Tomato White Bean Soup

Tomato White Bean Soup: rich, thick tomato broth infused with herbs and packed with beans and vegetables.

This time last year I resolved (in a post no less) to stop wasting food. It’s so darn expensive, right? So I’m tackling this resolution again and I hope you’ll join with me. Kitchen comrades in arms, if you will.

A quick inventory revealed five cans of Great Northern beans (must have been one heck of a sale), a couple of cans of crushed tomatoes, two tubes of tomato paste, four containers of chicken stock, an almost empty jar of Nutella (oops), Uncle Ben’s 90 second brown rice, canned artichokes, a jar of pesto and way more I won’t bore you with.

Between the pantry and refrigerator, I had all the ingredients for this Tomato White Bean Soup. . . minus the Nutella (which makes a fine dessert all by itself). You know what they say ~ “happiness is hot soup on a cold day”. 

Soups generally start with carrots, celery and onion so I’d recommend you at least start with that trio. Beyond that, there are many options: butternut squash, even a handful or two of green beans or swap out potatoes for the pasta.

Small amounts of vegetables in your refrigerator that aren’t enough for a side dish can add up to big flavor in a soup. Tomato White Bean Soup: the answer to my overstocked shelves and National Soup Month.

Tomato White Bean Soup Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• onion
• carrots 
• celery
• zucchini
• Salt and pepper to taste
• tomato paste
• white wine 
• crushed tomatoes
• chicken stock
• pasta
• bay leaf
• Great Northern beans
• pesto
• fresh spinach
• parsley
• Parmesan cheese (optional for topping)

Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil into a pot over medium heat. When it’s warm, drop in the diced carrots, onion and celery and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook a few minutes until the onions are translucent and the carrots are tender.

Blend in the tomato paste (which adds such richness to any dish) and cook over low heat 2-3 minutes. Pour in the wine, scraping any brown flavor bits off the bottom of the pot, then add the crushed tomatoes, zucchini chicken stock, pasta and bay leaf then season again with salt and pepper. I used a whole grain elbow macaroni but any small pasta is good.

Open and drain two cans of Great Northern Beans or another canned bean you may have a surplus of, like cannellini. If you have an immersion (more later ⇓) add both cans of beans to the pot. If you don’t have an immersion blender, add one can and mash the other can using a potato masher or fork then add to the pot. This will thicken the soup and add the rustic texture we’re going for.

I also added a couple of heaping tablespoons of pesto which has amazing condensed flavor. Cover and cook while you prep the spinach.

Cut the stems off the spinach leaves then give it all a rough chop then add it to the pot and cook over low heat, covered 15-20 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Using an immersion blender give the Tomato White Bean Soup several pulses in one area of the pot then fold in the parsley and serve with parmesan cheese for topping.. Isolating the immersion blender allows most of the beans to remain whole. 

I love cooking like this. What do I have and what can I create with it? The rice and artichokes didn’t find their way into the Tomato White Bean Soup but they’ll be turned into a batch of Chicken Piccata this weekend along with the lemons I found in the back of the vegetable bin.

Enjoy!

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Thick tomatoey broth infused with beans and vegetables including the superfood, spinach. It makes enough to feed a crowd or dinner for two with lunch all week. I like to freeze extra soup in individual containers for lunch over the next few weeks. The whole grain bread shown in the photos isn’t necessary – who am I kidding? It’s totally necessary to sop up every last drop of this soup. Trust me on this one.

Did you create a delicious recipe from ingredients you already had on hand?

Leave a comment. I’d love to read about it!

Tomato White Bean Soup

Tomato White Bean Soup ~ rich tomato broth, loaded with fresh vegetables and canned beans for a hearty, wholesome winter soup.

4.67 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Calories

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• 1 medium onion diced
• 2 carrots chopped
• 2 stalks celery
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• ½ cup white wine or another ½ cup of stock
• 28 ounce crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 large bay leaf
• 2 cans Great Northern beans drained
• 1/2 cup dry pasta any short/small variety
• 2 tablespoons pesto homemade or store-bought
• 3 cups fresh spinach stems removed and rough chopped
• ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
• Parmesan cheese optional for topping

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Instructions

 

• Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil into a pot over medium heat. When it’s warm, drop in the diced carrots, onion and celery and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook a few minutes until the onions are translucent and the carrots are tender.
• Blend in the tomato paste and cook over low heat 2-3 minutes then pour in the wine, scraping any brown flavor bits off the bottom of the pot then add the crushed tomatoes, zucchini chicken stock, pasta and bay leaf and season again with salt and pepper.
• Open and drain two cans of Great Northern Beans. If you an immersion (more later ⇓) add both cans of beans and the pesto to the pot. If you don't have an immersion blender, add one can and mash the other can using a potato masher or fork then add to the pot. Cover and cook while you prep the spinach.
• Cut the stems off the spinach leaves then give it all a rough chop. Add the spinach to the pot and cook over low heat, covered 15-20 minutes or until the pasta is tender.
• Using an immersion blender in one area of the pot, give the soup several pulses. If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer about 2 cups of soup to a regular blender. When it cools to room temp, puree it and return it to the pot.
• Fold in the parsley and serve with parmesan cheese for topping.

Keyword tomato bean soup

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