A Couple Cooks

Easy Kale Soup

January 09, 2022

This Italian kale soup recipe with white beans is full of bold, Mediterranean flavor! Healthy and satisfying, it’s ready in just 30 minutes.

Kale soup

Need a healthy soup recipe that pleases everyone? Try this Kale Soup with White Beans! Hearty Tuscan kale, white beans and kale float in a tangy broth flavored with oregano and fennel. It’s like a combination of all our favorite soup recipes in one bowl: comforting and full of bold Mediterranean-style flavors. It comes together in just 30 minutes and makes a huge pot that’s great for leftover lunches. Really, it ticks all of our boxes! Healthy, easy, and irresistibly tasty.

Ingredients in this kale soup recipe

This kale soup delivers flavor well beyond its quick prep time! Sip a spoonful and you’ll be surprised by the pop of tangy flavor.

  • Kale: you can use either Tuscan or curly, but we prefer Tuscan (see below)
  • Onion
  • Carrot
  • Olive oil
  • Canned fire roasted tomatoes
  • Vegetable broth
  • Canned or cooked white beans: cannellini, Great Northern, navy, butter, or other
  • Seasonings: fennel seed, oregano, smoked paprika
Kale soup

Use Tuscan kale, but curly works

There are a few main types of kale you can find at the grocery store. We like Tuscan kale in this kale soup, because it has the mildest flavor and is Italian in origin, which matches the Mediterranean-style flavor of this soup. Here are the different types of kale you’ll see:

  • Tuscan kale has dark green, flat leaves and a mellow flavor. It’s also sometimes called Lacinato or dinosaur kale. It’s common in Italian dishes like Tuscan Kale Salad or Tuscan Vegetable Stew (Ribollita).
  • Curly kale is brighter green and very curly. The flavor is bitter and spicy., which is why we usually prefer Tuscan kale.
  • Baby kale is kale that’s harvested before it’s mature and sold in boxes in grocery stores and farmer’s markets. Baby kale has a very mild flavor and is more tender than standard kale, so you don’t have to cook it as long.
Tuscan kale

Why to look for fire roasted tomatoes

Another flavor secret to this kale soup? Fire roasted tomatoes. If you’ve been reading for a few years, you’ll know that we often use this type of tomato in our recipes because it brings massive sweet flavor, especially to soups and sauces. Here’s the downlow on fire roasted tomatoes:

  • Fire roasted tomatoes are a type of canned tomato that’s roasted over a flame before canning. They’re sold by several different brands, and you can find them in the canned tomato section in your local grocery.
  • Fire roasted tomatoes taste sweet right out of the can, instead of bitter like other canned tomatoes. This means you can cook them for less time, which is always a pro in our book!
  • Can’t find them? Just use the highest quality canned tomatoes you can find. You could also add a pinch of smoked paprika and a pinch of sugar to round out the flavors.
Kale Soup

What to serve with kale soup

Want to make it into a meal? This kale soup is an easy 30 minute meal that’s ideal as an easy dinner idea or healthy lunch. Here are a few ways to accessorize it to make a quick meal:

Storage info

This kale soup saves very well! After you make it, you can refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. The flavor just gets better with time!

More healthy soups

We’re all about cozy, comforting soups: anytime, anywhere! Here are a few of our top favorite healthy soup recipes:

This kale soup recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

Print
Kale soup

Easy Kale Soup

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 to 6 servings
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

This Italian kale soup recipe with white beans is full of bold, Mediterranean flavor! Healthy and satisfying, it’s ready in just 30 minutes.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon salted butter (or olive oil)
  • 1 large white onion, diced
  • 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
  • 2 28-ounce cans diced fire roasted tomatoes*
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 15-ounce cans white beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 ½ teaspoons dried fennel seed, crushed with fingers, divided
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • 2 bunches Tuscan kale (or 1 large bunch curly kale), chopped
  • Shredded Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese for serving, optional

Instructions

  1. Prepare the onion and carrot as noted above.
  2. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter (or all olive oil) over medium high heat. Add the onion and carrots and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes until tender.
  3. Add the diced tomatoes, vegetable broth and beans. Bring to a steady simmer, then add 1 teaspoon of the fennel seed, along with the dried oregano, smoked paprika and kosher salt. Simmer 12 minutes. (Meanwhile, chop the kale.)
  4. Add the kale and simmer additional 2 to 3 minutes until the kale is tender. Add the additional ½ teaspoon crushed fennel seed. Taste a cooled spoonful and add up to ½ teaspoon additional kosher salt (depending on the salt level of your broth and beans), until the flavor pops.
  5. Serve immediately with grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese. Store refrigerated for 3 days or frozen up to 3 months.

Notes

*If you can’t find fire roasted tomatoes, use the best canned tomatoes you can find. Add another ½ teaspoon smoked paprika and 1 teaspoon sugar, honey or maple syrup to round out the flavors.

  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Soup

Keywords: Kale soup, kale soup recipe, white bean kale soup

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

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