White Bean Parmesan Soup (Printable Version)

Smooth, creamy white bean soup with aromatic vegetables and rich Parmesan. This Italian-inspired comfort food is ready in under an hour and perfect with crusty bread.

# What You Need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
02 - 1 medium onion, finely chopped
03 - 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
04 - 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
05 - 2 cloves garlic, minced

→ Beans & Liquid

06 - 2 cans (15 ounces each) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
07 - 4 cups vegetable stock
08 - 1 bay leaf

→ Dairy & Seasoning

09 - 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
10 - 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
11 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 - 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
13 - 1/2 cup heavy cream, optional

→ Garnish

14 - Chopped fresh parsley, optional

# Step-by-Step:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots, sautéing for 6 to 8 minutes until vegetables soften.
02 - Stir in minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Add drained beans, vegetable stock, bay leaf, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring mixture to a simmer.
04 - Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer for 20 minutes.
05 - Remove bay leaf. Using an immersion blender, purée soup until smooth and creamy, or transfer in batches to a blender.
06 - Stir in grated Parmesan cheese and heavy cream if using. Heat gently until cheese melts and soup reaches serving temperature. Adjust seasoning to taste.
07 - Ladle soup into bowls. Top with additional Parmesan and fresh parsley if desired. Serve while hot.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The velvety texture somehow feels like a warm hug, especially when you dunk a piece of crusty bread into it.
  • Its incredibly forgiving, I once accidentally doubled the garlic and it turned out even more delicious than the original version.
02 -
  • If your soup becomes too thick after blending, simply add warm stock a little at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
  • I once accidentally dropped the bay leaf into the blender and had to strain the entire batch to remove the tiny fragments, so now I always remove it before blending.
03 -
  • Reserve a small portion of the beans before blending and add them back to the pureed soup for textural contrast if you prefer something less completely smooth.
  • The rind of Parmesan cheese, often discarded, can be simmered with the soup and removed before blending to infuse an incredible depth of flavor.
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