Here’s a simple, hearty Smokey White Bean Soup you can make in your Instant Pot or on the stovetop using dry beans. Smoked paprika and optional Harissa paste give it a delicious flavor that will have you coming back for seconds. Low in calories, high in fiber, this soup is vegan and gluten-free. Includes a Video!
Do not try to save the world or do anything grandiose. Instead, create a clearing in the dense forest of your life and wait there patiently, until the song that is your life falls into your own cupped hands and you recognize and greet it. Only then, will you know how to give yourself to this world so worthy of rescue.- Martha Postlewaite
Many of you have been asking for more recipes using up dry beans you have in your pantry. Here is a hearty, rustic Smoky Tomato & White Bean Soup recipe that is full of flavor and comes together very easily. You can make this in your instant pot or on your stovetop. This is one of those soups that you’ll actually look forward to the leftovers and the soup freezes well for later use.
What I love about this soup is how healthy and nourishing it is. It feels hearty and satisfying without being too heavy. The leftovers get even better as the flavors have a chance to meld.
Smoky Tomato White Bean Soup | 60-second video
Plus it always feels good to use up pantry ingredients- doesn’t it? I tend to overstuff our pantry, so I try to make at least one pantry meal a week.
Ingredients in White Bean Soup (see recipe card for details)
- onion, garlic
- carrots, celery
- canned tomatoes
- roasted peppers
- dry white beans (soaked) or canned white beans
- spices
- thyme
- veggie broth
- optional: kale or spinach
Today I’m using these lovely heirloom Cannelini Beans but please- use what you have- just make sure to soak them first.
What are Cannellini Beans?
Cannellini beans are a type of white bean is also known as white kidney beans or fazolia beans, often mistaken for Great Northern White Beans. They are quite large, and when cooked – are deliciously buttery and creamy, with a beautiful nutty flavor- while holding their shape and structure. Popular in Tuscany, they are lovely in soups and stews.
Now, like I said, you can use regular Great Northern White beans here- but wanted to introduce you to something new if unfamiliar. They are worth seeking out.
How to make White Bean Soup:
Start with sauteing the onions in a little olive oil.
Add the celery and carrots and the thyme.
I am also using up a jar of roasted peppers. You could easily substitute a fresh red bell pepper.
Add these peppers along with the canned diced tomatoes to the pot.
Add the soaked beans. One pound of soaked white beans will roughly translate to 4 1/2 to 5 cups. I love how big and creamy these cannellini beans are.
Add the soaked, drained white beans along with the broth into the pot.
You could “beef this up” by adding a couple of whole boneless chicken thighs (and shred after) – or keep it totally meatless- I promise you really will not miss the meat here friends.
Today I’m just using water and the organic veggie bouillon which gives really good flavor to soups and stews.
Add the smoked paprika.
Stir in the salt, spices and bay leaves.
If cooking in the instant pot, set it to 12 minutes on high pressure. Let it naturally release for 5 minutes, before manually releasing the pressure.
At this point, you could stir in some chopped kale or spinach to bump up the nutrients.
How to serve the White Bean Soup:
While the white bean soup is cooking- make the Harissa Oil. Swirl together harissa paste and olive oil to drizzle over the soup. Now, this is optional but pretty tasty.
You can also just use a drizzle of olive oil.
Serve the soup with some fresh flat-leaf parsley, pepper or Aleppo chili flakes and harissa oil.
Fresh baked crusty bread or baguette is nice here too to mop up all the flavor.
Or make sourdough croutons – always nice to have on hand for soups and stews!
More recipes you may like:
- Tuscan Cannellini Bean Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken and White Bean Soup
- Ribollita! (Tuscan White Bean Soup)
- How to Make Authentic Harissa Paste in Two Easy Ways!
- Pumpkin Soup with Leeks and White beans
- Brothy Tortellini Soup w/ Spinach, White Beans & Basil
- Ribollita! (Tuscan White Bean Soup)
Smoky Tomato White Bean Soup
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 12 cups
- Category: soup, stew, vegan, beans
- Method: Instant pot
- Cuisine: North African
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Smoky Tomato White Bean Soup made with dry beans in an instant pot or on the stovetop. Vegan and gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry white beans, soaked 8-12 hours ( 2 cups dry) or sub 3 x 14-ounce cans, drained
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 6 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 1 1/2 cup carrots, chopped
- 2 cups celery chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1/4 cup white wine (or skip it)
- 14 ounce can diced tomatoes, with juices (or 1 1/2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped)
- 1 cup roasted bell pepper, chopped (from a jar is OK or use a fresh bell pepper)
- 6 cups veggie broth or chicken stock ( or sub water and 2 teaspoons veggie bullion)
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice or AC vinegar
Garnish: Harissa Oil or olive oil, fresh flat-leaf parsley, crusty bread.
Optional Harissa Oil:
- 1 tablespoon harissa paste
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Soak the cannellini beans in 3 times the water for 8-12 hours.
- Set Instant Pot to Saute function. (See notes for stovetop version)
- Heat oil and saute onions 5 minutes. Add garlic, stir for 2 minutes.
- Add carrots, celery and thyme, give a good stir. Deglaze with wine and scrape up any brown bits.
- Add tomatoes, roasted peppers, drained white beans, broth or stock, salt, smoked paprika, cumin, pepper, cayenne and bay leaves. Give a good stir.
- Set the Instant pot to High Pressure for 12 minutes.( If using canned beans, pressure cook 6 minutes.)
- Manually Release after 5 minutes.
- Stir in the lemon juice.
Serve with a drizzle of Harissa Oil, or a drizzle of olive oil, fresh flat-leaf parsley, pepper and crusty bread. This Roasted Garlic Olive bread is especially nice here.
Notes
Optional Harissa oil: whisk 1 tablespoon Harissa paste with 3 tablespoons olive oil in a small bowl.
Meat-eaters- add a 1/4 cup Spanish-style chorizo ( finely chopped) to add smoky flavor.
3 x 14-ounce cans of white beans is roughly 4 1/2 cups of cooked white beans.
Stovetop Version:
- Heat oil over medium-high heat, in a dutch oven, and saute onions 5 minutes. Lower heat to medium, add garlic, stir for 2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add carrots, celery and thyme, give a good stir, cook for 5 minutes. Deglaze with wine and scrape up any brown bits.
- Add tomatoes and their juices, roasted peppers, broth or stock, soaked beans, salt, smoked paprika, cumin, cayenne, pepper and bay leaves. Give a good stir.
- Bring to a simmer, cover and simmer gently on low or medium-low until the beans are tender roughly 20 -25 minutes (depending on what size beans you use). Uncover and cook off some of the liquid if need be.
- Stir in the lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cups
- Calories: 252
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 881.6 mg
- Fat: 8.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 36.7 g
- Fiber: 10.3 g
- Protein: 9.6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Though I read all your recipes with great interest, I’ve been too intimidated to try them. But I figured soup in an instant pot I can do! And as I got into the recipe, it came together quite easily! I love recipes using dry beans (economical and always tastier) and the instant pot. I couldn’t find harissa paste so I just added chopped parsley, red pepper flakes, and squeezes of lemon juice. It’s delicious and I’m glad to have leftovers. I halved the recipe and made it in my 3qt instant pot. Oh I also quick blended a little bit of the soup (with a stick blender) to make it creamier. Thank you for this perfect winter recipe. I’m now looking with great interest and more confidence at your instant pot risotto and polenta. (p.s. My favorite thing about your recipes is that you always offer vegan options, which I appreciate being lactose intolerant and vegetarian.)
So glad you gave it a try Arj! Thanks for circling back and letting us know, super helpful.:)
This recipe has so much flavor without being too spicy. I used fire roasted diced tomatoes instead of roasted red peppers. I made this with dried beans, and I always cook the beans separately and drain before proceeding — I find that adding tomatoes can “stop” the cooking process for dried beans, and I hate it when they are under cooked.
Thanks for the tip Barbara! Glad you enjoyed.
I have a question. Why are you culling reviews?
Hi There,
Hi Kat, like most blogs, we have an automated spam filter set on our site that will removes spamy reviews. We also won’t post reviews that are not helpful to the reader, or contain profanity, hate or intolerance.
Anonymous reviews that are overly negative, in the past have been an attack by another blog trying undermine our posts, so they can rank higher, so we weigh those, based on quality of the review and whether it gives enough detail to other readers, or to help us understand what went wrong with the recipe. For example a review like” This recipe sucks” is not helpful to anyone, vs. “This sucks because it was too salty or you forgot to include an ingredient, or your instructions were confusing.” If you have a review that you don’t see, with in these criteria, please repost it. 🙂
This was absolutely delicious. I used canned navy beans because it’s all I had and they worked out just fine. A little Parmesan cheese was the perfect accompaniment.
Great to hear Geoff!
This soup is so good, very hearty. I made it with alubia blanca beans from Rancho Gordo. I got them as a gift & wanted to try them. I soaked them for 5 hrs & used the Instant Pot method. It turned out wonderful. Even impressed family who are not big fans of beans. Thanks! 🙂
Sounds super tasty Mary!
The soup was really tasty. It was just delicious. I didn’t even use the harissa paste. Definitely no ordinary vegetable soup. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
Thanks Lynda- glad you liked it!
Delicious soup. I used navy beans since that’s what I already had and made it in the instant pot. Also, added some fresh spinach. Thank you!
Glad it worked out!