A healthy, delicious recipe for Tuscan White Bean Soup also known as Ribollita – made with Cannellini beans, lacinato kale, and vegetables, drizzled with a Lemon Rosemary Garlic Oil. Hearty, nourishing, and easily vegan-Adaptable. (With a Video.)

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A healthy, delicious recipe for Tuscan Bean Soup called Ribollita - made with Cannellini beans, lacinato kale, and vegetables, drizzled with a Lemon Rosemary Garlic Oil. Hearty, nourishing, and easily vegan-Adaptable. (With a Video.)

This day will never come again.  ~Merton

This hearty flavorful Tuscan White Bean Soup, called Ribollita, originates from hilltop villages throughout Tuscany where, during the Middle Ages, hungry, 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.

Ribollitta translates to “re-boiled”.

Nothing was wasted. 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.

White Bean Soup (Ribolitta) | 50-sec video

Why I love this recipe

This recipe is just so wholesome and cozy and full of so much flavor. A meal unto itself! It’s a perfect winter soup that can be made vegan or vegetarian – the pancetta is totally optional and can be omitted altogether if vegan or vegetarian.

How to elevate White Bean Soup

  • For extra depth of flavor, add a bit of whole, Parmesan rind to the simmering soup, which will give it amazing flavor. 
  • To me, what really elevates this recipe is the “finishing oil” – a drizzle of olive oil infused with lemon zest, garlic and rosemary which gives this sometimes somber soup a delicious brightness.
  • Serve it with or over Crispy Sourdough Toast–  like you see here in our Brothy Beans Recipe! 

A flavorful hearty stew from Tuscany, called Ribollita with Cannellini beans, lacinato kale, and vegetables, served with crusty bread, drizzled with a Lemon Rosemary Garlic Oil. | www.feastingathome.com

How to serve Ribollita

Serve Ribollita with crusty bread to mop up all the tasty flavors, and a drizzle of Lemony Rosemary oil.

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.

A healthy, delicious recipe for Tuscan Bean Soup called Ribollita - made with Cannellini beans, lacinato kale, and vegetables, drizzled with a Lemon Rosemary Garlic Oil. Hearty, nourishing, and easily vegan-Adaptable. (With a Video.)

Expert Tips

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.

However personally, I’m a broth fan, so I leave this brothy and un-thickened so there are more juices to dip the crusty bread in while eating. Of course, this is a personal preference, so do as you like.

A healthy, delicious recipe for Tuscan Bean Soup called Ribollita - made with Cannellini beans, lacinato kale, and vegetables, drizzled with a Lemon Rosemary Garlic Oil. Hearty, nourishing, and easily vegan-Adaptable. (With a Video.)

On the homefront: Several years ago now, my group of girlfriends and I took a trip to Tuscany together. After years of planning, saving and dreaming, the time came when we were finally there, in a little hilltop village, soaking up all the Tuscan sunshine, wine and food we could handle.

Time seemed to slow way down, the hillsides were golden and glittery, so much beauty and detail to absorb.

There is something truly special about making the decision to go somewhere, and then to actually go. Life is so short. I feel it getting shorter every single day, and I guess I just want to impress upon you to do the things you’ve always dreamed of doing, and not to wait too long. 

This is where this soup came from…

A healthy, delicious recipe for Tuscan Bean Soup called Ribollita - made with Cannellini beans, lacinato kale, and vegetables, drizzled with a Lemon Rosemary Garlic Oil. Hearty, nourishing, and easily vegan-Adaptable. (With a Video.)

More White Bean Soup Recipes

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

xoxo

Sylvia

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Tuscan Bean Soup Recipe called Ribollita made with with Cannellini beans, lacinato kale, and vegetables, served with crusty bread, drizzled with a Lemon Rosemary Garlic Oil. | www.feastingathome.com

Ribollita (Tuscan White Bean Soup)

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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 Scale
  • 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)
  • 46 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
  • 23 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: with ½ cup chopped "Turkey bacon", parmesan and the finishing oil.
  • Calories: 325
  • Sugar: 4.5 g
  • Sodium: 851.7 mg
  • Fat: 18 g
  • Saturated Fat: 3.4 g
  • Carbohydrates: 32.3 g
  • Fiber: 7.1 g
  • Protein: 12.3 g
  • Cholesterol: 15.7 mg

 

 

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Comments

  1. This is my all time favorite soup recipe. I make it all the time. I have shared this recipe with many friends and relatives. My 6 year old grand daughter even loves it!






  2. This was so good! I only used a few pieces of bacon but it was so flavorful. The fennel is such a good flavor for this.






  3. Good! Good! Good! We had a snowstorm and I needed something hearty and warming for lunch. Boy was this ever delicious! I used thick bacon chunks and beet greens in my version. Yummy!






  4. This is one of my family’s favorites. I add chopped ham or shredded chicken to it sometimes to appease my 2-athletes’ appetites. Wondering if it freezes well? Any tips?






  5. This was so good! I ended up not making the infused olive oil, but added the juice of a lemon to the kale and tomatoes as well as a splash of Vermouth & white wine, some extra garlic in the soup along with a 1/4 tsp of fresh rosemary with the spices. Such a great recipe! Will try making the infused oil next time.






  6. I’ve made this soup many times and it’s delicious every time. I don’t add the pancetta or the rosemary olive oil but still delicious. The parmesan rind gives it a great flavor! I do cut back on the salt a bit.






  7. So yummy! Hearty enough for even my non soup loving husband. So much flavor and agree the infused olive oil really elevates things. I cooked beans in broth (on accident) but it worked out ok:)






  8. This guy s the most flavoursome soup I have had in a long time . My husband said he would pay for that in a restaurant…yay!!!
    Thank you Sylvia!






  9. This soup was amazing! The oil took it over the top. I didn’t change a thing and made it with the pancetta. Next time I’m going to try it without. Thank you for the excellent recipe. The oil took it over the top.






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