White Bean and Potato Soup

Creamy white bean and potato soup with kale!  We’re blending the soup and using beans and potatoes to make this soup creamy without cream.  It uses simple ingredients like carrots, celery, potatoes, canned beans, and dried herbs that you may already have.  I threw in some kale because I’m always trying to get more greens into by family’s diet and soup is such an easy way.  When you make it, just look at how all the kale shrinks down to hardly anything when cooked.  At the end of cooking, add a freshly juiced lemon to brighten up the soup.

Substitutions

• Any cooked white bean will work.
• Kale can be substituted with spinach.
• Fresh kale or spinach can be substituted for frozen, although it may take longer to cook than fresh and make sure to only add a fraction of what the recipe calls for.

Oil-Free Cooking

For oil-free cooking, preheat a nonstick pot, then add the onion, carrot, and celery with a pinch of salt.  Cook on medium, adjusting the heat if necessary to not burn the veggies.  Cook the mix for 8-10 minutes or until the veggies have softened, they’ll release their own liquid which they’ll cook in.  When the veggies start to stick, add a couple of tablespoons of water to deglaze the pan and prevent burning.  The extra water will evaporate.  Garlic is prone to burning so it gets added after the vegetables have done the majority of their cooking.  Once you’ve cooked the garlic for just a minute or two, add part of the vegetable broth to deglaze the pot.  Use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to scrape off the browned bits off the bottom of the pot, that’s flavor from your veggies.  

Another option to do oil-free cooking is to start with ¼ cup of water to cook the veggies in.  I prefer the previous method because it allows for slight browning action on the vegetables and brings out more flavor.

Storing White Bean Kale Soup

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.  Leftovers also work great for freezing.  Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months, make sure to leave room at the top of the container for the soup to expand.  When you’re ready to consume, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then either microwave to heat up or use a pot on the stove.  I also like to freeze the soup in individual portions for school or work lunches. 

Tips for Using Soup for School Lunches

• Leftover soup works great for your kiddos’ school lunches.
• Freeze leftovers in individual portions, leave room at the top of the container for the soup to expand.
• Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
• Warm-up a thermos with hot water, let the hot water sit in the thermos for a couple of minutes while warming up the soup.  Then pour out the hot water when you’re ready to fill with hot soup.  This is according to the thermos instructions, I don’t actually do this because I haven’t noticed a difference in the temperature of the soup by the time lunch rolls around.  But it may work for your thermos to keep the soup hot longer.
• Warm the soup up in a pot on the stove until it’s piping hot.  Do this just before leaving for work/school, so it has less time to cool down before lunch.

As always, I hope you enjoy this recipe for White Bean Kale and Potato Soup!

More Soup and Stew Recipes

• Red Lentil Chili
• Butternut Squash Lentil Soup
• Slow Cooker Quinoa Chili
• Yellow Chickpea Curry

White Bean and Potato Soup

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★★★★★

5 from 4 reviews

• Author: Allie
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 5 servings 1x
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

Creamy and flavor-packed white bean and potato soup with kale.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 onion, finely diced
• 3 carrots, diced
• 3 celery ribs, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 5 ½ cups (1.3 liters) low sodium vegetable broth
• 4-5 medium Yukon gold potatoes (1.76 lbs (800 g)), diced into small bite-size pieces
• 2 cans (15 ounces(425 g)) white beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• pepper to taste
• 3 handfuls fresh kale, removed from stem and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 lemon, juiced

 

Garnish

• Fresh chopped parsley
• Fresh cracked pepper
• More crushed red pepper

 

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Instructions

1. For oil-free cooking, preheat a large nonstick soup pot, then add the onion, carrots, and celery with a pinch of salt.  Cook on medium, adjusting the heat if necessary to not burn the veggies.  Cook for 8-10 minutes or until the veggies have softened, they will release their own liquid which they’ll cook in.  When the veggies start to stick, add a couple of tablespoons of water to deglaze the pan.  Alternatively, you can start with ¼ cup of water to cook the veggies in.
2. Add garlic, thyme, and crushed red pepper, then cook for about 1 minute.
3. If any more brown bits have formed on the bottom of the pot, add some of the vegetable broth to deglaze the pan, using a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to scrape off the browned bits.
4. Add the rest of the vegetable broth, potatoes, beans, bay leaves, the 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper then stir to combine.
5. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.
6. Cook covered for 10-15 minutes for potatoes to cook, they should be fork-tender.
7. Remove bay leaves.
8. Blend ⅓ to ½ of the soup for a creamier consistency using an immersion blender, or remove about ⅓ to ½ of the soup to put in a blender and blend.  If using a blender, remove the feeder cap to vent to release pressure from the hot ingredients, use a clean kitchen towel over the lid to prevent splattering.  Don’t fill your blender more than ½ full with hot soup, blend in batches if necessary.  If using a blender, return the soup back to the pot after blending.
9. Add lemon juice, kale, and stir to combine.
10. Taste for seasoning and serve once the kale is wilted.
11. Then garnish with fresh parsley.
12. Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for 5-7 days.

Equipment

lemon squeezer

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immersion blender

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Notes

I use salt-free homemade broth, adjust for seasoning if not.

The soup may take longer if the potatoes are cut larger than a small dice.

Make sure the potatoes are covered with liquid when cooking.

Prep all of your ingredients and chopping before you start cooking.

If you have a very large juicy lemon, you may prefer just half of it juiced.

• Category: main course
• Method: stovetop
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: white bean soup, white bean potato soup with kale, vegan white bean soup