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Easy creamy, lemony 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 my 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.
For more soup recipes, try vegetable orzo soup or chickpea butternut squash soup.
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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 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 adds 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, and 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, and 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!
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Recipe
White Bean and Potato Soup
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Creamy and flavor-packed lemony white bean and potato soup with kale.
Ingredients
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 3 celery ribs, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme (or ¾ teaspoon ground 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 (about 2-3 tablespoons)
- Garnishes: fresh chopped parsley, fresh cracked pepper, more crushed red pepper
Instructions
- 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.
- Add garlic, thyme, and crushed red pepper, then cook for about 1 minute.
- 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.
- Add the rest of the vegetable broth, potatoes, beans, bay leaves, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper then stir to combine.
- Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.
- Cook covered for 10-15 minutes for potatoes to cook, they should be fork-tender.
- Remove bay leaves.
- 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.
- Add lemon juice, kale, and stir to combine.
- Taste for seasoning and serve once the kale is wilted.
- Then garnish with fresh parsley.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for 5-7 days.
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.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: main course
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Angela says
I really love this soup, i've been making it a lot doing it differently each time. I use black beans sometimes
Allie says
I'm glad you love the soup, and thank you so much for leaving a comment!
Lisa Angelella says
I've made this many times and can't believe how flavorful it is. The lemon magically transforms these simple ingredients! And it's so healthy! (I do use some oil, though.) This has been my favorite recipe discovery of the year; thank you!
Allie says
I'm so glad you enjoyed the soup recipe, and thank you very much for the wonderful comment!
Angela says
Do you have to blend part of the soup??
Allie says
No, you don't have to blend any of the soup. It will just be a thinner soup.
Angela says
It actually does get thicker the next day
Mona L. says
This might be blasphemy, but I use 2/3 chicken broth and 1/2 vegetable broth when making this. (I'm sure it's just as good with vegetable broth only but I always have lots of chicken broth and rarely have enough vegetable broth.) It's my go-to soup recipe. Just delicious. I had some leftover cooked edamame beans so I tossed them in with the kale at the end. Really, really good, and so easy.
Allie says
I'm so glad you like the recipe and that's it's your go-to soup recipe! Thank you for leaving a comment, I love hearing from readers when they enjoy the recipes.
Lia Stewart says
I made this and it was absolutely delicious and so satisfying. I only had one can of white beans so I also used red kidney beans. 5 star for sure.
Allie says
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe and thank you for leaving a comment!
Sarah L. says
I just made this soup for my family. I have a potato soup that we all love. This soup was even better! I chose your recipe because I was looking for a way to use up my canelinni beans. I love the layers of flavor. How the crushed red pepper gives it a little kick. Pureeing 1/2 the soup made it super creaming! Thanks for sharing! This recipe is a keeper!
Allie says
I'm so glad you liked the soup and thank you for leaving such a kind comment!
Jeni D says
Delish, used russet potatoes because it's what I had and a little extra carrots and it was huge hit, even my chicken nugget loving 10 year old had two helpings!
Allie says
I'm so glad you all enjoyed it and thank you for leaving a comment!
KM says
How long if I want to use a crockpot? Thank you!
Allie says
I've never made the recipe in the crockpot so I can't say for sure, but looking online for crockpot potato soup most recipes are 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 on low. Add the kale and lemon juice when the potatoes are done cooking. I hope that helps!
Sarah says
I made this last night for dinner (totally forgot the greens I got to put in it!). I chose to blend the whole soup and wow-- it was the perfect texture. a VERY delicious soup that I will be making again because it was a 10/10!! Thank you so much for sharing it!
Allie says
Blending it all together sounds delicious! I'm glad you like the recipe and thanks for the kind comment.
edward says
Just made this for my girlfriend, and although its still cooling... it tastes delicious!
I changed the quantities slightly (more onion, carrot, garlic, slightly less water as she likes a thick soup) and I wasn't going to add the lemon until I read all the comments. Defiantly add the lemon!!!
good sized portions too! thanks.
Allie says
I'm so glad you like the soup and I hope your girlfried does too! Thanks for leaving a comment, the lemon does seem to be a hit with readers!
Chris Tovey says
Delicious! I added some plain oat milk and some sriracha and more beans.
Also I used small red potatoes which worked great.
Thanks!
Allie says
I'm so glad you liked the soup and the additions sound delicious!
Claudia says
Used quart regular vegetable broth and quart regular chicken broth plus a little more chicken broth. Except for the garlic I Increased all ingredients to double recipe for larger group. Instead of red pepper flakes used a little chili powder. Added cooked mild Italian Sausage. Use plenty of kale. Definitely use some lemon. Everyone raved about the soup. Delicious
Allie says
I'm glad everyone enjoyed the soup and thanks for leaving a comment!
Taylor says
Soup was delicious. Love the lemon! Do you think this soup freezes well?
Allie says
I'm glad you enjoyed the soup! I haven't tried freezing it, so I can't say for sure. I worry the texture of the potatoes will change.
Lyndsey says
Hi! Do you think sweet potato would work?
Allie says
I haven't tried it with sweet potatoes so I can't say for sure, they will add a little sweetness to the soup. If I did, I might skip the bay leaves and the lemon at the end, and maybe add a little smoked paprika. I hope it works out for you!