Easy Tuscan White Bean Soup (Creamy!)

This delectable Tuscan white bean soup is full of hearty vegetables, creamy textures, and Tuscan flavors.  Topped with salty bacon and full of protein, this comforting slow cooker soup is perfect for a cold night by the fire. 

Why you’ll love this recipe

Hearty – Beans, Cavolo nero, and bacon make this dish substantial enough to eat for a meal.

Comforting – The creamy texture and warmth of the dish will have you curling up with your favorite book and a blanket.

Slow cooker – The slow cooker allows all the flavors to marry while the cannellini bean soup cooks.  And it is ready for you when you want to eat it.

Fast –  No soaking the beans!  Just wash them and place them in the crock pot with all the other mouth-watering ingredients! 

Gluten free – This recipe contains no gluten!

Here are a few other hearty, comforting soup recipes for you to try; Spanish Chorizo and Butter Bean Slow Cooker Stew, One-Pot Creamy Tomato Tortellini Pasta Soup and Easy Bacon and Lentil Soup 

What kind of beans should I use?

The beans used in bean soup recipes vary depending on the type of soup.  For this Tuscan bean soup recipe, I will be using white beans.  There are several you can choose from, but cannellini or great northern are the best for this recipe. Love beans? Try my ; Creamy White Beans with Parmesan

Can I use canned beans?
If you only have canned beans, they are perfectly fine to use in this crockpot bean soup.  You can add them just like you would the dried beans.  However, the Tuscan white bean soup may not turn out quite as thick due to the difference in starch content. I’d therefore reduce the amount of stock by 400ml.  

Should you soak the beans?

Though many bean soup recipes call for soaking the beans before using them, the beauty of this recipe is that there is no soaking required.  The longer cooking time in the slow cooker does all the work for you!

Ingredients

White beans – White beans lend such a wonderful creaminess to this soup.  The starches from the beans also help to make the soup thicker.

Cavolo nero – This Tuscan kale is the perfect punch of nutrients for this simple comforting dish. Have you tried roasting cavolo nero?

Creme fraiche – A little creamy, a little tangy; creme fraiche gives a little extra pop of flavor and texture in this Tuscan soup.

See the recipe card for full information on all ingredients and quantities.

Variations/ Adaptations

• Different type of bean:  If you don’t have cannellini beans, Great Northern or Navy beans will work just fine.

• No Cavolo nero?  Try using spinach or a different type of kale.

• Make it vegetarian by using veggie stock and skipping the bacon.
• Make it vegan by leaving out the creme fraiche and bacon.  Then choose vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. 

How to make Tuscan White Bean Soup

1. Start by finely slicing the onions, carrots (in half moons) and celery (Image 1).
2. Then add the onion and carrots into a frying pan with a tbsp of olive oil. Sweat for around 6 minutes until the onions become translucent, then add the garlic to fry for 2 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper. (Image 2).

3. Meanwhile, fry the bacon pieces until they start to become crispy and browned (Image 3).

4. Wash the beans in a sieve (Image 4).

5. To the slow cooker, add the fried onion, carrot, garlic and half of the cooked bacon (reserving half for the topping) (Image 5).

6. Then add the beans and sun-dried tomatoes, then pour the stock into the slow cooker and stir. Pop the lid on and turn the cooking setting to high, set your timer/alarm to 5 hours (Image 6).

7. After 4 hours, add the cavolo nero and the rosemary into the pot to infuse for the last hour, no need to use string to tie the rosemary together, you can use some tongs to remove at the end (Image 7).

8. When the 5 hours timer is up, stir the coooked soup (Image 8).

Need inspiration for some other slow cooker recipes? Try my: Simple Slow Cooker Chilli Con Carne, Slow Cooker Gammon Joint (Best honey roast ham!) and Slow Cooker Beef Curry (One Pot)

Serving suggestions

This soup is best served with a large slice of fresh crusty bread and a nice salad.  Or if you prefer, breadsticks make for good dipping and instead of a salad, opt for a hot vegetable side like Tenderstem broccoli.

Leftover Storage and Reheat Instructions

Can you make this ahead?
This is a fantastic recipe to make ahead for meal prep purposes!  Do everything the same, then follow the storage instructions below.

Refrigerator storage:  Store made ahead soup or leftover soup in the refrigerator for 3-4 days in an airtight container.

Freezer storage:  Want it to last a little longer?  This soup is freezer friendly.  Store soup in an airtight container in a regular freezer for up to 3 months and a deep freezer for up to 1 year.

Reheat instructions:  Most important of all is how to reheat this delicious Tuscan soup!  When frozen, first thaw it in the microwave.  Once thawed, microwave the soup or heat it in a saucepan until warm.

When refrigerated, heat the soup in the microwave or saucepan until warm.

If you need some advice on reheating, see my ; The Best Way to Reheat Chicken Wings in the Airfryer, The Best Way To Reheat Salmon and The Best Way to Reheat Baked Ziti

FAQs

Explore More Recipes

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Easy Tuscan White Bean Soup

by Mimi Harrison

Print

5 from 3 votes

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 5 hours hrs

Total Time: 5 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

£1.25

mains

Italian

Freezable

Servings: 6

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MetricUS Standard

This delectable Tuscan white bean soup is full of hearty vegetables, creamy textures, and Tuscan flavors.

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 onion, diced (£0.15)
• ▢ 4 cloves of garlic (£0.39)
• ▢ 2 celery stalks, chopped (£0.69)
• ▢ 1 carrot, chopped (£0.30)
• ▢ 500 g dried white beans, washed (£1.25)
• ▢ 300 g of cooking bacon, sliced into bite size pieces £0.90)
• ▢ 100 g sun dried tomatoes (£2.00/4)=(£0.50)
• ▢ Fresh rosemary (£0.55)
• ▢ 150 g cavolo nero, torn into pieces, stork removed (£1.00)
• ▢ 6 dollops creme fraiche (£0.89/2)=(£0.45)
• ▢ 50 g Pecorino (£1.35)

Cupboard Essentials

• ▢ 1.6 to 1.8 litre litres chicken stock
• ▢ 1 tsp paprika
• ▢ 1 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ Salt & Pepper

Method

• Start by adding the finely diced onion and carrots into a frying pan with a tbsp of olive oil. Sweat for around 6 minutes until the onions become translucent, then add the garlic to fry for 2 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, fry the bacon pieces until they start to become crispy and browned.
• To the slow cooker, add the fried onion, carrot, garlic and half of the cooked bacon (reserving half for the topping), then add the beans and sun-dried tomatoes. Pour the stock into the slow cooker and stir. Pop the lid on and set the cooking setting to high, set your timer/alarm to 5 hours.
• After 4 hours, add the cavolo nero and the rosemary into the pot to infuse for the last hour, no need to use string to tie the rosemary together, you can use some tongs to remove at the end.
• When the 5 hours is up, serve the soup with a dollop of creme fraiche, some crispy bacon and a sprinkle of Pecorino. Enjoy!

Notes

• Be patient and allow the soup to cook for the full 4 hours in the slow cooker to ensure all the flavours blend perfectly.
• Soak the beans overnight, this will reduce the cooking time and ensures even cooking.
• Taste the soup and adjust seasoning before adding pecorino and creme fraiche for the best flavour.

Nutrition

Servings: 6 servings

Fat: 19g

Calories: 513kcal

Carbohydrates: 53g

Protein: 34g