This Tuscan White Bean Soup is packed with texture and flavor! It’s a restaurant-quality dish you can easily make from the comfort of your own home!
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 45 mins
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 10 strips Bacon – diced
- 2 large Shallots – peeled & small dice (about 1 1/2 cup)
- 3 medium Carrot – peeled & small dice (about 3/4 cup)
- 3 medium Celery – small dice (about 3/4 cup)
- 4 small cloves Garlic – peeled & minced*
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- ¾ tsp Kosher Salt
- heaping 1/4 tsp Pepper
- ½ cup White Wine
- 4 Cups Reduced Sodium Chicken Stock (can substitute vegetable stock)
- 2 (14.5 oz) cans Cannellini Beans UNDRAINED (can substitute great northern beans)*
- 2 sprigs fresh Rosemary
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1 Parmesan Cheese Rind (optional)
- ¼ – ½ Cup Heavy Cream (can substitute Half and Half)
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- 1 TBS fresh Parsley leaves – chopped, or more to taste
- ½ Cup Parmigiano Reggiano, plus more for serving
Instructions
- Place a large stockpot over medium heat and add bacon. Cook until bacon is crisp and cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving bacon drippings in the pan. Set aside.
- You want about 1 tablespoon of drippings in the pot, if you do not have enough fat, add extra virgin olive oil to pan until you have about 1 tablespoon of liquid (just eyeball this).
- Increase heat to medium-high. Add shallots, carrot, and celery to the pot. Cook, stirring frequently until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper; cook until aromatic, 30 seconds – 1 minute.
- Add white wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until wine is reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 3-4 minutes
- Add the Chicken stock, beans with their liquid, rosemary sprigs, bay leaf and parmesan rind (if using).
- Increase heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
- Use tongs to remove rosemary sprigs, bay leaf, and parmesan rind. Add in the bacon, half and half*, chopped parsley leaves, and grated parmesan. Taste and adjust for seasoning. *Use ½ Cup for a creamier, richer texture and taste
- Options To Finish:1. Serve As Is.2. Use an Immersion blender to blend until desired consistency. I gently and carefully blended about ½ of the soup for a slightly creamy yet rustic soup.3. Remove a couple of ladlefuls of beans, puree remaining soup, add back in removed beans.4. Remove, in batches, to a blender and puree until desired consistency.
- To serve: Ladle soup into bread bowls and garnish with grated parmesan cheese.
Recipe Notes
- If you have an aversion to garlic, you might want to cut the amount of garlic in half or adjust the amount to your liking.
- DO NOT drain the beans! The liquid contains starch and helps thicken the soup. However, the liquid does contain sodium, so keep that in mind when adding salt to the soup!