This filling Tuscan White Bean Soup is packed with vegetables and flavor for a fun twist on a classic italian Ribolitta recipe. It’s gluten-free and vegan and made in one-pot for easy prep and clean-up.
I love making a giant pot of soup in the fall and winter time. One pot of soup will last multiple days in our house! I’m all about cooking once and enjoying leftovers and soup is the perfect way to do that. Plus the flavors only seem to get better the longer it sits.
This is an oldie but a goodie recipe from THM that I have made more times than I can count. In fact I really don’t follow the recipe anymore. I just eyeball it because soups are always so forgiving. But as I was whipping it up a few days ago I remembered that the original blog post (published in 2013!) had some pretty sad pictures. It was time for an upgrade. So here we are. Same recipe…better pictures! Hope you enjoy.
What is Tuscan White Bean Soup aka Ribollita?
Tuscan white bean soup is a traditional Italian soup that is packed with vegetables. My version has all of these delicious ingredients:
- Vegetables – yellow onion, garlic cloves, kale and tomatoes. Feel free to get creative here and use what you have on hand I.e. carrots + celery are also a great addition
- Herbs & Spices – fresh rosemary + basil, salt and pepper. The fresh herbs really take this soup to the next level.
- White beans – both cannellini beans and Northern white beans work great! You can use canned beans or cook your own before adding to the soup.
- Vegetable stock – any stock will work. I recommend using low-sodium stock so you can control the saltiness on your own.
- Red wine vinegar – adding a hint of acidity brightens all of the flavors of this dish!
- Olive oil – to sauté the onions before adding the rest of the ingredients. Avocado oil works as well.
How to Make Tuscan White Bean Soup
STEP 1: Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large stock or soup pot. Add onions and garlic and sauté for 5 mins or until onions are translucent. Add rosemary and cook for another 2 mins.
STEP 2: Add in canned diced tomatoes, fresh tomatoes (if using), vegetable broth and salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Once boiling put heat on low and add beans. Let simmer for 30 mins. Stir in vinegar, kale and basil.
Serving Suggestions + Adjustments
This soup is actually really hearty on its own but if you are serving it at a dinner party or want to add sides, there are a few options that I love to pair with it. Traditionally, it is served with Tuscan bread which is what I recommend! I love a piece of hearty bread with soup.
For a lighter option, you can serve it with a side salad – panzanella would be delicious! If you want more protein, you could also serve it with grilled chicken.
Some changes you can make to this recipe: Traditionally ribollita or tuscan soup has bread chunks in the recipe. While absolutely delicious I prefer my bread on the side for dipping. Feel free to add a handful of slightly stale bread cubes to the recipe right at the end for a more traditional recipe.
To up the protein: Add in slices of precooked Italian chicken sausage or even bacon or pancetta. Sometimes I do this since C is more of a meat eater than I am.
Can you freeze tuscan white bean soup?
Absolutely this recipe makes a big batch so if you’re eating for one or want to make your soup last longer you can definitely freeze it. Just allow the soup to cool before freezing and then place in airtight containers leaving an inch along the top for the soup to expand.
To defrost: remove from the freezer the night before or allow to warm-up slightly and then remove soup from container and heat up fully on the stove-top.
More soup recipes you might enjoy:
Tuscan White Bean Soup [Ribollita]
This filling Tuscan White Bean Soup is packed with vegetables and flavor for a fun twist on a classic italian Ribolitta recipe. It’s gluten-free and vegan and made in one-pot for easy prep and clean-up.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 bowls 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1–2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped (or 2 tbsp dried)
- 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
- optional: 3 fresh tomatoes, chopped*
- 2 cans of cannellini (white) beans, rinsed and drained
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 bunch of basil, chopped
- 4 stocks of lacinato (tuscan) kale, stemmed and chopped
Instructions
1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large stock or soup pot. Add onions and garlic and sauté for 5 mins or until onions are translucent.
2. Add rosemary and cook for another 2 mins.
3. Add in canned diced tomatoes, fresh tomatoes (if using), vegetable stock and salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
4. Once boiling put heat on low and add beans. Let simmer for 30 mins.
5. Add in vinegar, kale and basil.
7. Serve immediately or store in fridge or freezer.
*I like the added tomato flavor from fresh tomatoes but this is entirely optional. Just omit if canned tomatoes are all you have.
Keywords: tuscan white bean soup, white bean soup, ribollita, white bean ribollita
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61 Comments
Bobbie O'Brien
January 20, 2023 at 6:12 pmI tried this but decided to cut up zucchini in with the veg sauté and I used diced canned tomatoes, juice and all and I used dried herbs but I also added Italian seasoning. And since all my herbs for dried, I added all of them in the 30 minute cooking time instead of waiting till after it was done to add the basil. And I also use spinach instead of kale it came out, so so delicious I will be using this again. Thanks for starting my Imagination with the soup recipe
★★★★★
Spoonful of Comfort
July 27, 2015 at 10:39 pmI am enjoying your posts Davida! And your recipes are really tasteful and great. I have tried some at home and my kids are loving the too. Looking forward for more from you!
Davida Kugelmass
July 29, 2015 at 7:25 amAw thank you so much! Your feedback is much appreciated 🙂
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Karen
September 23, 2013 at 10:21 amMy blogroll needs some updating as well!
YUM!This looks awesome and perfect for a chilly fall or winter night!
Karen @karenlovestorun
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com
September 17, 2013 at 6:13 amLove veganmiam and her wonderful recipes. this bean soup is definitely making me crave for a cooler weather 🙂