White Bean, Rice and Dill Soup

By Naz Deravian

Updated March 23, 2026

White Bean, Rice and Dill Soup
Bobbi Lin for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Eugene Jho.
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
4(4,972)
Comments
Read comments

This cozy, comforting pot of soup comes together quickly with a few pantry staples. Creamy canned navy beans and jasmine rice add body to a base of softened vegetables stained with turmeric. You may be tempted to add stock, but be assured that using water is enough here. The sum of the ingredients can stand on its own and doesn’t need the added boost of stock. (If you do add stock, be mindful of the amount of salt you use.) The dill – which can be dried or fresh – and turmeric brighten up the soup and offer a bright reminder of spring any time of year.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:6 servings
  • ¼cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 6garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 2large carrots, scrubbed and finely chopped
  • 2celery stalks, finely chopped
  • 1large yellow onion, finely chopped
  • Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper 
  • ½teaspoon ground turmeric
  • Red-pepper flakes (optional), to taste
  • ⅓cup white jasmine rice, rinsed
  • 2(15-ounce) cans navy beans or cannellini beans, rinsed
  • 1tablespoon dried dill or ¼ cup chopped fresh dill
  • Lemon (optional), for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

310 calories; 10 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 45 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 12 grams protein; 552 milligrams sodium

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.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large pot, heat the oil over medium. Add the garlic, carrots, celery and onion; season with a good pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 10 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Add the turmeric and red-pepper flakes (if using) and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the rice, stir and cook for 1 minute. Add the beans and dill; season everything well with salt (about 1½ teaspoons) and black pepper to taste. Stir and cook for 1 minute.

  3. Step 3

    Add 6 cups of water, stir, partially cover, raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Cover completely, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rice is completely soft and has released its starchy goodness, and the beans are creamy on the inside, about 30 minutes. Taste for seasoning as the soup simmers. Serve with lemon, if you like.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
4,972 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

David

Could you cook this with brown rice? I imagine you'd just increase the cooking time, but curious to hear what others think.

H. Ildari

I made this soup for lunch today. Delicious! I just added 2 tablespoons of tomato paste in step 1 to give the soup a bit of additional color and umami.

Kat

Delicious with a few changes. Started boiling brown rice separately at the same time I started sautéing the vegetables to give it a head start. Added a Tbsp of tomato paste to the vegetable sauté. Didn’t have fresh dill so used dried. Added the pre-boiled brown rice along with the beans and liquid. Added handfuls of fresh basil and spinach toward the end. It was very thick, ended up adding a cup more water and squeezed a half lemon over everything at the end. Hearty and satisfying.

Mary J

This was very bland and disappointing. I read some of the comments and even added a tablespoon of tomato paste. Used dried dill. Added lemon at the end and still bland. I don’t use salt but I did add two tablespoons of chicken stock powder and still no flavour. I followed the recipe exactly. Oh well! I will not be adding this to my rotation or cooking

brushjl

no changes, delicious as is. i used camillia dried cannellini beans. so flavorful.

Mary

I am curious on why they discouraged the use of stock, I definitely will partially use stock if I make this again. I also recommend adding some extra spices because the flavor is pretty bland, even though the ingredients and the baseline recipe has a lot of potential.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.