Easy Tuscan Bean Soup that is so good for you
I love this soup because it has a lot of my favorite veggies plus canellini beans which I adore.
This is sort of a Tuscan recipe which is rich in vegetables.
Tuscan cuisine is known for its fine natural and flavorful ingredients. Olive oil, pasta and the veggies are the main ingredients. (For non vegetarians, they also use a lot of fish in their cooking.)
In Tuscany vegetables and herbs are always fresh, it seems. Here, we sometimes go for the canned version because we don't always have all day to spend in the kitchen slaving over our hot stoves. While fresh is always best, it's OK to use some canned stuff in this soup.
This soup can also be made in the Crock Pot while you're out and about for your day.
Tuscan Veggie Bean Soup
1 can of canellini beans, drained and rinsed 1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon of dried sage
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of ground pepper
32 ounces of vegetable broth
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 cups of chopped baby spinach leaves
1/3 cup of grated Parmesan
- Mash half the beans and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and cook (stirring occasionally) until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the broth and tomatoes with the juice and bring to a boil.
- Add the mashed and whole beans and the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes.
- Sprinkle with Parmesan.
