This hearty potato, kale, and white bean soup is thick, creamy, delicious, and loaded with vegetables. It is bursting with flavor and is perfect for the cold wintry months.
I have been on a soup kick lately. There’s no better way to warm up on a cold, dreary day than with a bowl of homemade soup. This one-pot soup is a hearty meal bursting with nutrients and fiber to keep you full. It’s one of my favorites so I hope you enjoy!
Zuppa di Toscano
This soup recipe reminds me of Zuppa di Toscano because they have a similar ingredient profile. Zuppa di Toscano is an Italian soup filled with kale, potato, white beans, and sausage. The difference, however, is most Zuppa di Toscano recipes add cream, whereas I keep mine light by incorporating additional vegetables to enhance the nutritional value.
Optional: Add crumbled meat (sausage, turkey, chicken or beef)
I chose to make the soup vegetarian this time, but have made it numerous times with crumbled chicken sausage. I’ll either buy five Italian chicken sausage links to crumble (without the anise and no casing) or go to the butcher and have them grind up a pound of sausage.
Before adding the meat into the soup I brown it in a pan to add more flavor. The sausage adds an amazing flavor and compliments the potato, bean, and kale mixture really well. If you don’t want to use sausage, choose any ground meat or opt to keep it vegetarian like I did this time around.
So creamy but no added cream!
Most creamy soup recipes use heavy cream to thicken it up, but not this one! The thickness in this soup comes from pureeing half the white beans. Additionally, after simmering the soup, I puree a few ladles worth. This makes the liquid not just a thin broth but a nice creamy consistency. If you opt not to puree the simmered soup in addition to the white beans, it will just be more chunky in a thinner liquid. But I highly recommend following it the way I made it to see for yourself how yummy it is!
The holy trinity of cooking
I want to quickly discuss the main trio of ingredients: carrots, celery and onion. A holy trinity in cooking is simply a combination of three aromatic ingredients (vegetables, herbs or spices). The ingredients are gently sautéed together in butter/oil to provide a flavor base for other ingredients to build upon.
In Italian cuisine, this holy trinity is called “sofrito” and in France it is called “mirepoix” (meer-pwah). This mirepoix or sofrito is considered the secret sauce, or essential ingredient, and is what makes your food taste so good. The onions, carrots, and celery trio is the mirepoix for flavoring soups, stews, casseroles, sauces, meats and much more
It is so easy to make homemade soup
The best part about making homemade soups is you get to control the ingredients. I chose low sodium broth because most store-brought soups are loaded with sodium. Instead of adding salt I will season with black pepper, chili flakes for some heat, and turmeric. Add whatever vegetables you have on hand, within any ratio. You really can’t mess up making a soup.
It may seem like this soup requires a lot of chopping, but once you get it all in the pot it just simmers away until ready to puree and eat. Also, when I make a soup I usually make a large pot so there will be plenty of leftovers for the week. I love keeping my freezer stocked with hearty soups so I can defrost one whenever I need a quick nutritious meal. And, because there is no added cream, this soup freezes beautifully.
This hearty potato, kale, and white bean soup is vegan or vegetarian as long as you use vegetable broth. I’ve made this soup with both vegetable and chicken broth and the flavor comes out the same. If you are not vegan, I do recommend adding a sprinkle of parmesan cheese to serve because it is so delicious!
Hearty Potato, Kale, and White Bean Soup
8-10 servings
Ingredients
- 5-6 large carrots peeled, sliced in halves (or quarter)
- 6 stalks celery diced
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 zucchini’s diced
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 3 red potatoes peeled, diced
- 1-2 medium sweet potatoes peeled, diced
- 4-6 cups low sodium broth chicken or vegetable
- 2-14 oz cans small white beans or navy beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼-½ tsp Black pepper
- ½-1 tsp Turmeric
- 5-6 cups lascinato kale ribs removed, chopped small (or buy bag of kale cut up but be sure to remove any thick stems)
- Grated parmesan cheese optional
- Optional: 5 sausage links crumbled or 1 lb ground sausage (Italian or chicken sausage) or any other ground meat (turkey, chicken, beef)
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium heat. Lightly coat the bottom of the pot with olive oil. Once hot add the onion, carrot, celery and sauté for 5-7 minutes until translucent.
- Add the diced zucchini, stir and cook an additional 3 minutes. Then add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Let cook, stirring occasionally for about five minutes.
- While that is all cooking, peel and dice the potatoes. Tip: I will usually add them to a bowl and cover them with about 2-3 cups of the broth so they don’t turn brown while I am sautéing the vegetables.
- Add the potatoes (with the liquid if you covered them like above) and the broth and stir well. Bring to a boil and turn the heat down to let it simmer until the potatoes are soft, ~30 minutes.
- While the soup is simmering, prepare the kale being sure to remove all the tough stalks. If you are adding any ground meat, start browning it in a pan. Once the meat has browned, set aside and let cool.
- Once potatoes are soft (fork should easily pierce), turn the soup down to low. Add one can of the drained, and rinsed white beans to a blender along with 3-4 large ladles of the soup. *Be sure to let the soup in the blender cool for a few minutes so it doesn’t burn you if it splatters when blending
- Blend the soup and beans until creamy consistency. Add it back to the pot along with the other can of rinsed/drained white beans, stir well.
- Then season the soup with black pepper and turmeric, tasting it and adding additional seasonings if needed. The turmeric will give it a yellow hue along with some flavor.
- Once it is seasoned to your liking, add the ground meat if you plan to and the kale stirring until the kale is completely wilted. Let simmer for a few more minutes and then it is ready to serve and enjoy! Serve with grated parmesan cheese
Nutrition Facts
Grab a spoon and dig in to this hearty potato, kale, and bean soup. I hope you enjoy this soup as much as I do. Checkout some of my other warm cozy meals:
Vegetarian Enchiladas with Sweet Potato and black beans
What is your favorite soup or winter month meal? Share below in comments!
Hearty Potato, Kale, and White Bean Soup
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