Tomato White Bean Farro Soup
on Feb 18, 2026
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This tomato white bean farro soup has the perfect combination of pantry and fresh ingredients that give it wonderful flavor and keep the prep work to a minimum. Ready in less than 30 minutes, grains and beans make it a hearty vegetarian soup. I take advantage of the heat in the pot and stir in chopped kale when the broth is almost done simmering.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
It uses two of my favorite cooking staples: canned tomatoes and beans. They have a permanent spot in my pantry because they’re the starting point of countless soup recipes. Combined with onions, kale, garlic and dried spices, you can make a tomato-based broth with vegetables and great flavor.
Adding grains to soups makes them more filling. For all those people who say soup can’t be a meal, try adding farro, barley or brown rice. Grains along with beans make a big, meal-worthy soup. Technically a seed and not a grain, this vegan quinoa chili, is another soup that goes with this same strategy.
Make-ahead soups are key to fall-winter cold weather survival. I admit that I’m counting down the days to spring and summer and peak seasonal produce. However, where the chilly months thrive is the freezer. I have multiple soups waiting to be thawed and reheated for those times when I think I have nothing to eat.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Diced tomatoes: I use them when I want a tomato broth that isn’t as thick as a veggie puree. Then the soup also has chunks of tomatoes to go with bites of beans and kale.
- White beans: Cannellini beans are the biggest followed by great northern beans and navy beans, which are the smallest. In these photos, I used medium-size great northern, which I like because they’re similar in size to the diced tomatoes.
- Farro has a nutty and chewy bite and is most similar to barley. I also have a recipe for a frozen vegetable soup with barley.
- Kale: Either curly green kale or lacinato kale works for this soup. I tear the leaves off the thick stems and chop them.
- Tomato paste intensifies the tomato flavor of the broth without thickening it. To avoid waste, I open a can of tomatoes paste, scoop it by the tablespoonful onto a lined sheet pan and freeze it. Once the dollops are solid, I combine them in a bag. Then when I need one, I microwave it to quickly thaw.
- Garlic: Because Italian seasoning has some dried garlic, I only include 2 minced garlic cloves. That’s enough to make the soup fragrant without being too much.
- Italian seasoning, kosher salt and black pepper give the soup the right amount of flavor. Italian seasoning blends include rosemary, oregano, thyme and more spices, so they always feel like a shortcut to me. A little goes a long way without having to take pinches from multiple spice jars.
- Low-sodium vegetable broth: If you don’t need the soup to be vegetarian, you can substitute with low-sodium chicken broth.
- Parmesan: After I ladle the soup into bowls, I sprinkle it with grated parmesan cheese. Leave it out to keep the soup vegan.
- Parsley: In addition to parmesan, I also garnish the soup with chopped fresh parsley.
How To Make This Tomato White Bean Farro Soup
1. Sauté the onions. Warm the oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Sauté the chopped onions and until they start to soften, about 4 minutes.
2. Add the aromatics and grains. That includes the tomato paste, garlic, Italian seasonings, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. I also stir in the farro to toast the grains for a minute or two and to allow a little more time for the flavor to develop.
3. Pour in the diced tomatoes, beans, vegetable broth and water. Bring everything to boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes until the farro is tender.
4. Add the kale. It will take just a couple minutes for the leaves to soften. When you portion out the soup into bowls, sprinkle it with parsley and parmesan.
Serving
I like eating soup for lunch or dinner with a side salad to complete the meal. Some of my go-tos are a baby arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette, a house salad or an Italian chopped salad. A slice of crusty bread or focaccia is also good on the side with this white bean soup recipe.
Recipe Tips
- Check the seasonings. Taste the soup when it almost done simmering, so you can see if it needs more salt or pepper to boost its overall flavor.
- When you reheat leftovers, you may need to add more liquid. The farro can soak up the broth. I add some water to the bowl of soup I’m reheating. I also taste it to see if it needs to be seasoned.
Tomato White Bean Farro Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 cup farro
- 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 15 ounce can white beans, drained and rinsed
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup chopped kale leaves
- Chopped parsley for serving
- Grated Parmesan cheese for serving
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Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Sauté the onions and until they start to soften, about 4 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, garlic, Italian seasonings, red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper and farro and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Pour in the diced tomatoes, beans, vegetable broth and water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes until the farro is tender.
- Stir in the kale, giving it about 2 minutes to soften.
- Divide the soup into bowls and garnish with chopped parsley and grated parmesan as desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
