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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 orzo vegetable soup or butternut squash chickpea 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
Grace
This was excellent. My picky family loved it. I added 1/2 cup of pumpkin purée and it melded nicely with the flavor profile. Also, I used chicken broth (we are not vegetarian). Thank you for this recipe.
Allie
I'm glad your family liked the recipe, I'll have to try the pumpkin puree next time I make it. Thanks for leaving a comment!
Deb
The soup is very good and warms the inside. You definitely need to add lemon juice to bump up the flavor of the soup. I will definitely make it again
Allie
I'm glad you enjoyed the soup!
Morgan
I absolutely LOVED this recipe. Super yummy and satisfying! I have to eat more than one bowl whenever I make this. The lemon juice adds the perfect touch. Do NOT leave it out! It’s so refreshing and delicious!
Allie
I'm so glad you enjoyed it and thank you so much for leaving such a kind comment!
Kristina canale
I definitely enjoyed this recipe and used it as a great base for making chicken soup!! We are not vegan but my son can't have a lot of animal products, and eat vegan sometimes. I used the same soup base but instead added chicken broth, chicken fat. We also used leftover chicken at the end of cooking to make a wonderful chicken soup. Cooked Navy Beans and added those to the soup. The thyme and lemon were really excellent suggestions for pulling out the flavors. I used lime (didn't have lemons), but the acidity was the perfect touch.
Allie
I'm glad you enjoyed the flavors and thanks for leaving a comment.
Jenna
Thank you so much for this recipe! I just finished making it, and it tastes delicious! The changes I made were to use fresh thyme instead of dried, and I didn't have red pepper flakes so I just threw some red pepper in. The lemon makes it! Thanks again so much for this healthy delicious recipe. I'm going to try your red lentil and butternut squash soup next I think. 🙂
Allie
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe and thank you so much for the lovely comment. I hope you enjoy the butternut squash soup too!
Jen
I will use WAY less thyme next time! Like maybe only 1/2 teaspoon. It was very strong for us. Otherwise, awesome soup!
Allie
I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Kelly
Amazing recipe!!! Very very good and satisfying. Perfect amount of ingredients and FLAVOR!!!
Allie
I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe and thank you for the lovely comment!
Joseph
The soup is easy and so flavorful! Thanks for a great recipe, it's going into my weekly rotation.
Allie
Thanks for leaving a comment and I'm glad you enjoyed the soup.
Sara
Loved the soup the addition of lemon adds so much flavor!
Allie
I'm glad you liked the soup and thanks for commenting.
William
the lemon ruined the flavor making the soup too sour.
Allie
Sorry the soup was sour, the lemon is a lot of people's favorite part of the recipe.
Kelly
The Lemon made it delicious. Maybe you just don’t like lemons. It was absolutely satisfying. Made me even consider selling it from home. There are so many folks that would enjoy this soup.
Brandy
Mine came out very spicy, not sure why..
Allie
Sorry it came out very spicy, is 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes usually too spicy when you cook? Did you possibly use cayenner pepper instead? Besides it being too spicy I hope you enjoyed the soup, and thanks for the comment!
Jacque
I made this soup for dinner, I ended up doing it in the crockpot and it was super easy. This certainly would be perfect without it, but before I added all the ingredients to the crockpot, I rendered down some pancetta and added it in—so yummy if you’re not vegan/vegetarian!
Allie
I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Karen
How long in crockpot?
Allie
I've never made the recipe in the crockpot, 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!
Ann
I made soup for dinner. Everyone loved it. Was told that this one is a keeper. Thanks for recipe. Excellent for meal prep.
Allie
I'm glad it's a keeper! Thanks for leaving the kind comment.
Janet Patton
I just made your soup recipe for dinner tonight, after finding the recipe this morning. We loved your soup. In fact, my husband told me from now on when I make a soup, to make it like this soup...he loved it!! Thank you for making life easy for some of us!! ❤
Allie
I'm so glad you all liked the soup and thank you so much for the lovely comment!
Christy
My family loved this soup! So flavorful and hearty! I agree the lemon does brighten!
Allie
Thank you for the kind comment, and I'm so glad your family loved the soup!
Joan
I love the addition of the lemon!
Allie
I'm glad you like the addition, it adds a nice little brightness to the dish.
Jessie White
This soup is really good! Very filling and you can feel good about these ingredients.
Allie
I'm glad you like the soup!
Kelly
Couldn’t agree more! Absolutely satisfying so delicious!