Rosemary White Bean Tomato Soup
on Sep 28, 2020, Updated Jan 08, 2024
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Made with sprigs of fresh rosemary and garlic, this white bean tomato soup is fragrant and flavorful. It has chunks of tomatoes in the broth along with bites of creamy cannellini beans. After the soup simmers for 20 minutes or so, I stir in chopped kale to add nutritious leafy greens making this vegetarian soup even more hearty.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Canned tomatoes and veggie broth can be the base for countless easy soup recipes including this one. They are both pantry ingredients that should have a permanent spot in your kitchen. That’s because together they are a total dream team for soups and vegetable stews.
Beans are a simple way to make soups more filling. Not everyone thinks that a bowl of soup can be a meal on its own. Protein-packed pulses like beans and lentils are how you transform soup into something that’s nourishing and satisfying.
It has a beautiful mix of flavors with fresh rosemary and garlic. This soup recipe is all about layering in different flavors. Besides fresh herbs and minced garlic, it has a pinch of red pepper flakes. It is the perfect balance for this tomato soup.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- White beans: I like plump cannellini beans, but you can substitute with smaller ones such as navy beans or great northern beans.
- Tomatoes: The recipe calls for a large can of diced tomatoes. Unlike crushed tomatoes or tomato puree, this will give you bites of tomato throughout the soup.
- Kale: I take advantage of the warmth from the soup and stir in chopped kale. It quickly softens. You can use curly kale or lacinato kale.
- Rosemary is a fresh herb that has a very distinct flavor. If you want it to be more subtle, then just use 1 sprig instead of 2. Some of the leaves will fall off the stems as the broth simmers.
- Garlic: I include 2 minced cloves.
- Red pepper flakes, salt & pepper season the soup. Just pinch of red pepper flakes layers in a touch of heat. If you want the broth to have a more noticeable amount of spice then add up to a 1/4 teaspoon.
- Vegetable broth: Always use low-sodium veggie broth, so you can control the amount of salt in the soup. If you don’t need it to be vegetarian, you can substitute with chicken broth.
- Parmesan: To finish the soup, I sprinkle each bowl with shaved Parmesan. In addition to that, I simmer the soup with a parmesan rind. If you haven’t been saving these precious rinds, start doing it now. When you put them in soups and sauces, they add wonderful umami flavor.
- Parsley: I garnish the soup with chopped fresh parsley to round things out.
How To Make Rosemary White Bean Tomato Soup
1. Sauté the onions. First warm the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Give the onions 3-4 minutes to start to soften and turn translucent.
2. Stir in the garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Sauté until the onions become fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
3. Add the beans, tomatoes, vegetable broth, rosemary and parmesan rind (if using). Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the broth thickens slightly.
4. Stir in the chopped kale. It will wilt in a few minutes. Remove the rosemary sprigs and parmesan rind. Then divide the soup into bowls and top with shaved Parmesan and chopped parsley.
Serving
As mentioned, beans make this soup filling. You can serve it with a piece of crusty bread that you can use for dipping. You can also pair it with a salad such as an Italian chopped salad, a basic arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette or a brussels sprout caesar salad.
Leftovers, Storage & Freezing
You can keep leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container up to 3 days. Let them cool to room temperature before you store them. Warm them in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove over low to medium heat.
To keep the soup longer, up to 1 month, you can store it in the freezer. Let it thaw before warming it. The kale will soften more from being frozen, thawed and reheated.
Recipe Tips
To make the soup thicker, reduce the amount of vegetable broth from 4 cups to 3 cups. This will make the soup eat more like stew. It will slightly reduce the yield.
If you want the soup to be creamy, transfer half of it to a blender before you add the kale. Puree it, pour it back into the pot and then stir in the chopped kale. I do this with my chickpea soup recipe too.
Don’t forget to take out the rosemary sprigs and parmesan rind before serving. The last thing you want is one of them to make a surprise appearance in a bowl of soup. I just use my kitchen tongs to fish them out.
Recipe FAQs
My preference is fresh rosemary, but you can substitute with 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary. Add it with the garlic and other dried seasonings.
Either use a plant-based version of Parmesan or leave out the cheese all together.
More Bean Soup Recipes
Pasta e Fagioli
Tuscan White Bean Soup
Black Bean Soup
Tahini Roasted Cauliflower Bean Soup
Rosemary White Bean Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1-15 ounce can white beans, drained and rinsed (cannellini beans, navy beans or great northern beans)
- 1-28 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 Parmesan rind, optional
- 1 cup roughly chopped kale leaves
- Shaved Parmesan and chopped parsley for serving
Instructions
- In a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Sauté the onions until they start to soften, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Continue sautéing until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add the beans, tomatoes, vegetable broth, rosemary and parmesan rind (if using). Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until it thickens slightly, about 20-25 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped kale. Give it a few minutes to wilt. Remove the rosemary sprigs and parmesan rind.
- Divide into bowls and top with shaved Parmesan and chopped parsley before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
In the recipe you don’t mention when to add the beans? I see it on top but not in the official recipe.
Hi Debra. Thanks for catching that! I just updated the recipe. You add the beans along with the tomatoes and veggie stock.
Amazing. Does this freeze well?
Very flavourful. I added garlicky white beans, leftovers from a previous day. Used spinach instead of kale.
Made this on a cold winter night. Very filling. Delicious!