Vegetarian Kale and White Bean Soup
The other day I bought a huge bunch of kale to use either for a side, in a stew, or in a soup (I haven't been great with the meal planning lately...). After looking at the weather forecast for the week I knew I had to make soup, so I reached out to my Facebook followers for their favorite soup recipes using kale. I got some great suggestions! The next day I looked through the recipes and it turned out that I didn't have all of the ingredients for any one recipe (and that was a huge bummer because I really wanted to try the copycat Zuppa Toscana recipe my cousin suggested!).
I ended up winging it and used the ingredients I did have on hand - kale, white beans, canned tomatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, and broth. This soup, for being a pretty simple vegetarian soup, has a very rich and deep flavor, and I achieved that by developing the soup slowly, adding one ingredient at a time and letting it simmer for a short while. This is why I much prefer cooking soups stovetop instead of in a crockpot where you put all of the ingredients in at once.
I loved this soup and it made the perfect lunch when it was 33 degrees, raw, and pouring rain. My 4 year old ate it and kept saying how good it was! And best of all, kale is one of the healthiest vegetables around so you can feel really good about eating this soup.
Vegetarian Kale and White Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 sm onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 sm carrot, diced
- 1/2 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 1/2 14.5 oz can of white beans, rinsed
- 1/2 bunch of kale; washed, stems removed and chopped (note: my bunch was huge so I used half. I recommend prepping your kale and adding it a bit at a time so you don't end up with a kale stew)
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 4 c vegetable broth
- Salt and pepper
- Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat
- Add the onions and sauté them 3-4 minutes until soft
- Add the carrots and sauté 2 minutes
- Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute
- Add the tomatoes and red pepper flakes; sauté 1 minute
- Add the white beans and stir, and then add the kale and stir
- Season with salt and pepper and add the broth. Let simmer for 20 minutes. Check seasonings and adjust if necessary.
