Cheesy Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup (Vegetarian)
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Cooking a perfectly nutritious kale and white bean soup is easier than it has ever been if you make use of creamy-white beans, delicious veggies, and some croutons and cheddar for an extra flavorful topping.
A few splashes and swirl-ins here and there and you have a wholesome vegetarian white bean soup ready to fuel you. Just wait and see how it becomes your absolutely best soup for weight loss.
Remember to add this ribollita soup to your healthy weight loss meal plan for satiety, necessary calorie intake and simply to warm up by slurping down a bowl of good soup.
You can cook it either on the stove top or in the oven. Further down in the instructions we’ll explain how to do it both ways.
To make it all downright smooth we have brought into play our weight loss gem, white beans. We want the overall recipe to be low-calorie, high fiber, and rather awesome – and white beans help with this.
Tuscan cozying up with kale and white bean soup
We are preparing a centuries-old Tuscan white bean soup, alias ribollita soup, that dates back as far as the Middle Ages.
The word “ribollita” in fact means “reboiled” since the soup was made by thickening day-old vegetable soup with bread.
Our Italian white bean soup recipe has true old Tuscan countryside ardor which serves not only to satisfy your stomach but also as heartfelt comfort food.
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Health benefits
White beans are by all means the life and soul of this flavorsome party. We are cooking a cannellini bean soup, and the cannellini beans in it will impress you with their pleasant nutty flavour and great texture.
White beans are worth writing odes to because of their high nutrition density. White beans are an incredible source of protein, fiber, minerals, and vitamins which are easily digested.
We are using canned beans for our ribollita soup, and for this reason, it would be better to drain and rinse them to lessen the amount of sodium in the dish.
Loading up on kale with tuscan white bean soup
Kale is a super healthy vegetable that is surely designed to reduce hunger and help with weight control.
Kale contains various nutrients which help to support heart health, reduce cancer risks, increase bone density, and boost digestion.
You can bake kale chips, add kale to sauces, vegetable smoothies, and salads, or test its power with our kale and white bean soup recipe.
While cooking soup, you don’t need to worry about the potential bitterness of kale as the cooking process will reduce it. However, if you want to eat it raw or slightly cooked, add a few drops of olive oil and some lemon juice.
Weight loss grand plan
Legumes and soups are considered some of the most weight-loss-friendly foods in the world. Maintaining a healthy body weight will be made easier if add them to your diet.
Soup is a great meal choice for weight loss as long as there aren’t any sneaky ingredients pumping up the calories.
When it comes to slimming down, it’s best not to choose very creamy or oily soups. The best soup for weight loss should be loaded with fiber and protein but still have a low-calorie count (these are also the rules we followed when choosing our high protein vegan soups!).
Luckily, we’ve compiled a list of healthy vegetarian soup recipes that are all less than 500 calories per serving, with less than 15g fat and at least 14g protein to keep you full and fit.
The ingredients in our vegetarian white bean soup are also carefully selected for healthy fat loss. Just remember you still need to pay attention to the rest of your meals too!
If you want a successful vegetarian weight loss strategy then you should check our FREE 7-Day Vegetarian Weight Loss Meal Plan.
You’ll find plenty of handy tips and tricks to lose weight as a vegetarian and you can try out our quick and easy recipes.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ onion (chopped)
- 1 medium carrot (chopped)
- 1 stalk celery (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (sliced)
- 1 can crushed or diced tomatoes
- 1 can cannellini beans
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 3 sprigs thyme, dried (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ tsp chili flakes
- 2 cups kale leaves (torn, packed)
- 1 ¼ cups croutons (stove top version or 2 medium slices of sourdough bread, torn (oven version))
- 1 oz mature cheddar (finely grated)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Stove top version
- In a medium pot over medium-low heat add the olive oil. Add the white onion, carrot and celery stalk diced or chopped into ½ inch pieces (doesn’t have to be exact). Cook for about 8 minutes, until they have reduced and softened. Halfway through add the sliced garlic.1 tbsp olive oil, ½ onion, 1 medium carrot, 1 stalk celery, 2 cloves garlic
- Turn the heat to high and add the canned crushed or diced tomatoes. Once they boil, allow to simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring once in a while so nothing sticks to the bottom.1 can crushed or diced tomatoes
- Add the cannellini beans, broth, thyme, chili flakes and bay leaf to the pot. Over medium-high heat allow the soup to simmer and bubble for about 10 minutes. In the last 3 minutes add the kale leaves and stir. By the end the soup should have reduced and thickened. Fish out the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Season soup with salt and pepper per taste.1 can cannellini beans, 1 cup vegetable broth, 3 sprigs thyme, dried, 1 bay leaf, ¼ tsp chili flakes, 2 cups kale leaves, Salt and pepper to taste
- Serve the soup. Top with croutons and grated cheese. Serve immediately.1 ¼ cups croutons, 1 oz mature cheddar
Oven version
- In a medium pot over medium-low heat add the olive oil. Add the white onion, carrot and celery stalk diced or chopped into ½ inch pieces (doesn’t have to be exact). Cook for about 8 minutes, until they have reduced and softened. Halfway through add the sliced garlic.1 tbsp olive oil, 1 medium carrot, 1 stalk celery, 2 cloves garlic
- Turn the heat to high and add the canned crushed or diced tomatoes. Once they boil, allow to simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring once in a while so nothing sticks to the bottom.1 can crushed or diced tomatoes
- Add the cannellini beans, broth, thyme, chili flakes and bay leaf to the pot. Over medium-high heat allow the soup to simmer and bubble for about 10 minutes. In the last 3 minutes add the kale leaves and stir. At that moment, turn on the oven with the broiler on to 230C/450F degrees. By the end the soup should have reduced and thickened. Fish out the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Season soup with salt and pepper per taste.1 can cannellini beans, 1 cup vegetable broth, 3 sprigs thyme, dried, 1 bay leaf, ¼ tsp chili flakes, Salt and pepper to taste
- Serve the soup into oven proof bowls. Top with torn bread pieces and grated cheese. Bake just until the bread is toasted and the cheese has melted and slightly browned. Serve immediately.1 ¼ cups croutons, 1 oz mature cheddar
NOTES
Nutrition
We hope you enjoy this vegetarian white bean soup! It’s a new recipe but we’re convinced vegetarian bean soups are so much more appealing than we originally thought (they’re now some of our favorite healthy vegetarian bean recipes!).
Enjoy!
Good soup and great post.
Glad you liked the soup, John!