don’t know about you, but I’m tired of looking at all those cans of beans that I bought at the start of the pandemic in 2020. I’ve started to realize that some are nearing their sell-by date, too. So, I pulled this recipe from the archives and I’ve made two or three versions in the past couple of weeks. As the weather has turned chillier, it’s been a perfect cooking task when a pot of something on the stove steaming up the windows makes the house feel cozy.
I love this soup as it’s flexible and, since you can start with canned beans, doesn’t take long to prepare, either. It’s a terrific way to use up some of your random greens in your crisper drawer, too. I’ve made variations of this soup with just about every vegetable possible, but I always seem to return to the original combination of white beans and dark greens; they just complement each other somehow.
This is great with some crusty bread (like this no-knead version). If you don’t have stock in your freezer, check out my guide to making chicken stock or vegetable broth. Both work just fine in this recipe.
White Bean Soup with Greens
Ingredients
2 tablespoons oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 quarts chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 quart water
1 14 oz. can great northern or cannelloni beans, drained, rinsed
1 14 oz. can chopped and seeded tomatoes, or 2 cups fresh
1 to 2 cups other vegetables
1 tablespoon dried mixed Italian herbs
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 cups kale or collard greens, roughly chopped
Salt, ground pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft, about three minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the stock, water, beans, tomatoes, vegetables (if raw), herbs, cayenne and pepper and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add greens simmer about 10 minutes. Add soft and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls; sprinkle with grated Parmesan and a couple grinds of fresh pepper.To make this in an Instant Pot:Heat olive oil in the Instant Pot pan on saute. Add onion and cook untilsoft, about three minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the stock, water, beans, tomatoes, vegetables, herbs, cayenne and pepper and pressure cook for 7 minutes. It can stay on warm for at least an hour. Serrve with grated cheese and fresh pepper.
Photo by Nataliya Arzamasova. This post was originally published in February 2009. It has been updated.
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