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Tuscan Bean Soup is a hearty, comforting soup that will fill you up during the cold months. Fresh vegetables, protein packed beans and flavorful bacon great a soup you are sure to love. Add your favorite fresh herbs for extra flavor and serve it with a side of your favorite crusty bread to soak up all of those delicious juices!
When the colder months roll around I love to have hearty soups on rotation.
I often make this Moroccan Red Lentil Soup, Instant Pot Turkey Chili and Tuscan Bean Soup for my family.
I love soups that are packed with protein. This soup uses two cans of white beans, making it an easy weeknight meal idea. One of my favorite parts of this soup is that it also uses bacon. I don’t often use bacon in my recipes but when I do it makes me very happy.
The bacon adds a lot of rich flavor to the soup but if you want to skip the bacon you can leave it out. The soup is great as a vegetarian soup or with the bacon added in depending on what you have on hand.
I like to serve this soup alongside these Simple Garlic Parmesan Green Beans and this Lemon Arugula Salad.
If you like bean soups try this Instant Pot 15 Bean Soup, Pinto Bean Soup, Navy Bean Soup Recipe or this Mediterranean White Bean Soup.
Recipe Ingredients
For exact ingredient amounts and instructions, see the full recipe card below.
- Beans: The white beans are the star of this soup. It creates a protein packed meal that will keep you feeling full. You can use cannellini or great northern beans.
- Bacon: I used bacon in this Tuscan Bean Soup. It adds great flavor to the soup. You can use pork or turkey bacon. I also like to leave about 1 Tablespoon of the bacon fat in the pan to cook the vegetables in for the soup. It adds great flavor!
- Vegetables: This soup uses carrots, celery and zucchini. There are a lot of options you can add in. Some of my favorites are mushrooms or diced tomatoes.
- Greens: I like using greens in my soups. I suggest you grab a handful of kale, swiss chard or spinach and add it in this soup.
- Herbs: Fresh herbs are a great way to finish off a soup. It takes the flavor to the next level. If you have fresh parsley, basil, thyme or oregano chop it up and add it in.
How do you Make this Tuscan Bean Soup
Step 1: Cook Bacon: In a large pot over medium heat add the bacon. Cook the bacon until it is crisp and cooked through. Remove from the pot and place the bacon on a plate lined with paper towel. Set aside.
Step 2: Sauté Vegetables: At this point you can either drain the bacon fat from the pot or you can keep about 1 Tablespoon of the bacon fat in the pot to add flavor to the soup. Heat the olive oil in a large pot and add the onion. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to sauté for another 2 minutes.
Add in the carrots and celery and sauté for another 4-5 minutes. Add in the zucchini, white beans, oregano, thyme, basil, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, chicken or vegetable broth and Parmesan rind {optional}.
Step 3: Simmer: Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the kale and let wilt. Stir the bacon back into the soup. Remove the Parmesan rind if you used one. Serve the soup in small bowls garnished with parsley, fresh Parmesan cheese and serve with bread.
More Soup Recipes
Vegetarian
Green Lentil Spinach Soup
Mediterranean
Lemon Lentil Soup Recipe
Mediterranean
Lebanese Lentil Soup
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Tuscan Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery , diced
- 1 medium zucchini, chopped into halves
- 30 ounce cannellini , or great northern beans {undrained}
- 8 strips bacon, chopped
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper , {optional}
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 4 cups chicken broth, or vegetable broth
- 1 cup kale, chopped
- 1 Parmesan rind, {optional}
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat add the bacon. Cook the bacon until it is crisp and cooked through. Remove from the pot and place the bacon on a plate lined with paper towel. Set aside.
- At this point you can either drain the bacon fat from the pot or you can keep about 1 Tablespoon of the bacon fat in the pot to add flavor to the soup.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot and add the onion. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to sauté for another 2 minutes.
- Add in the carrots and celery and sauté for another 4-5 minutes.
- Add in the zucchini, white beans, oregano, thyme, basil, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, chicken or vegetable broth and Parmesan rind {optional}.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the kale and let wilt. Stir the bacon back into the soup.
- Remove the Parmesan rind if you used one. Serve the soup in small bowls garnished with parsley, fresh Parmesan cheese and serve with bread.
Notes
- You can omit the bacon if you like.
- If you are trying to control your salt you can drain and rinse your beans.
- This soup also is nice if you use 1 can of white beans and 1 can of chickpeas.
- Feel free to use a variety of vegetables to your liking. Some I like include bell peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What a great dish to start the fall!
Hi
Thanks for your recipe.
Do you have a slow cooker version of this recipe?
TUSCAN BEAN SOUP
I do not but it would be easy to do! My suggestion would just be to add the bacon after it is done cooking. Here is what you would do.
Add all ingredients to slow cooker except kale and bacon and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Cook the bacon and add to the soup at the end and also stir in the kale at the end of cooking right before serving.