Italian Bean Soup Recipes

CREAMY ITALIAN WHITE BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat oil. Cook onion and celery in oil for 5 to 8 minutes, or until tender. Add garlic, and cook for 30 seconds, continually stirring. Stir in beans, chicken broth, pepper, thyme and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and then simmer for 15 minutes.
• With slotted spoon, remove 2 cups of the bean and vegetable mixture from soup and set aside.
• In blender at low speed, blend remaining soup in small batches until smooth, (it helps to remove the center piece of the blender lid to allow steam to escape.) Once blended pour soup back into stock pot and stir in reserved beans.
• Bring to a boil, occasionally stirring. Stir in spinach and cook 1 minute or until spinach is wilted. Stir in lemon juice and remove from heat and serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top.

ITALIAN BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Rinse dry beans.
• In a Dutch oven combine rinsed beans and 5 cups cold water.
• Bring to boiling; reduce heat.
• Simmer for 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans.
• In a slow cooker combine beans, 4 cups water, onion, tomatoes, bouillon, garlic, the 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, and pepper.
• Cook, covered, on high or 5-6 hours until beans are tender.
• Thaw green beans and stir into soup.
• Cook about 30 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, stir together margarine,garlic powder, Parmesan, and 1/8 teaspoon Italian seasoning.
• Spread on 1 side of each bread slice.
• Broil 4 to 5 inches from oven broiler for.
• 45 to 60 seconds or until crisp and light brown.
• Watch carefully.
• To serve, ladle soup into bowls.
• Float 2 pieces of herb toast atop each bowl of soup.
• Serve immediately with extra Parmesan.
• You can also add chopped ham, Italian sausage that you brown first, or leftover beef roast.

ITALIAN BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, saute the onion, potato and celery in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the broth, beans, tomatoes, parsley and pesto. Bring to a boil. Stir in pasta. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until pasta is tender, 10-15 minutes. , Add spinach and cook just until wilted. Sprinkle each serving with cheese.

ITALIAN BEAN SOUP WITH GREENS

Steps:

• In 5-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onion, celery and garlic; cook about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until onion is tender.
• Stir in beans, tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, pepper and broth. Cover; simmer 30 to 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• Increase heat to medium; stir in spinach. Cover; cook 3 to 5 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted. Ladle soup into bowls; top each with cheese.

ITALIAN MIXED BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Pick through the dried beans and discard any shrivled or broken beans. Also watch out for tiny stones. You can use any mix of beans you like but my mix tends to inclue equal parts navy beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans.
• Put the beans in a large pot and add water enough to cover the beans by a good 3 inches. Cover and let soak for at least 8 hours or overnight. (alternately you can put the beans in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, cover and remove from heat, let stand for an hour. It yields a differnt texture but still yummy).
• Drain beans.
• Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onions and garlic until the onion becomes translucent or about 3 minutes. Add the celery and carrots, saute another 2-3 minutes.
• Add the 8 cups of water, bouillon cubes and beans. Bring to a boil. Cover and lower heat to simmer. Simmer for 1 hour and 40 minutes.
• Add lentils, tomatoes, spinach, ground red pepper, oregano, and basil. Cover and simmer 20 minutes more.
• Both beans and lentils should be soft at this point. If they are not let them simmer longer.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.

ITALIAN BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Brown sausage and onion in a large pot until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
• Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until carrot is tender and flavors have blended.
• Discard bay leaf and serve.
• Garnish with parmesan cheese and parsley if desired.

ITALIAN WHITE BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Rinse and pick the beans then cover them with water and soak for 6 hours or overnight. Drain.
• In a large heavy bottom pot heat up a good lug of olive oil and saute the leek (or onion) with the carrot and celery until they begin to soften.
• Quickly stir in the chopped garlic and cook for a few seconds just until fragrant then add the soaked beans.
• Pour in the water and bring to a constant simmer. Add the bay, sage and rosemary, cover with a lid and cook for 45 minutes or until the beans are soft and tender to your liking.
• Check the beans half way through cooking and see if you might need to add extra water if they are absorbing lots of liquid.
• Once your beans are perfectly cooked remove from heat, stir in the nutritional yeast and season to taste with the smoked sea salt.
• Meanwhile grill the bread on both sides until nice dark char marks form. Rub each slice on both sides with a garlic clove, lightly brush with some olive oil and finish with sea salt.
• Ladle the soup into bowls and tear chunks of the garlic bruschetta over the top. Finish with a light drizzle of olive oil on top and enjoy.

HEARTY ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook and stir sausage, onion, and garlic in the hot skillet until sausage is browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and discard grease.
• Add broth, black beans, butter beans, diced tomatoes, basil, and oregano; bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for at least 10 minutes.
• Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese.

HEARTY ITALIAN WHITE BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add potato and carrots; cook and stir 3 minutes. Add onion, celery, zucchini and jalapeno; cook and stir 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender., Stir in remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 12-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Freeze option: Freeze cooled soup in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally; add a little broth or water if necessary.