Whether you’re feeling chilly in bed with a cold or you’re simply craving something warm and healthy,this vegan white bean soup is quick, easy and so delicious. It’s packed with vegetables and vitamins, and beans make it extra filling. Serve with some homemade whole wheat bread and you’ve got a pretty fine meal on your hands.
What Do You Put In Vegan White Bean Soup?
A vegetable soup can be made with just about any veggies you have sitting around in your fridge. This vegan white bean soup includes the classic mirepoix of onions, carrots and celery, plus your standard vegetable broth. Potatoes add indulgence. Kale adds that touch of bitter green.
But vegetable soup is flexible. Vegetable soup is forgiving. If you have a zucchini lying around, toss it in. Maybe some mushrooms in the back of your fridge are begging to be used. No problem. And if you’d rather use spinach or green cabbage over kale, that’s cool. It all works.
Vegan White Bean Soup Ingredients
The full list of ingredients for this soup (in order of appearance):
- Coconut (Or Olive Oil)
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Potato
- White beans
- Vegetable broth
- Pepper
- Oregano
- Kale
Why Add Kale To Soup Last?
When you’re making soup or stew of any kind, the best practice for leafy greens like kale or spinach is to add them towards the end of cooking. They don’t need much time to cook, so if you add them at the beginning, they may be mush by the end.
Vegan White Bean Soup Health Benefits
Coconut Oil: One of the safest oils in the kitchen, coconut oil can be heated to high temperatures without its structure changing and becoming toxic (like olive oil). It has a high concentration of medium-chain triglycerides, popularly referred to as “MCTs.” MCTs are antimicrobial, can reduce appetite, and make your skin look great (or your pet’s skin).
Onion: Not to be outshined by more exotic ingredients, the common yellow onion is a wonderful source of prebiotic fiber to feed the healthy bacteria in your gut. It’s also been shown to reduce blood pressure and bad cholesterol.
Celery: A humble celery stick may seem like mostly water, but it’s actually full of antioxidants that may prevent disease and slow down aging. Celery is alkalinizing and anti-inflammatory, but it’s not necessarily the miracle-worker the trend of celery juice made it out to be. It’s good for you, but it’s blown up recently into a promise that it might not be able to keep (#celeryjuice). It can’t heal EVERYTHING. But it’s still a great food to include in your diet.
Carrots: Everyone’s heard that carrots are good for your eyes, but did you also know they have antioxidants that can prevent cancer? Lycopene is one such antioxidant, as is beta-carotene. Carrots are also super hydrating with their high water volume, and keep you full on fiber which feeds the good guys in your gut.
Garlic: You can smell the benefits on this one! Societies around the globe have been using garlic medicinally for ages, and for good reason. Much like the onion, it lowers blood pressure, is packed with nutrients, and some studies show it can even prevent and lessen symptoms of the common cold!
Potatoes: The darker your potato, the more nutrients they have. Still, plain old Yukons and Russets have plenty of health benefits, from fiber that keeps you full to a solid dose of vitamin C. These starchy vegetables are an excellent carb choice to round out your meal.
Beans: Whether you lean vegan, flexitarian or Mediterranean, beans can be a central part of your daily diet. They’re filling—loaded with fiber and protein—and high in minerals like iron and manganese and B vitamins like B9 (folate). Eating beans has been repeatedly shown to reduce the risk of all metabolic disease.
Vegetable broth: All the hype is about bone broth these days, but veggie broth packs a powerful nutritional punch. Vegetables provide plenty of amino acids, which studies show are what you need to make collagen. (Not eating collagen, which doesn’t actually translate to more internal collagen production.) Loaded with vitamins and minerals, vegetable broth makes any dish more detoxifying, anti-inflammatory and generally healthy.
Black Pepper: A unique compound in black pepper called piperine not only reduces free radicals but is also anti-inflammatory. Black pepper can make other healing spices like turmeric and even nutrients like iron more effective, too.
Oregano: Widely used for its medicinal properties, oregano is antibacterial and fights the bad bacteria in your body. It’s also full of antioxidants like vitamin K, and has even been shown to reduce cancer cell growth.
Kale: Is there a trendier vegetable than kale? While this leafy green may have been hyped up into the idea of a be-all, end-all superfood, it is indeed a very good idea to include dark leafy greens in your daily diet. Kale is high in vitamins, particularly vitamin K, plus minerals like manganese, calcium and iron.
How To Make Vegan White Bean Soup
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Heat the coconut oil (or olive oil) in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. My absolute favorite go-to is my Le Creuset Dutch oven pot. I know it’s just a pot, but I swear I can taste the difference.
(If a very fancy pot is not in your immediate future, this beautiful teal Mueller one does the trick, and is more of my everyday user when I’m in a rush and don’t want to accidentally chip the special stuff.) *#commissionsearned
While the oil is warming, chop the onions, carrots and celery. When the oil is warm, add these veggies first.
While the onions, carrots and celery cook, mince the garlic and chop the potato into bite-sized pieces. When the onions look translucent and are beginning to soften (about 5-8 minutes), add the garlic and potato to the pot.
Give everything a quick stir to release the scent of garlic, then add in the white beans, vegetable broth, pepper and oregano and bring the soup to a simmer.
Once the soup is simmering, reduce the heat to low and cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and a fork slides through them. During this cooking time, pull the kale leaves off of their stems and chop into bite-sized pieces. Discard the stems.
Stir in the chopped kale and let the soup cook for an additional 5 minutes, until the kale is wilted and tender.
Taste the soup and adjust the seasonings, adding salt if necessary.
Love a Warm Bowl of Beans?
Try this quick, easy and super yummy vegan bean chili. It’s great on its own or with a side of rice or tortilla chips. You could even stuff a tortilla with it and have the best bean tacos for dinner!
Easy Vegan White Bean Soup
This vegan white bean soup is cozy, warming and satisfyingly filling. Packed with vegetables, it's also extra healthy. Serve alone or with fresh bread.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Heat the coconut oil (or olive oil) in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
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While the oil is warming, chop the onions, carrots and celery. When the oil is warm, add these veggies first.
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While the onions, carrots and celery cook, mince the garlic and chop the potato into bite-sized pieces.
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When the onions look translucent and are beginning to soften (about 5-8 minutes), add the garlic and potato to the pot.
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Give everything a quick stir to release the scent of garlic, then add in your white beans, vegetable broth, pepper and oregano and bring the soup to a simmer.
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Once the soup is simmering, reduce the heat to low and cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and a fork slides through them. During this cooking time, pull the kale leaves off of their stems and chop into bite-sized pieces. Discard the stems.
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Stir in the chopped kale and let the soup cook for an additional 5 minutes, until the kale is wilted and tender.
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Taste the soup and adjust the seasonings, adding salt if necessary.
What a delicious looking and tasty soup – perfect for winter for our vegan family members