Description
Creamy Tomato Bean Soup is a rich, comforting, and hearty soup made with tender white beans, aromatic vegetables, and flavorful tomato paste, finished with fresh spinach and optional cream for extra richness. Perfect for a warming meal served with crusty bread.
Ingredients
Scale
Base Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter, unsalted
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp Italian herb mix (oregano, thyme, parsley, basil, or mixed)
- 3/4 cup tomato paste (170g)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine, optional
- 4 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable stock (1 litre)
Beans and Cheese
- 3 x 420g cans cannellini or any white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup parmesan, grated (50g)
Greens and Finishing
- 120g baby spinach
- 3/4 cup heavy cream (185ml), optional
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Melt Butter and Cook Vegetables: In a pot over medium-high heat, melt the butter and cook the garlic, onion, and carrot for 5 minutes until the carrot is soft and sweet.
- Add Herbs: About 3 minutes into cooking, add the Italian herb mix and cook together with the vegetables to bloom the flavors.
- Add Tomato Paste and Cook: Turn heat to high, add tomato paste, and cook for 2 minutes to remove the raw flavor.
- Add White Wine and Reduce: Pour in white wine (if using) and cook for 3 minutes until the harsh wine smell has dissipated and mostly evaporated.
- Add Beans, Stock, and Seasonings: Add half of the beans (about 1/2 cup), stock, parmesan, salt, and pepper. Stir, lower heat, cover, and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Puree the Soup: Use a stick blender to puree the soup until smooth, or carefully transfer to a blender and puree.
- Add Remaining Beans and Cook: Stir in the remaining beans and simmer for another 3 minutes.
- Add Greens and Cream: Stir in the baby spinach until wilted, then stir in the cream if using. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve: Serve hot with crusty bread for dunking.
Notes
- Tomato paste provides intense tomato flavor; substitute with 800g canned crushed or diced tomato and reduce stock to 3 cups if desired.
- Any white beans such as navy, lima, or butter beans will work; colored beans alter the soup color.
- If using dried beans, soak 5–24 hours, then boil and simmer until tender (about 25 minutes to 2 hours depending on bean type and age).
- Extra vegetables can be added; add diced veggies early or stir in greens that wilt easily.
- Protein additions like bacon, ham, sausage, chicken, or fish can be seared separately and added back into the soup.
- Soup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or frozen, then gently reheated.
- This recipe yields 4 to 5 generous servings and is very filling.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 550 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 8 g
- Protein: 15 g
- Cholesterol: 40 mg
