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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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!
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.
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.
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…
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
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Ribollita (Tuscan White Bean Soup)
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
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
- 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
- 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)
- In a large, heavy-bottom pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and optional pancetta and saute 6-8 minutes.
- 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.
- Add the tomatoes and lacinato kale, and a splash of white wine, and continue sauteing and stirring occasionally for 7-8 minutes.
- 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.)
- Stir in fresh Italian Parsley. Adjust salt if necessary.
- Serve in bowls with a drizzle of the flavorful lemon oil, grated Parmesan ( or Romano) and crusty bread.
Notes
- 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.)
- 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
This recipe is delicious, however, I do have some concerns with the olive oil portion. Coincidentally, the same day I made this I saw a post about soaking garlic in olive oil, and the dangers involved. Apparently, soaking garlic in olive oils creates a perfect breeding ground for botulism. It is recommended that garlic in olive oil sitting in room temperature be discarded after 2 hours and refrigerated garlic in olive oil be discarded after 2-3 days. This recipe is calling for the mixture to rest out in room temperature over night. Perhaps this could be amended to meet recommended safety guidelines? Below is the source of my information:
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/stinking_facts_about_garlic
hi Nick, the oil sits on the counter while the soup is being made, not overnight. Or it can be refrigerated overnight. 😉
I’m getting ready to make this soup a second time but with dried beans. If I soak the beans overnight do I need to simmer them before I add them to the soup? I’ve never cooked with dried beans before.
You should be able to simmer them directly in the soup. Add more liquid if need be.
I did this. I cooked the beans separately before adding them to the soup. Some beans take a long time to cook. Better not to overcook everything else. If you have a pressure cooker, use it to cook the soaked beans quickly.
Great bean soup recipe.
I made this recipe a little over a week ago and my husband loved it so much, I made it again this week. The first time I made it, I used spinach. The second time I made it, I used red swiss chard. Both were absolutely delicious! I didn’t use the meat either time. I love the addition of the oil and lemon. This soup is now in my weekly soup rotation.
I love this recipe! It’s my new favorite. I made the vegan version with no meat, no cheese, celery, veg stock and miso. True confession, I made a second batch the same week.
I made the flavored oil, and it’s good, but to me it’s not needed. The soup is perfectly wonderful without it. I could eat this for every meal.
I also really enjoyed your description of the trip to Tuscany.
Thanks Sandy!
This soup is incredible! So satisfying. The lemon, rosemary, garlic oil is a very special addition! Thank you Sylvia!
Glad you enjoyed Maria!
I was looking for something new for my rotation of vegetable/lentil/ broccoli vegetarian soups and boy did I find it. Started chopping the veggies when winter storm hit and just picked it up today now that heat is on and we are thawing out this soup is the cats pajamas ! Had read of using Parmesan rind over the years and had one saved – gives a wonderful flavor ! The años for a great recipe
Glad you gave it a try!
I made this on a Sunday and had enough for four servings during the week. This recipe is delicious right off the stove top but gets better with each day it sits in the fridge. I highly recommend it.
Fantastic recipe! I kept it vegetarian by omitting the meat and adding vegetable stock. The lemon oil drizzle was just absolutely wonderful addition to the already delicious soup.
Soup amazing !
We made this twice in the past week – it’s just so good, we cannot get enough – comforting and hearty! The oil drizzle is also great – good for dipping bread too. A definite keeper! Thank you!
Phenomenal recipe. Made it with veg stock and without any cheese or meat- phenomenal. The lemon oil at the end is -kisses fingers- the cherry on top! Thanks for creating and sharing this recipe! Now trying to decide which recipe of yours to try next!
Very good!! I made it vegan without the pancetta and parmessan. Instead I added some mushroom seasoning and a few dashes of coconut aminos (since soy free) to add depth to the broth. I fried the garlic slices and rosemary in half of the olive oil and combined it with the other half and the lemon zest. Overall really good and would make again!
Unbelievable! I’ve never liked white bean soup because it was always so bland. This was PERFECT. Even my resident carnivore kept raving about it. I followed your recipe to a T, sort of. Used heaping cup of dry cannellini soaked overnight then simmered for 1 1/2 hours( kidneys take longer than otherbeans). In separate skillet cooked onions and other ingredients as per recipe subbing celery for fennel. Thought 1 teaspoon black pepper would be too much but went ahead and took a chance; so glad I did. Deglazed skillet with sherry. Poured into bean kettle, simmered until carrots were tender. In goes the kale and a good splash of sherry. Cooked another few minutes, turned off heat and let it rest. The cannellinis were so creamy but also held their shape. Topped with parsley, fresh parmesan and a healthy pinch of aleppo pepper and good to go. Forgot about the seasoned olive oil until the following day and found it just as flavorful without it. Next time I will add lemon zest and garlic with no oil.
This goes into my monthly rotation for fall/winter.
Thank-you
Great soup. I used spinach since I didn’t have kale. Added at last simmer phase. Will use this recipe all the time. I also used celery and one cup of red onion/one cup white.
I made this last night. AMAZING! I used my own veggie stock (made it a couple days ago). So wonderful! I also used celery instead of fennel (good job on posting substitutions, as I’m sure, there are some that don’t care for fennel. I happen to love it, but my family doesn’t). The Parmesan rind and the oil drizzle, make this soup so amazingly tasty! I will be making your butternut squash and apple soup tonight 👏🏻. You might just have a #1 fan here lol. Thank you!
thanks Christina!
This is on hard rotation for our work-from-home lockdown lunches! I cook a big batch at the start of the week and we eat it over a couple of days. It’s so satisfying and feels so nourishing at a time when we’re all trying to stay well. It’s really adaptable too if you don’t quite have the right greens or hard veggies or beans on hand. Thoroughly recommend it!
I love this recipe!! I was wondering, can you use the cooking liquid from dried beans instead of the chicken or veggie stock?
Oh sure, you may need to add more salt/seasonings.
Do you have directions on how to cook this in an instant pot? Thanks!!
I’m sorry I haven’t made this in the Instant Pot yet… but such a good idea!
I made this last night and everyone loved it! I skipped the pancetta, and used celery instead of fennel, and the canned beans. I also pureed a couple cups of the soup as was suggested under the Notes section. It turned out great. I would probably halve the salt next time. Also the infused oil was amazing! Sprinkle it with fresh parm cheese and you have a winner.
Thank you for the recipe!
Well, I just added a can of diced tomatoes with green chili… 🤦 we’ll see how it turns out!
Made this last night nearly exactly following the recipe. It was spectacularly flavorful and the perfect match on a snowy Colorado day for my recently baked Tartine sourdough bread loaf. I plan to deliver this along with the infused oil and some of my bread to friends. It’s one of my favorite ever soup recipes. Thank you. Yum!
This recipe is very authentic and simple to make. Thank you so much. It was fun and fantasico!
This soup is in my slow cooker on LOW – set to cook for 10 hours. Here’s hoping! I figure it can only get better throughout the day. Any experience making this soup in a slow cooker?
I added extra cubed ham for my carnivore husband. It already smells delicious and looks so appetizing, even before it’s ready. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi! Can you be specific about size can of diced tomatoes please? I would like to make this today! Thank you!
Yes, one 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes. 😉