Ribollita Recipe

This Ribollita recipe is wonderfully hearty and delicious and has over 100+  5-star reviews! It’s made with cannellini beans, lacinato kale, vegetables, and optional day-old bread with deep savory Italian flavors. It’s finished with Rosemary Garlic Oil. It’s vegan-adaptable.

This day will never come again.  ~Merton

I first experienced Zuppa di Ribollita while on a trip to Tuscany with my girlfriends. It was the trip of a lifetime—we had been planning it for years!  I couldn’t wait to recreate it at home and share it with you the exact way I experienced it there.  Every time I make this soup, I am transported back to those happy places.

It is deliciously comforting and homey. What makes this recipe stand out are my chef’s tips- so be sure to read through them. After years of perfecting this soup in our catering business, we’ve created a recipe our readers return to again and again! Just read the reviews!

Ribollita originates from hilltop villages of Tuscany where, hard-working peasants who served table-side to their wealthy landowners, would pocket the leftover crusts and crumbs and bits of meat after abundant feasts and add these to their soups and stews at home- nothing was wasted.

Ribollitta means to “re-boil.” Traditionally, it’s a big pot of soup made with simple garden vegetables like onions, carrots, celery, kale, tomatoes and cannellini beans (or white beans) in a flavorful broth, thickened with bread, then reheated and eaten several days in row, getting better and better each day. It’s a very humble and economical meal, yet it feels like a feast. 

Why you’ll love This Ribollita!

This soup is just so wholesome, hearty, and full of rich flavor—a meal unto itself! It’s a perfect one-pot meal that can be adapted to your dietary preferences. Make it vegan, vegetarian or even gluten-free.

I offer up a few of my chef’s tips below for creating the perfect batch- including using fennel bulb and parmesan rind and making the finishing oil. 

Ribollita Ingredients

• Cooked cannellini beans –  used canned cannellini beans (drained, rinsed), or great northern white beans, or cook your own from dry beans.
• Fresh tomatoes – or use one 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes
• Lacinato kale, also know as Tuscan kale, chopped
• Onion and Garlic cloves – for savory depth and flavor. Red onion, white onion or yellow onion all work.
• Carrots and Fennel – or sub-celery stalks for the fennel bulb. Fennel really adds a lovely complexity.
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Chicken stock or veggie stock
• Fresh herbs: rosemary, thyme, bay leaf,  or Italian seasoning.
• Kosher salt, black pepper and chili flakes
• Optional additions: white wine, pancetta, parmesan rind, day-old stale bread like ciabatta, french bread or sourdough, or toasted bread or even croutons.
• Garnishes: Rosemary Oil (see notes), Italian parsley leaves, grated pecorino or parmesan cheese, and  Crusty Bread

Ribollita VAriations

• For extra depth of flavor, add a bit of whole Parmesan rind to the simmering soup, which will give it richness and amazing flavor.
• For an extra hearty soup, add 1-2 cups diced potatoes.
• Elevate it with Rosemary Oil- a drizzle of olive oil infused with lemon zest, garlic and rosemary which gives this sometimes somber soup a delicious brightness.
• Instead of Rosemary oil, drizzle it with Gremolata!
• Serve it with or over crispy Sourdough Toast– as you see here in our Brothy Beans Recipe! 

How to make Ribollita

1. Make the Rosemary Oil – place all ingredients in a small jar or bowl and let sit on the counter.
2. In a large, heavy-bottom pot or large dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat and sauté the onions and optional pancetta and saute 6-8 minutes.
3. Lower heat to med-low and add the carrots, fennel (or celery) and garlic, salt, pepper and chili flakes, and cook another 7- 9 minutes until vegetables are tender.
4. Add the tomatoes and lacinato kale, and a splash of white wine, and continue sauteing and stirring occasionally for 7-8 minutes.
5. Add the stock and cannellini beans. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 15 minutes. (You could add a Parmesan rind to the simmering soup for extra depth of flavor.) Feel free to stir in hand-torn pieces of day-old bread to thicken the soup.
6. Adjust salt and pepper and stir in fresh Italian Parsley.

Serving Suggestions

Serve Ribollita in  bowls with a drizzle of the flavorful rosemary oil, grated Parmesan (or pecorino ) and crusty bread to mop up all the tasty flavors. It’s hearty enough for dinner, just on its own, and gets better and better each day… so I like making a big pot of this and eating it throughout the week.

Other Italian dishes that work well with Ribollita are Chicken Marsala, Chicken Piccata, or Traditional Chicken Cacciatore. Serve it with a big Caesar salad and bread. Finish it off with lovely Tiramisù for dessert!

Chef’s Tips

1. You can keep this soup brothy for dipping your bread into it or thicken it. To thicken the soup, you can blend a cup of the beans into a puree or add torn pieces of day-old bread into the soup itself, cooking the bread down. It will add a delicious heartiness. If you know ahead of time that you will be using day-old bread, tear it apart with your fingers and let it dry out on a sheet pan on the counter overnight- you can also slightly toast it.
2. Make it ahead! If making this for a gathering, make it a day ahead ( leave out the bread) refrigerate and reheat. It will get more flavorful as the flavors meld. Add the bread if using when yo heat it up. Be sure to make the flavorful rosemary oil- store it in the fridge, and let it come to room temp before using.
3. The parmesan rind truly elevates! I always save mine and freeze them so I have them on hand for soups and stews.
4. Rosemary Oil- makes the soup pop!

Storing your Ribollita

Leftovers will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  Reheat over low heat on the stovetop.

You can freeze Ribollita in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months and thaw it overnight in the fridge.

I hope you enjoy this Tuscan soup as much as I have! Please leave your comments and rating below. 🥂

Sylvia

More White Bean Soup Recipes

• Brothy Beans on Garlic Toast
• Creamy White Bean Soup with Gremolata
• Tuscan Cannellini Bean Soup
• Smoky Tomato White Bean Soup
• Instant Pot Chicken and White Bean Soup
• Pumpkin Soup with Leeks and White beans
• Brothy Tortellini Soup w/ Spinach, White Beans &  Basil
• Instant Pot Minestrone Soup (Vegan!)

Have a delicious weekend! Let us know how you like Ribollita in the comments below!

xoxo

Sylvia

Watch how to make Ribolitta

Ribollita (Tuscan White Bean Soup)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 138 reviews

• Author: Sylvia Fountaine | Feasting at Home Blog
• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 8 cups
• Category: Main, soup
• Method: stove top
• Cuisine: Italian
• Diet: Vegetarian

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

A hearty flavorful Tuscan White Bean Soup called Ribollita with lacinato kale, cannellini beans and garden vegetables served with crusty bread and drizzled with a flavorful lemon rosemary oil. See notes for vegan option.

---

Ingredients

Units USM

• 1/8 cup good olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped pancetta or bacon –optional (feel free to leave this out, or sub vegan bacon)
• 2 cups diced onions
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced fennel bulb (or sub celery)
• 4 – 6 cloves garlic- rough chopped
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, more to taste
• 2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
• 2–3 medium tomatoes – diced (or a 14-ounce can diced tomatoes)
• 6 cups lacinato kale, chopped
• Splash white wine
• 6 cups chicken or veggie stock
• Parmesan rind (optional, but adds depth and flavor)
• 3 cups cooked cannellini beans – or use 2 cans cannellini beans (drained, rinsed), or great northern white beans
• ——–
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• Grated pecorino or Parmesan – optional or try vegan parmesan
• Crusty Bread

Rosemary Lemon Garlic Oil ( for drizzling) 

• 1/2 cup good olive oil
• zest of one large lemon
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• few sprigs rosemary (or thyme, sage)

---

Instructions

1. Make the Lemon Garlic Rosemary Oil – place all ingredients in a small jar or bowl and let sit on the counter (or make the day before, refrigerating)
2. In a large, heavy-bottom pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and optional pancetta and saute 6-8 minutes.
3. Lower heat to med-low and add the carrots, fennel (or celery) and garlic, salt, pepper and chili flakes, and cook another 7- 9 minutes until vegetables are tender.
4. Add the tomatoes and lacinato kale, and a splash of white wine, and continue sauteing and stirring occasionally for 7-8 minutes.
5. Add the stock and beans. Bring to soup to boil, turn heat down and simmer for 15 minutes.(You could add a Parmesan rind to the simmering soup for extra depth of flavor.)
6. Stir in fresh Italian Parsley. Adjust salt if necessary.
7. Serve in bowls with a drizzle of the flavorful lemon oil, grated Parmesan ( or Romano) and crusty bread.

---

Notes

1. NOTE: If you like a thicker soup, blend or puree 1-2 cups of the soup, and add back to the soup. Or, thicken it with day-old bread, torn into small pieces and cooked with the broth. This is the traditional way. (I prefer a brothier version of this soup, so I skip both and serve with toasty bread on the side instead.)
2. Keep this vegan by using veggie broth, no pancetta or parmesan. The rosemary oil will add a delicious flavor – I highly recommend it. Sometimes I’ll add a tablespoon of Nutritional Yeast for a more cheesy flavor and 1 tablespoon miso paste to add more depth. Up to you.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 ¼ cup with finishing oil
• Calories: 391
• Sugar: 6 g
• Sodium: 936.1 mg
• Fat: 20.8 g
• Saturated Fat: 3.7 g
• Carbohydrates: 42.7 g
• Fiber: 9.5 g
• Protein: 13.4 g
• Cholesterol: 4.9 mg