Roasted Tomato and White Bean Soup
This Roasted Tomato and White Bean Soup is an easy, nutritious and vegan budget friendly recipe. A flavorful soup loaded with plant based protein, sweet blistered tomatoes, kale and garlic.
I’ve been thinking about this soup since last year. I wanted to squeeze this into my soup line up last year, but time didn’t allow. And in the grand scheme of things, that’s okay because it made me think of ways I could improve this soup even more.
So, the way I made this standard white bean soup that much better…just added in some sweet roasted cherry tomatoes. Every spoonful of soup has a bit of that cherry tomato goodness and it really makes this soup that much better.
Why You’ll Love This Cozy White Bean Soup
- This white bean soup is vegan, gluten-free and budget-friendly! The ingredients are simple, but in combination create the most enjoyable experience.
- The roasted tomatoes really shine in this soup, so don’t skip them! They add a lovely sweetness to the pot.
- Each bowl is loaded with nutrition: plant protein from our beans, all kinds of minerals from our leafy greens and tons of antioxidants from the vegetables and herbs in this soup too. All simmered together to create a giant bowl of goodness.
- And it’s super easy to make too. You really don’t need any fancy equipment for this soup. And if you don’t have a blender, I have a tip that will help give you a beautifully creamy soup.
What Makes White Bean Soup Healthy?
The white beans alone provide a great deal of nutrition for this soup. They pack in a lot of protein, fiber, iron, calcium and folate. However, the soup also gets another boost in nutrition from all the vegetables we add in too. We get lycopene a powerful antioxidant for our skin from the tomatoes, lots of minerals from the kale and vitamin C from our lemon and greens which helps us to absorb the iron more efficiently from this meal too.
Key Ingredients and Swaps
- White Beans: We use the equivalent of 2 cans worth of beans here to provide us our plant based protein.
- Cherry Tomatoes: Roasting them helps to naturally sweeten the tomatoes to help balance out some of the flavors in this soup.
- Sage: This herb gets roasted up along with the cherry tomatoes and provides the best fall flavors.
- Garlic: I love a flavorful broth, so loading up on garlic is a must. Feel free to use more or less based on your preference.
- Dry Herbs: Oregano and thyme for a boost in flavor for the broth.
- Kale: A lovely hearty green that compliments so well with the garlicky broth. Can be easily swapped for spinach if preferred.
- Lemon: Both the juice and zest is used for this recipe, so make sure to opt for fresh lemons.
- Parsley: When mixed with some salt and lemon zest really helps to create a flavorful topping for the soup.
How To Make White Bean Soup
Start by roasting your tomatoes with some olive oil, sage and a pinch of salt until they start to blister.
As your tomatoes cook, you can start your soup. Sauté your onions, carrots and celery until they start to soften. Then add in your minced garlic and continue to cook and stir until it becomes fragrant. Stir in the herbs and pour in your beans, broth and bay leaves. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 15 minutes.
Chop up some parsley and mix it with some lemon zest and a pinch of salt. When the soup is done cooking, add in your roasted tomatoes and stir. Blend a small portion of your soup and pour it back into your soup pot and stir well. Now add your kale and allow it to wilt for about 5 minutes. Before serving, mince some parsley and mix with lemon zest and a pinch of salt, then top your bowl of soup and enjoy. This simple combination truly makes the flavors in this soup pop.
Tips for the Perfect Vegan White Bean Soup
- You can make this soup creamy using 3 different methods. Use an immersion blender to blend a portion of the soup in the pot. You can also transfer 2 cups of soup to your blender and blend on high until smooth then add back to the rest of your soup. And if you don’t have either device, stir your soup and lightly mash the white beans with your cooking spoon to help thicken the broth.
- Load in more vegetables. I chose my vegetables based on what I already had on hand, but you can change things up based on your preference. Swap your greens, dice in some other root vegetables or peppers if you like. Lots of ideas to enjoy with this one.
- Ingredient quality matters. If you can opt for fresh ingredients like freshly peeled garlic and lemon instead of pre-peeled or a bottle of juice, it makes the biggest difference in flavor. It also helps to use a very good quality vegetable broth to help amp up the flavor of the soup.
Frequently Asked Questions
White beans are a naturally creamy consistency, so as they cook in the soup it makes it creamier, but taking a portion and blending it will make it even creamier.
Feel free to cook your white beans from scratch for this recipe. When making dry beans, make sure to cook enough to equate to 2 full 15 oz cans of white beans. To make 2 cans worth of white beans you need to cook one heaping cup of dry white beans to be at around the same amount of beans from a can.
Allow your soup to cool, then portion into airtight containers as desired. Place in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. Reheat your soup to enjoy again by either microwaving for 2 minutes covered or on the stove top to heat through for a few minutes.
Yes! Store soup in air tight containers in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, make sure to allow to thaw over night and then reheat as desired. To make enjoying this soup easier, I like to portion mine in smaller containers so that I can pull out the amount I want to eat without thawing the whole batch of soup.
For this recipe, I used Cannellini beans, and while you will find many different varieties of white beans like Great Northern beans, navy beans, and even small butter beans, they should all work if those happen to be the beans you have on hand. Truly, the big difference tends to be it’s size.
What To Serve Your Soup With
When I think of this soup, I always think of dunking crusty bread into it to enjoy. However, there are a lot of ways you can enjoy this soup. Some ideas that come to mind include:
- Vegan Garlic Bread
- Avocado toast topped with reserved roasted tomatoes
- Enjoying a portion of this soup with half a sandwich
- Making a separate side salad to help load up on even more veggies
You can also choose to not blend the soup and add cooked pasta or quinoa to make it extra hearty.
More Budget Friendly Meals to Try
- Sriracha Noodles
- Tofu Broccoli Stir Fry
- Smoky Chickpea Kale Soup
- Sun-Dried Tomato White Bean Skillet
- Black Bean Tacos with Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Roasted Tomato and White Bean Soup
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Roasted Tomato and White Bean Soup is an easy, nutritious and vegan budget friendly recipe. A flavorful soup loaded with plant based protein, sweet blistered tomatoes, kale and garlic.
Ingredients
- 4 tsp olive oil, divided
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 8 leaves of sage, minced
- 1/2 tsp red chili flakes (optional)
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp thyme
- 2, 15 oz cans cannellini beans or white beans, rinsed and drained
- 5 cups vegetable broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, diced
- Zest of one lemon
- 10 stalks of kale, stripped and roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper for cooking and to taste
Instructions
- Set oven to 425F. Add cherry tomatoes and sage with 2 teaspoons of olive and toss together with some salt and red chili flakes. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until tomatoes appear to burst.
- As the tomatoes are roasting, start your soup base. Warm the remaining oil in a large pot, then sauté your onions, celery and carrots with a pinch of salt until softened.
- Stir in the garlic and continue to sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add in the oregano, thyme, and white beans, stirring well to combine.
- Pour in the vegetable broth and add in the bay leaves. Give the soup a good stir and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and allow to simmer for 15 minutes partially covered.
- After the soup is done simmering, add in the roasted tomatoes and blend 2 1/2 cups of the soup in a blender until smooth or use an immersion blender to blend a small portion of the soup.
- Add in your chopped kale and stir well, allowing the soup to wilt the kale for at least 5 minutes. Then remove from the heat.
- Before serving, chop your parsley and mix with some fresh lemon zest and a pinch of salt. Pour a bowl of soup and top with the parsley and zest mixture and serve with a fresh squeeze of lemon.
Notes
You can make this soup creamy using 3 different methods. Use an immersion blender to blend a portion on the soup in the pot. You can also transfer 2 cups of soup to your blender and blend on high until smooth then add back to the rest of your soup. And if you don’t have either device, stir your soup and lightly mash the white beans with your cooking spoon to help thicken the broth.
Load in more vegetables. I chose a handful I already had on hand, but you can change things up based on your preference. Swap your greens, dice in some other root vegetables or peppers if you like. Lots of ideas to enjoy with this one.
Ingredient quality matters. If you can opt for fresh ingredients like freshly peeled garlic and lemon instead of pre-peeled or a bottle of juice, it makes the biggest difference in flavor. It also helps to use a very good quality vegetable broth to help amp up the flavor of the soup.
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.
★ Catherine
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Such a warm, flavorful comfort food!
Yay! So glad you got a chance to try this!
There’s no onion in the ingredients list but directions say to add it?
Sorry about that Ben! Should be 1/2 medium onion. I just updated the recipe card to reflect that. Thanks for bringing that to my attention!
Wonderful recipe. Perfect for a cold winter day.