. So many possibilities. Tuscan sea salt from Whole Foods (if you have one) is a great seasoning. Thank you so much from California
Anna - I made this yesterday and i’m making it again next weekend! I’ve been on the lookout for ways to add more iron into my diet and this soup is out of this world!
Prep was really easy- used the cuisinart to make quick work of the chopping and even the potatoes (so that everything was equally sized).
I cheated and used about a cup and a half of chicken stock with the water, and did not add any additional salt to the recipe when I was done.
I also omitted the heavy cream, but will experiment with adding some turkey italian sausage when I make this again.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Tina - I just made this for the first time. I’ve never made any other soup except Vegetable Beef. I loved this. So hearty & healthy. I didn’t have carrot so I added mushrooms and I used chicken broth instead of veg. broth. Very Good!
Amy N. - I can’t tell you how much I love this recipe! It has become a staple in our house ever since I stumbled upon it last fall.
I am vegan, and appreciate a hearty recipe that even my teenage stepson gives the thumbs-up to.
I add one extra can of beans to the soup, and use my hand held mixer to mix a portion of the soup into a creamy base, then add it back in. I also typically add about 1/4 cup of organice cornstarch mixture in near the end for an even thicker base.
Thanks much for sharing your great recipes!
Wendy - Can you do this in the crockpot?
srlacy - Hi Wendy-
Sure-I don’t see why not. Let me know how it goes if you try it. I would still add the kale later on because you don’t want it to overcook.
Wendy - Thanks so much for responding! I’m going to try it tomorrow and I’ll post back to let you know.
Jody - I just made this last night. Big hit, even the kids loved it. Only difference is I had some leftover ham, so I diced it and added it in. Later in the evening I realized I completely forgot to add the cream….It was rich and wonderful without it. Guess I’ll have to make again, with the cream and compare. YUM!
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Amy - I have to tell you that this is one of my top five favorite soups! It’s fresh, not heavy, and just delicious.
I’m vegan, so I of course don’t add in the cream, but I usually add in one extra can of beans and then pulse the soup with a hand blender a few times before adding in the kale. It makes a nice creamy base without the dairy.
xoxo!
srlacy - Amy-
I’m so glad to hear that-yes, this is one of my absolute favorites!
Stephanie - Made this soup for dinner tonight for the family and it was a hit! so delicious! so glad i found this recipe.. but i added mushrooms in it as well and adored it!
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Cindy Sullivan - Made this soup tonight and it was very bland. Followed the recipe exactly but next time I would add tomatoes, more garlic, use Italian spices and put less potatoe.
Brandi - I love, love, love this soup!!! Even my über picky six year old loves this soup. I’m excited to make this winter staple again. Thanks for sharing!
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Justeen - This soup is deeeelicious!! Perfect comfort food for a chilly fall night. I froze half of the pot for future quick dinners. Great recipe!
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Barbara - Love this soup! It’s so easy to make and tasty. Sans the cream but added some crimini mushrooms this time around which gave it a whole new depth of flavor – topped with some Pecorini Romano cheese – yum!!
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Jackie Howes - This soup was loved by all in our household. I did add a a dash of cayenne pepper, two dashes of red pepper flakes, oregano and some parsley. I also added three teaspoons of Better than Boullion to the water since we didn’t have vegetable soup. Can’t wait to have this again soon!
Dawn Stockwell - Made this for dinner and thank you for sharing this great recipe. I chose to use 2 mild Italian sausages and stuck in a chunk of parmesan, a sprig of Rosemary and a pinch of oregano & 1/2 bag of Trader Joes Organic Tuscan Kale which comes precut & 2 tsp salt. Otherwise I used everything else exactly and it was delish. love the addition of the cream although I did use a potato smasher to kinda break up some beans & potatoes for a creamier soup.
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Recipe: Bean and Kale Soup - […] via Pinterest, from The Curvy Carrot I’m a huge fan of soups, stews, or anything else where most of the work is chopping ish […]
mjf - i make a similar soup but add in cayenne and i use evaporated milk instead of cream, which cuts down on the fat.
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Pain. | Sandalwood - […] White Bean and Kale Soup. I know I know, I keep posting this. But honestly it is only because I KEEP making it. And the husband kinda sorta likes this one (as much as a soup hater could ever love soup.) It is very easy, and hard to mess up. Oh an freezes so well! Yeah for leftovers! This also uses up the GIGANTIC kale in my garden. My kale “tree” is over a year old and now a tiny bit taller than my four year old. Makes for a lot of great soups, smoothies and juicing. […]
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Andrea - Do you rinse the beans?
srlacy - Hi Andrea-
I would recommend rinsing the beans if you are using canned ones.
Betsy harman - I added some red pepper flakes to spice it up a bit and it was yummy.
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katie - Thank you for the recipe. I prepared the soup and then blended it all into a thick, rich, vegan soup. Deliciously hearty and no cream required!!!
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Shannon - What’s the best way to store in the freezer per serving? I’d love to be able to take it to work with me.