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Tuscan White Bean Soup

Name: Tuscan White Bean Soup
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 65 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil ((extra virgin)); 1 medium onion ((chopped)); 2 medium carrots ((chopped)); 1 stalk celery ((sliced and chopped)); 1 sprig rosemary ((1 - 2)); 2 leaves sage ((2 - 3)); 2 teaspoons garlic paste ((or 2 cloves, crushed)); 1 teaspoon salt; 3 cups chicken broth; 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes ((1 small can)); 14 ounces Northern beans; 1 cup farro ((rinsed))

Last updated on October 7, 2020. Originally posted on November 12, 2018 By Elaine 35 Comments

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This Tuscan white bean soup recipe is outstanding for a few different reasons: it is flavorful, creamy, delicious and so comforting. Even your children will eat this delightful soup!

White bean soup ladled into a crock with a spoon on the side of the bowl and the big bowl of soup and a salad in the background

I’ve eaten this soup for many years, and I will admit that this soup looks different to the soup I ate as a child.

I’ve experimented with this soup for years and during that time, the Tuscan white bean soup has evolved to this creamy, flavorful soup.

First off, my memory of the soup didn’t include fresh herbs. Secondly, I blend the ingredients before adding the farro. And thirdly, I’m not sure my grandmother or mom used farro. I think they used another grain. But I love farro!

I’m a big soup lover and Christopher has finally joined the soup parade! Here are some soups I have when I have different cravings:

Seafood: New England clam chowder and Paella soup

Classics: Italian wedding soup and French onion soup

Hearty soups: Split pea, Lentil and squash stew.

They are all so delicious and should be tried!

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Helpful tips

If you don’t have an immersion blender, please get one. There is nothing worse than transferring the contents of your pan to a blender, in batches, to process it to the right consistency. A good immersion blender goes for $50 – $100 and is so worth it, you’ll be wondering why you hadn’t gotten it before.
Use fresh herbs as it does make a difference, especially in this dish.
This dish usually uses borlotti beans (a.k.a cranberry beans and Roman beans), but since I can’t find them locally, good substitutions are Northern beans or Cannellini beans.
I recommend petite diced tomatoes but regular diced are also fine.
The farro grain comes in many different types (pearled, Italian, etc.) and you could use any of them. I just don’t recommend instant or precooked because I don’t like those textures.
My practice is to put the farro (or any grain/bean I’m cooking) in a sieve and rinse in a bowl cold water, swishing my hands through whatever I’m washing; empty bowl of water and repeat, twice at minimum, three times is a charm.

How to make this white bean soup

Step one

Gather an onion, carrots and celery. (A)

Step two

Cut the onion and carrots in small chunks. Slice the celery and chop the slices.

Step three

Heat a Dutch oven or medium sized stock pan on medium and once it has heated, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once that heats up, add the vegetables. (B)

Onion, celery and carrots on the left and a pan with the veggies cut up

Step four

Sauté the vegetables for 8 minutes and then add 2 teaspoons garlic paste, 1 teaspoon salt and sauté for 2 minutes. (C)

Step five

Gather the rest of the ingredients – washed farro, fresh rosemary sprigs, sage leaves and petite diced tomatoes, Northern beans and chicken broth.(D)

On the left carrots, onion and celery sautéed in a pan and on the left, farro, sage, rosemary, diced tomatoes, northern beans and broth

Step six

Add broth, rosemary, sage, tomatoes and beans. (E) First bring to a boil and lower to a simmer and continue to cook for 10 minutes. (F)

On left - broth, herbs and diced tomatoes added to the pan and on the right - all the ingredients cooked

Step seven

Remove rosemary and sage but don’t stress if you can’t remove it all.

Use your immersion blender and blend until some of the ingredients have smoothed out but you still have some whole beans and carrots

The white bean soup blended in the pan before the farro is added

Step eight

Add farro and simmer for 30 – 35 minutes.

Transfer Tuscan white bean soup into a serving bowl.

Farro cooked and the bean soup is in a serving bowl. There is a crock of soup and a salad behind it

Ladle some soup into a few crocks and serve. I served this delicious soup with a salad.

Close up of the crock of white bean soup and salad

And the overhead shot.

Overhead view of the crock of white bean soup with a spoon and big bowl in the background

It is one of our favorite bean soups! And I know it will be one of yours too if you try this Tuscan white bean soup recipe. The flavor is truly outstanding.

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