Tuscan White Bean and Kale Soup

white bean kale soup in white dutch oven on burlap placemat

4.94 from 133 votes

Tuscan White Bean and Kale Soup

This cozy white bean and kale soup feeds an army on a budget with simple vegetables and a few pantry staples. Busy beginner cooks love this quick, healthy vegetable bean soup for a stove or pressure cooker.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Dinner, Dinner Recipes, entree, Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: cups

Calories: 127.7kcal

Author: Traci

Equipment

chef's knife
cutting board
4.5-quart Dutch oven or stockpot or 6-quart Instant Pot
serving ladle
airtight storage container

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Olive Oil or preferred oil
½ large Onion diced (1 cup)
2 Carrots diced (1 cup)
2 ribs Celery diced (1 cup)
5 cloves Garlic minced
1 (28-ounce can) Diced Tomatoes or Crushed Tomatoes don't drain
2 (15-ounce cans) White Beans (Cannellini or Navy) drained and rinsed = about 3 cups beans
4 cups Vegetable Broth
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon Salt use more or less, to taste
½ teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper optional
4 cups Kale any variety, chopped

Topping options

Lemon zest, fresh parsley, croutons, and grated Parmesan cheese.

Instructions

Heat a 4.5-quart soup pot over medium-high heat. Add OLIVE OIL and heat until shimmering.
Add ONIONS, CARROTS, CELERY, and GARLIC. Sauté a few minutes until softened, stirring as needed to build flavor.
Stir in TOMATOES (use diced for a more brothy soup or crushed for a thicker, tomato-forward broth), VEGETABLE BROTH, WHITE BEANS (drained and rinsed), ITALIAN SEASONING, SALT, and CRUSHED RED PEPPER.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally. For a thicker soup, mash some of the WHITE BEANS in the pot during this time.
Remove tough stems from KALE, chop into bite-sized pieces, and stir into the soup during the last few minutes of simmering (add earlier for softer KALE or later for more texture).
Taste and adjust SALT as needed.
Serve warm with optional toppings like lemon zest, parsley, croutons, or Parmesan.
To store, cool completely and refrigerate up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Video

Notes

Chopping shortcut – Chopping the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic is the main prep for this recipe. Use pre-chopped or frozen vegetables if you want to save time.

Beans – This recipe uses canned white beans for convenience. If using dried beans, cook them fully before adding to the soup. Cannellini, navy, great northern, and white kidney beans all work well.

Tomato options – Fresh tomatoes can be used in place of canned. Chop them into small pieces and expect a slightly longer simmer time to fully soften and develop flavor.

Kale prep – Remove tough kale stems before chopping, and cut the leaves into bite-sized pieces so the soup is easier to serve and eat. Baby kale can be used as-is. Any kale variety works well, including curly, Tuscan, and red kale.

Finish with brightness – Add a squeeze of lemon juice or a pinch of lemon zest just before serving to brighten the flavor.

Reheating – The soup will thicken as it sits, so add broth or water when reheating to loosen it.

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Pressure Cooker Instructions

Use the Sauté function to heat olive oil in the Instant Pot. Once hot, add onions, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook a few minutes until tender, stirring as needed. Stir in tomatoes, white beans, vegetable broth, Italian seasoning, salt, crushed red pepper, and kale. Press Cancel, secure the lid, and set the valve to sealing. Cook on Manual or Pressure Cook (high) for 1 minute. When done, allow a 10-minute natural release, then carefully vent any remaining pressure, open the lid, stir, and serve.

Nutrition