Quick Tomato, White Bean and Kale Soup

By Martha Rose Shulman

Updated June 10, 2024

  • Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
55 minutes
Rating
5(4,613)
Comments
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A hearty bean soup does not always require hours on the stove. Using the canned variety cuts the cook time down drastically for this colorful recipe, which takes no more than an hour start to finish. You can save even more time by tackling some prep while starting to sauté the soup.

Featured in: Quick One-Dish Meals, Some Cooking Required

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 4 to 6

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 medium onion, chopped

  • 1 large carrot, chopped

  • 1 stick celery, chopped (optional)

  • Salt to taste

  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes, with juice

  • 6 cups water

  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste

  • 1 teaspoon oregano

  • 1 medium Yukon gold potato (about 6 ounces), diced

  • A bouquet garni made with a bay leaf, a couple of sprigs each parsley and thyme, and a Parmesan rind (optional – but it does add flavor; use what you have for this)

  • ½ pound kale, stemmed, washed thoroughly, and chopped or cut in slivers (4 cups chopped)

  • 1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

  • Freshly ground pepper

  • Grated Parmesan for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)

32 grams carbs; 1 milligram cholesterol; 187 calories; 2 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 4 grams fat; 9 grams fiber; 1159 milligrams sodium; 9 grams protein; 4 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot and add the onion, carrot, and celery and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and juice from the can, add another pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, for 5 to 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down slightly.

  2. Step 2

    Add the water, tomato paste, oregano, potato, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, add the bouquet garni, cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are just about tender.

  3. Step 3

    Add the kale and simmer another 10 minutes, until the kale and potatoes are tender and the soup is fragrant. Taste, adjust salt, and add pepper. Stir in the beans and heat through for 5 minutes. Serve, sprinkling some Parmesan over each bowl.

Tip

  • Advance preparation: The soup tastes even better on the second day, and will keep for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator. It freezes well. I've used small amounts of leftovers as a pasta sauce, adding a little tomato paste to thicken.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
4,613 user ratings
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Comments

Barbara Wheeler

Excellent! I added a few end-of season tomatoes, peeled and seeded, and used some vegetable broth in place of some of the water. This is a heartier version of acquacotta, the great Tuscan "cooked water" soup usually made with chard. This recipe should be part of the Vegetarian Comfort Food collection--it's really good and really good for you.

Tracey A.

Had this for dinner tonight. I didn't have fresh parsley or fresh thyme so I used 1/2 tsp dried thyme with the oregano and a bay leaf instead of the bouquet garni. Other than that I followed the recipe and it turned out delicious.
My husband and I both loved it!

HH

if i was going to add a protein to this -- what would be suggested ?

KR

Great recipe. However, kale in a soup or stew tastes much better when being cooked for 45-60 minutes. The whole dish gets "infused" with the taste of kale - delicious!

KML

I made this to use up some cooked kale. I agree that it tastes a bit thin, and that is after using less water than called for. I would make it again but add an 8 oz can of tomato sauce, or some tomato juice, in addition to my heavy handed tomato paste habit. It's a super flexible base for using whatever is on hand in the way of greens or beans.

Marsha G

Made this last night using some of the most relevant highly praiseworthy comments’ suggestions- broth, not water; extra tomato paste; etc., but still came out rather bland and nothing special. Then I went through all of the comments and found many more that were not so happy with the results, just like me. Cooks that would’ve much preferred to use spinach instead of kale, water, instead of broth, and those that just were unhappy with the resulting soup. Glad to know I’m not alone!

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