Easy and delicious recipe for white bean and kale soup also called Pasta e Fagioli in Italy. This soup is perfect as a hearty main course or as a starter.

I love this white bean and kale soup, also known as the famous Italian Soup- Pasta e Fagioli, which literally means pasta and beans. It’s hearty and rustic, slightly creamy from the partial puree and also brothy at the same time. Just an all-around crowd pleaser and a great combination of flavors.

You could serve this as a main meal, maybe with some nice bread, or as a starter in a nice vegan Italian dinner. In this white bean and kale soup, I like to use dried cannellini beans and soak them overnight. You could use canned beans, but the texture of the whole beans and also of the pureed beans is so important in this soup that I would urge (beg!) you to use dried for this. Take half a pound of cannellini beans, chuck them in a container, and pour water to a couple inches above the beans. Put the container in the fridge overnight and now you have soaked beans ready for the recipe. Pretty easy, huh?! You could use navy beans or some other type of beans if you would prefer.

The pasta in this soup is not critical. I chose ditalini for this recipe, but elbows or some other type of noodle would work equally as well. Big, wide pappardelle noodles would be an interesting replacement and would change the taste and texture of the soup a bit, but would be a great variation on white bean and kale soup. You could also leave the pasta out entirely if you’re trying to cut down on your pasta intake and it would still be a hearty soup.

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5 from 1 vote

Hearty White Bean and Kale Soup – Pasta e Fagioli

Easy and delicious recipe for white bean and kale soup also called Pasta e Fagioli in Italy. This soup is perfect as a hearty main course or as a starter.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course: Soups

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: white bean and kale soup

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 473kcal

Author: Kevin

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. dried cannellini beans soaked overnight (alternatively you could use 2 15 oz. cans of beans)
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion chopped
• 2 carrots peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks chopped
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1/2 cup canned crushed or diced tomatoes
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary stripped and minced
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme stripped and minced
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 bunch of kale stripped of stems and leaves chiffonade
• 1 lb. ditalini pasta
• Cracked pepper to taste

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Soak the beans in water overnight. Drain.
• In a large stockpot, heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over low to medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Cook for 10 minutes or until soft.
• Add 8 cups of water, the drained beans, tomatoes, thyme, and rosemary to the pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 1 hour.
• Scoop out 2-3 cups of the soup and puree until smooth. Add back into the soup.
• Cook the pasta according to the package and drain.
• Turn the soup off the heat. Toss in the kale and check seasoning.
• Ladle the soup into bowls, add some cooked pasta and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Notes

Escarole can be substituted for the kale if you wish.

If using canned beans, cut the salt in half and then taste for seasoning.

Omit pasta or use gluten-free pasta to keep it gluten-free.

This soup would cook great in an instant pot too with the soup setting.

Nutrition

Calories: 473kcal | Carbohydrates: 84g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 6g | Sodium: 834mg | Potassium: 1023mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 4395IU | Vitamin C: 16.5mg | Calcium: 138mg | Iron: 5.4mg