Tuscan White Bean Soup is a delicious one-pot dish with layers of flavors from Italian sausage, vegetables, herbs, and spices with creamy white beans and fresh spinach. It’s a wholesome meal that you will love! And, it’s so good when reheated as the flavors all come together even more! I also have Zuppa Toscana (Tuscan Soup), an Olive Garden copycat, that you will want to try.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Italian Sausage: I used mild ground Italian sausage in this soup since the red pepper flakes add a little bit of a kick. However, you could use spicy Italian sausage if you want more heat in each bite. Or, try the soup with ground pork sausage, ground turkey, or even ground beef.
Italian Seasoning: With its blend of oregano, basil, thyme, and rosemary, the Italian seasoning helps give the soup its Italian flavor profile.
Crush Red Pepper: Crushed red pepper, or red pepper flakes, are added to the soup for a little bit of a kick, or spice. You could leave those out if preferred. Or, add more for more heat!
Chicken Broth: The base of the soup is primarily chicken broth with a little bit of heavy cream for a little richness and creaminess. You could substitute chicken stock for the broth if that is what you have on hand.
Beans: After testing this soup with both cannellini beans and Great Northern beans, I chose to use Great Northern beans. I love their soft, creamy texture! While you have the option to prepare this recipe with navy beans or Cannellini beans, it’s worth noting that the texture may vary slightly, as these beans tend to be a bit firmer in comparison to Great Northern beans. Rinse and drain the beans before adding them to the soup.
Spinach: I used 2 cups of fresh baby spinach in the soup. If substituting frozen spinach, use a 10-ounce bag, thawed and squeezed of excess liquid.
What To Serve With Tuscan White Bean Soup
Tuscan White Bean Soup is flavorful and filling enough to be the main dish. So, pair it with some side dishes to make it a complete meal. Here are some delicious options for serving:
- Crusty Bread like a French Baguette
- Garlic Knots
- Dinner Rolls
- Wedge Salad
- Crostini
- Focaccia Bread (or Focaccia Breadsticks)
How To Store Tuscan White Bean Soup
To store Tuscan White Bean Soup, first, let it cool completely. Then, store it in an airtight container (or multiple containers for meal prep) in the refrigerator. It will last up to 3-4 days. Reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat.
Can I Freeze This Soup?
Sure! For longer storage, freeze Tuscan White Bean Soup. To freeze the soup, first, let it cool completely. Next, store it in freezer-safe containers, leaving a bit of room for expansion. Freeze the soup for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, let the soup thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
Tuscan White Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound mild Italian sausage
- 1 large yellow onion, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
- 3 ribs celery, diced
- 2 large carrots, sliced into rounds
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 cups (32 ounces) chicken broth
- 2 cans (15.5 ounces each) Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups (60 g) fresh baby spinach
- ½ cup (119 g) heavy whipping cream
- parsley, chopped for garnish
Instructions
- To a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add sausage. Cook until the sausage is browned, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat, and stir occasionally (about 10-15 minutes).
- Reduce heat to medium. Add onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until onions have softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add tomato paste, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, and black pepper. Stir to combine.
- Add chicken broth and beans. Bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 6-7 minutes, or until the celery and carrots have softened.
- Add heavy cream and spinach. Continue to cook until the spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes.
- Serve warm, garnished with parsley.
Video
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What the Test Kitchen had to say about this recipe:
Autumn
I was shocked at how much I loved this soup! Just the perfect amount of heat from the red pepper, which balanced out so nicely with the beans and Italian sausage!
Elizabeth
I really enjoyed this soup, especially the little bit of a kick from the red pepper flakes. All the ingredients blended so well. The leftovers were delicious when reheated, too!
Rachael
Really warming and delicious soup! The creamy beans go so well with the sausage, and I could sip on the broth all day.
Bella
This is a tasty and hearty soup! A good mix of vegetables, meat, and flavor!
Selena
This is so good. There is so much flavor packed into this pot of soup. Warm, filling, and delicious.
Made this a couple weeks ago. I’m not even a soup person. It was fabulous!! Made it exactly as the recipe directs. Making it for dinner again tomorrow.
Great recipe, I added a tablespoon of chipotle beef broth for a smokey flavor and did a combo of kale and spinach. Came out great!
We loved the soup. I used Tuscan kale instead of spinach because that’s what I had. We served it with some sourdough bread and it was delicious. Perfect on this cold winter night.
This is a very easy to make and flavorful soup. I’ll be making this regularly!
Amanda this soup is amazing! Monday is homemade soup in our home and every week we have a different one. This is the one I make the most and we so love it. Thank you for the recipe❤️
We loved this soup. I used deer sausage as my only substitution and will 100% make again.
Excellent! I cut the recipe in half for one person with alot leftover,would be so good with a pear salad to offset the heat a bit.
This is a keeper! Delish!
The soup turned out great! The family loved it.
Much more chopping than I’m used to but since one goal for this year is to eat cleaner, this was a good place to start. This was very satisfying on a rainy day. I made it for myself but shared with a friend who was skeptical of the spinach and cream, but she loved it. Lol
This was delicious! I followed the recipe but used sweet Italian sausage because that’s what I had. My husband has already asked when I’ll make it again! Soon, honey, very soon.
Really tastes good!!! I followed the recipe 100% and it’s very good.
WOW! This soup is absolutely delicious!!! Everyone at the table loved it and said don’t lose that recipe – you have to make it again for us! Gladly! Love, Love, Love!
Thank you, Amanda!
(I used ½ lb Italian sausage & ½ lb hot sausage instead of the pepper flakes. It was a perfect amount of heat for us.)
OMG! This is one of the best soups I’ve ever had!!! No kidding. Thank you so much for this recipe. It will be the soup I look forward to every winter. ❣️
Any thoughts on how this soup would be if I made it without meat?
You might try the Tuscan White Bean Soup.
Oh so sorry! I meant to say you might try it. There are several recipes online for Tuscan White Bean Soup that do not call for any meat. So this might be worth a try.