Tuscan Bean Soup
Dreaming of Tuscany? Indulge the dream a bit with this high fiber, Italian soup!
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Extra Time: 1 hr
(for pre-cooking beans, if necessary)
Yield: 6 x 2 cup servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp flour
- 3/4 tsp dried rosemary leaves (3/4 - 1 tsp)
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 whole clove
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 4 cans (14½ oz each) low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 can (17 oz) baby lima beans or 1½ cooked dry-packaged baby lima beans, rinsed, drained
- 1 can (15 oz) garbanzo or 1½ cups cooked dry-packaged garbanzo beans, rinsed, drained
- 1 can (15 oz) red beans or 1½ cups cooked dry-packaged red beans, rinsed, drained
- 2 Tbsp low-sodium tomato paste
- 1 1/2 cup cooked regular or quick-cooking barley
- 1 large russet potato (burbank), unpeeled, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 cup packed sliced spinach leaves
Directions:
Sauté onions, celery and garlic in oil in large saucepan 2 to 3 minutes; stir in flour, herbs and pepper and sauté until onions are tender, 2 to 3 minutes longer.
Add chicken broth, beans and tomato paste to saucepan; heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 20 to 25 minutes, adding barley, potato, carrots and spinach during last 10 minutes of cooking time. Discard bay leaves.
Variations:
Although this recipe calls for a specific variety, any canned or dry-packaged bean variety can be easily substituted for another.
Sodium can be lowered by using cooked dry-packaged beans, vs. canned in brine.
For vegetarian soup, replace chicken broth with vegetable broth.
Serving suggestions are not included in the nutritional analysis.
Nutritional Info (per serving)
| CALORIES | 335 cals |
| Kilojoules | 1,402 kJ |
| Fat | 4.5 g |
| Saturated Fat | 0.6 g |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 500 mg |
| Carbohydrates | 60.0 g |
| Fiber | 14.6 g |
| Total Sugars | 5.0 g |
| Protein | 15.0 g |
| Calcium | 83.0 mg |
Related Recipes
Basic Bean Preparation
Not sure how to soak and cook dry beans? Check this out!