White Bean Soup with Pancetta and Kale
This easy White Bean soup recipe is one of my favorite soup recipes of all time. It is light, creamy, earthy, and perfectly balanced. It tastes like you slaved all day over it, but it's done in about an hour! The perfect healthy weeknight dinner for cooler nights!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 4 oz Pancetta, diced
- 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 Large Leek, chopped
- 1 cup Carrot, diced
- 1 cup Celery, diced
- 1 1/2 tbsp Fresh Rosemary, minced
- 1 tsp Dried Thyme
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground
- 6 cups Chicken Stock or Bone Broth
- 2 15 oz Cans Great Northern Beans
- 1 15 oz Can Cannellini Beans
- 3 cups Lacinato Kale, stems removed and chopped
- 1/4 cup White Wine
- Shaved Parmesan, for serving
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a large dutch oven and heat over medium heat. Add pancetta and cook until lightly browned, about 7 minutes.
- Add leek and garlic. Continue cooking over medium heat until leek is soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the carrot, celery, and spices. Continue cooking until vegetables have softened, about 7-8 minutes.
- Add the beans, broth, and kale. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
- Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary. Remove bay leaves. Using an immersion blender, blend about 1/2 of the soup leaving plenty of beans and vegetables in tact.
- Add the wine and cook for five additional minutes over low heat. Divide among bowls and top with grated parmesan cheese, if desired.
Cook's Notes
This soup recipe is incredibly versatile. Here I use pancetta and kale, but you could easily swap in bacon or spinach or any even prepare it totally vegetarian!
If you don't have a bottle of white wine open, as I always do, white wine vinegar works beautifully in this soup recipe as well.
