Easy Rosemary Garlic White Bean Soup

September 07, 2019

This past week I was talking to a reporter from MarketWatch and as I told the story of Budget Bytes I joked about being a broke college graduate and not wanting to eat canned beans times a day. Well, I’m kind of eating my words now because when canned beans are prepared like this, I seriously could eat them all day, every day! This easy Rosemary Garlic White Bean Soup only takes eight simple ingredients, is crazy flavorful, and will give you all those warm cozy fall vibes!

How to Serve Rosemary Garlic White Bean Soup

This soup is fairly simple at heart, but still has bold flavor that stands up on its own, with maybe just a piece of crusty bread for dipping. That being said, I got creative when I was photographing the soup and started added some fun toppings. I drizzled a little pesto over one bowl, topped another with some homemade croutons, and shaved a bit of fresh Parmesan over another. I can also imagine a little melty gruyere or smoked mozzarella would be fabulous, or even just a dash of hot sauce.

Optional Add-Ins

You know I like to keep things simple, but if you happen to have these ingredients on hand and need to use them up, feel free to toss them into your Rosemary Garlic White Bean Soup:

Diced carrots or celery sautéed with the onion
Bacon cooked until brown, the fat used in place of the olive oil (remove bacon and add back to the soup after cooking)
Ham sautéed with the onions until crispy
Zucchini added with the beans
Kale or spinach stirred into the soup at the end
Lemon juice added to the soup after cooking (1-2 Tbsp)

Can I Use Dry Beans?

You can definitely make a similar soup using dry beans, but it would require several extra steps, which I would need to test before offering instructions.

Can I Make This in an Instant Pot?

Since this soup doesn’t require any fancy techniques, you can probably just use the “soup” function on the Instant Pot (you may still want to use the sauté function for the first step with the garlic and oil). But it’s so fast on the stove top, it might be faster to do it this way than waiting for the IP to come up to pressure and depressurize!

Can I Freeze This Rosemary Garlic White Bean Soup?

Absolutely! This soup will freeze very well. I made a fairly small batch, but you can easily double it and freeze half for later. To double the recipe, change the number of servings in the recipe card below to 8, and all the other ingredients will auto adjust.

Easy Rosemary Garlic White Bean Soup

This incredibly easy Rosemary Garlic White Bean Soup takes only eight simple ingredients to deliver a bowl full of rich, bold flavor.

2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
3 15 oz. cans cannellini beans ($1.47)
2 cups vegetable (or chicken) broth ($0.26)
1/2 tsp dried rosemary ($0.05)
1/4 tsp dried thyme ($0.02)
1 pinch crushed red pepper ($0.02)
freshly cracked pepper to taste ($0.03)

Before you begin, pour one of the cans of cannellini beans (with its liquid) into a blender and purée until smooth. Drain the other two cans of beans.
Mince the garlic and add it to a soup pot with the olive oil. Sauté the garlic over medium for about one minute, or just until the garlic is very fragrant.
Add the puréed cannellini beans, the other two cans of drained beans, broth, rosemary, thyme, crushed red pepper, and some freshly cracked pepper. Stir to combine.
Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium low, remove the lid, and allow it to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Smash the beans slightly to thicken the soup even more. Taste the soup and add salt if needed (I did not add any, this will depend on the salt content of your broth). Serve hot, with crusty bread for dipping!

Scroll down for the step by step photos!

Love beans as much as I do? Check out my entire recipe category dedicated to BEANS! :D

Step by Step Photos

Before you begin, add one can of cannellini beans, with the liquid in the can, to a blender and purée until smooth.

Mince four cloves of garlic and add them to a soup pot with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sauté over medium for about one minute, or just until the garlic becomes really fragrant.

Add two DRAINED cans of cannellini beans, plus the can of puréed beans to the soup pot.

Also add 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth, 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, 1/4 tsp dried thyme, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and some freshly cracked pepper. Stir to combine.

Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring it up a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium low, remove the lid, and let it simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. After simmering for 15 minutes, smash some of the beans to thicken the soup even more. Give it a taste and add salt if needed (I did not add any).