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Creamy White Bean Soup with Kale

4.99 from 302 reader reviews
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 5
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Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, small dice
  • 1 medium carrot, small dice
  • 1 stick celery, small dice
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • red pepper flakes or aleppo pepper, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, minced
  • 4 cups cooked navy beans, drained and rinsed
  • 4 cups vegetable stock
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  • 3 cups chopped and packed Lacinato kale (roughly 1 small bunch)
  • ¼ cup flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a medium-large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pot and stir. Sauté the vegetables until lightly softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.
  • To the pot, add the garlic, chili flakes, and rosemary. Stir and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the navy beans to the pot and stir. Add the vegetable stock to the pot and stir once more. Bring the soup to a boil.
  • Once boiling, ladle half of the soup into an upright blender with vented lid. Add the lemon juice to the blender as well. Carefully bring the speed of the blender up to high and blend until this portion of the soup is totally liquefied. Pour this liquefied portion back into the pot. Season the soup with salt and pepper.
  • Add the kale to the pot and bring the soup to a boil. Once the kale is slightly wilted and bright green, season the soup once more with salt and pepper, if you find it necessary. Stir in the chopped parsley as well. Serve the soup hot.

Equipment

  • Blender (with a vented lid)

Recipe Notes

  • Since this soup is so light on ingredients, I do recommend making your own vegetable stock for the best possible flavor.
  • An immersion blender works well here. Blend directly in the pot until you reach your preferred level of creaminess. Prefer a more brothy soup? Skip the blending step entirely. All the same flavors are there, just a lighter texture.
  • For a heartier, creamier soup, add 1-2 peeled and diced Yukon Gold potatoes along with the beans and stock. They cook through in the same timeframe and thicken the broth beautifully.
  • This soup freezes well for up to 3 months. Leave out the kale before freezing and stir it in fresh when reheating.
  • I finished my soup with a lemon-infused extra virgin olive oil and it was delicious!
A pantry-friendly white bean and kale soup that comes together in 40 minutes. Half the soup gets blended for a silky, lightly creamy texture without any cream. Add diced potatoes for an even heartier version. The kind of soup to make when someone needs taking care of.