This white bean and kale soup recipe has been a family favorite for many years. In fact my teenager who thinks pizza, hamburgers and chicken nuggets are the major food groups loves this soup! It’s a total home run recipe for us.
My dad used to work overseas and when he’d come home to visit, he’d buy out the grocery store with plans to feed an army before his trip ended. This benefited my family in two ways, we ate lots of yummy meals while my dad was here and then when he left, he’d leave all the extra groceries with us.
White Bean and Kale Soup
On one trip he left us kale and Pecorino Romano cheese, two things I’d never bought before. Soup is pretty forgiving so it seemed like the easiest thing to do was find a soup to utilize both kale and Romano cheese. I found several recipes that were simple but a Whole Foods recipe (no longer online) inspired my recipe the most.
White Bean and Kale Soup Recipe Ingredients
- extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 medium-sized onions, diced
- 6 minced cloves of garlic
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 4 cups packed chopped kale
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can cannellini beans (white kidney), drained and rinsed
- 2 cups sliced carrots (or baby carrots cut into thirds)
- ~ 1lb chicken sausage (omit or sub with soy crumbles to make soup vegetarian)
White Bean and Kale Soup Recipe
- Brown the sausage on medium heat, I used my new fancy pants Dutch oven
- Then add the onions and sauté, after a few minutes then add garlic
- Add broth, kale, tomatoes, and carrots and cover
- Let simmer for ~5 minutes until Kale is tender
- If necessary, add a couple of cups of extra water if broth seems low
- Add beans and simmer on low for at least 1 hour (add salt & pepper here if you like)
White Bean and Kale Soup Variations
- The extra water depends on how much liquid boils away, I always seem to add several cups as it simmers.
- Salt/pepper is really up to your taste.
- I’ve also doubled the beans, tomatoes and or kale on occasion.
- Top with crunchy croutons and grated Pecorino Romano cheese, YUM
- 21 Day Fix: 1 Cup = 1 Red, 1 Green 1/2 Yellow (or measure out ingredients) – Per a friend that follows this diet.
You could also make this in a crockpot for an easy weeknight meal. I’d wait to add the kale until the last hour to be sure it doesn’t overcook.
This recipe is awesome for us because it utilizes fresh ingredients and pantry items that we usually have on hand. I just have to pick up a bunch of kale and we are good to go.
More Soup Recipes
- Instant Pot Sausage, Kale and White Bean Soup <— Same soup but IP version
- Canned Black Bean Soup <– Great with quesadillas!
- Instant Pot Potato Soup
- Lots more Instant Pot Soup Recipes
This post was originally published January 5, 2012.
Desert Chica is my place to share a peek into our life and the easy and inexpensive costumes, crafts and desserts I like to make.
anon. says
Kale is pretty inexpensive at Food City. I usually see it for $1 for a bunch, some times a $1 for 2 if on sale. 🙂 It’s great sauted with oil and garlic. ooh, maybe butter? Will try next time.
kc says
Good to know I can snag it cheap! I am so excited to have hit a home run with our first attempt, we tend to shy away from produce we haven’t tried before. We have to be “forced” into it!
anon. says
I was on my phone yesterday and so I couldn’t write a whole lot. However, I wanted to comment on the soup. It looks and sounds delicious, and hearty, great for the (slighty) cold weather! ha, love AZ during the winter! I love how your blog includes a bit of everything!
Ashleigh Boucher says
How many servings is this?
Karen says
The measurements aren’t exact and I love adding more broth into it but I’d estimate 10-14 servings.
Angela says
I am on the 21 day fix so after I made this (delicious!) recipe, I portioned it into containers for the week. I added a little more water to my soup as it simmered, and it made just over 8 servings (one cup/serving).
Karen says
Awesome! I am so glad you enjoyed it!
Siobhan says
This looks delicious! I’d like to make this soup in the crockpot as my stove is out of order. Can I just throw everything in? And how long does it cook in the crockpot? Thanks!
Karen says
I haven’t tried it in my crockpot but I’d recommend waiting to add the kale until the last hour. Everything else should be good to dump in together.
Amy Jo says
This is fantastic.
And HEALTHY.
This is the first time my boyfriend has asked me to make something twice in a row.
I did top w crushed red pepper flakes, added a TINY splash of cream and crumbled bacon before serving.
5 star for sure.
Thank you for sharing.
Karen says
Awesome! Thanks for letting me know how much you liked it. We will have to try your modifications next time I make it! 🙂
Danielle says
Just made this tonight and it is so good! Thank you for posting this recipe so easy to make and inexpensive and I have leftovers for the rest of the week. Even the kids love it!
Karen says
Yay! Thanks for letting me know. We love it too!
Carrie says
I love this soup! I was searching for kale related soup recipes after we made the copy cat ZuppaToscana recipe and found this. I froze the soup by portion size and it reheated well. Works well for 6 week body makeover plan too. I added red pepper flakes and used a variant of Rachel Rays chicken sausage recipe. I also added diced butternut squash instead of carrots, but they cannot cook long before they turn to mush.
Karen says
Awesome. I am so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the tip on the butternut squash substitution!!
Allison says
Could someone tell me where to buy said chicken sausage? All i see at the grocery is in link form.
Karen says
I will deconstruct links when that’s what I have.