Warm up this season with a bowl of White Bean & Rosemary Soup. This healthy Italian-inspired soup is made with white kidney beans, rosemary, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and chicken stock. This hearty White Bean & Rosemary Soup gets its creaminess by pureeing half of the soup, rather than adding any cream or fat.
A Hearty and Cheap Meal
Beans are a vegetable that I have been eating more of lately since they are filling, healthy, and taste delicious. They are packed full of fibre and protein, and they are rich in magnesium and vitamin B6.
Beside the nutritional and flavour aspects, I have also been enjoying them because they are so inexpensive. A good quality at the grocery store these days! While canned, pre-cooked beans are a relatively cheap item to buy, you can make your money go further by buying dried beans. With a whole 750-gram (1.65 pound) bag costing only $2.99…you bet I will be buying dried instead of canned! Now, buying dried beans does require a bit of extra time and prep work, but they is so easy to cook as you will see below.
How to Cook Dried Beans
There are many ways to cook dried beans, but this is my favourite method for my White Bean & Rosemary Soup:
- Soak overnight: Soaking the beans in water overnight (12-18 hours) allows them to rehydrate and plump up, making cooking much faster.
- Cook in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven: This type of pot acts like a furnace and really gets warm when cooking the beans which also speeds up the overall cooking time. This is not an essential though—you can still cook the pre-soaked beans in a regular pot, however it may take a few minutes longer.
- No salt while cooking: While adding salt to the beans is a good way to season them, I find that it can make the skins on the beans a bit tough. This is not an ideal texture for this soup. I choose to omit the salt all together when cooking beans, but if you want, you can add it in once they are 80% cooked through.
Depending on the type of beans, the cooking time will vary. However, for larger white kidney beans like I have used in this recipe, it typically takes about 1 hour to cook them once they have been pre-soaked.
I hope that you enjoy this White Bean & Rosemary Soup recipe this season! Get the full recipe below and check out my YouTube video to see how to make this White Bean & Rosemary Soup from start to finish. My YouTube video will also give you some extra helpful cooking tips! Enjoy!
Get the Recipe!
White Bean & Rosemary Soup
Ingredients
- Water for soaking and boiling
- 2 cups dried white kidney beans
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 6 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 2- inch piece Parmigiano Reggiano cheese rind or 1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 6 cups chicken stock
- Extra virgin olive oil for garnish
- 1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano for garnish
- ¼ cup Italian parsley finely chopped
- Toasted baguette for serving
Instructions
- The day before you want to make the soup, rinse the dried white kidney beans and place in a large bowl. Cover with cool water, making sure there is at least 2 inches of water above the beans. Let rest at room temperature overnight.
- Drain the rehydrated beans and rinse with cool water. Place in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Cover again with cool water, making sure there is at least 2 inches of water above the beans.
- Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, cover with a lid, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 hour, or until the beans are tender. They should fall apart when pressed between your fingers. Drain the beans in a colander, then set aside. Do not rinse.
- Return the pot to the stove and heat over high heat. Once hot, add the olive oil and onion. Sauté for 4 to 5 minutes or until the onion is softened and translucent. Season with the salt and pepper, then add the garlic, rosemary, and bay leaf. Cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the drained beans back to the pot and add the chicken stock and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese rind. Mix to combine. Reduce the heat to medium, partially cover the pot with the lid leaving a 1-cm gap. Cook for 30 minutes.
- Once cooked, remove the bay leaf, rosemary sprigs, and the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese rind from the pot. Use an immersion blender to puree roughly half of the soup so that you are left with a few whole beans and a creamy bean soup base.
- To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with some grate Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and a sprinkling of parsley. Serve warm with a side of toasted baguette and enjoy!
