Tuscan Ribollita Soup

This hearty tomato-based Tuscan ribollita soup is thickened with leftover bread and is loaded with vegetables and beans and a hint of rosemary.

Life has felt pretty hectic ever since a few days before Thanksgiving.

Our little guy turned 4 over the weekend, so post-holiday it’s been party planning and celebrating with family & friends.

Like so many moms, I was in overachiever mode with decorations and the party theme.

I love Pinterest because it’s full of endless inspiration, but I definitely suffer from Pinterest-induced stress in an attempt to make everything perfect.

It took work, but I had to keep my priorities in check.

The point of a birthday party is that everyone has fun including the guest of honor. Impeccably designed decor is not required.

It feels like a break to put my feet up, collect my thoughts and write this post.

Between baking treats and everything else, I didn’t have much time to cook. As a result, I clicked into one-pot meal mode.

I made a comforting dump-it-all-in kind of meal, Tuscan ribollita soup. 

Tuscan Ribolitta Soup: The Ingredients

If you’ve never had ribollita, it’s a hearty tomato-based soup. You thicken the broth with leftover bread.

Tomato-based soups are my favorite kind of soup, so I am always looking for variations.

For that reason, I guarantee you will find at least one can of tomatoes in my pantry. It’s just so easy to turn them into a hearty and healthy meal.

Each tomatoey spoonful of Tuscan ribolitta soup has lots of vegetables like onions, celery and carrots.

Cannellini beans make it even more filling. I mash a quarter cup of the beans to thicken the broth along with the bread.

Simmering fresh rosemary sprigs as the soup cooks gives it a subtly herby flavor. Plus I love smelling anything with rosemary in my kitchen.

I added a little shaved Parmesan on top before I ate my first bowl.

Knowing I was going to stretch this soup over a few days, I saved some of the bread to add each time I reheated the soup on the stove.

Tuscan Ribollita Soup

• Author: Paige Adams
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4 1x

This hearty tomato-based Tuscan ribollita soup is thickened with leftover bread and is loaded with vegetables and beans and a hint of rosemary.

Ingredients

• 3 slices crusty bread, torn into pieces
• 1–1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 white onion, roughly chopped
• 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 3 carrots, trimmed, peeled & roughly chopped
• 3 garlic coves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cup roughly chopped kale, stems removed
• 1–15 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1–15 ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• Shaved Parmesan for serving
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Toss the bread, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper on a sheet pan and spread into a single layer. Bake for 12-15 minutes until toasted and golden brown.
3. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Then sauté the onions, celery and carrots until they start to soften, about 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant. Stir in the red pepper flakes, tomato paste and remaining salt and pepper. Then add the kale and tomatoes.
4. Using a fork, mash about 1/4 cup of the beans before adding the mashed beans and the whole beans into the saucepan. Add the stock, rosemary and bay leaf. Bring everything to a boil before reducing the heat and simmering for 20-25 minutes.
5. Remove the rosemary sprigs and bay leaf and discard. Add about a third of the bread and continue simmering until the bread softens and starts to thicken the soup, about 5 minutes.
6. Then top each bowl with pieces of the remaining bread, Parmesan and parsley before serving.