Time to cozy up with this delicious Tuscan white bean soup! Made in the crockpot, this vegan soup is made super creamy with a coconut milk and sun-dried tomato base, and bulked up with pasta, white beans and fresh spinach for a healthy and satisfying Italian-inspired meal. {Vegan and gluten-free friendly}
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The cooler weather has officially arrived, so it’s time to break out all of those warm and comfy soup recipes!
This slow cooker Tuscan white bean soup is one comforting recipe that’s a breeze to prepare, since all of the ingredients can be tossed into the slow cooker and left to fill the house with a mouthwatering aroma.
Ultra rich and creamy, this tomato and coconut milk based soup is made with white beans, vegetables and pasta and flavoured up with Italian seasoning for a super hearty dish. Fresh spinach is stirred in at the end of the cooking for extra goodness.
Additionally, this Tuscan bean soup recipe just so happens to be vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free friendly so it’s a great soup to serve up to those with specific dietary requirements. So many things to love about this soup!
If you’re looking for other hearty soup recipes, be sure to try my Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup and Lazy Lasagna Soup too!
Table of Contents
Why we love this Tuscan White Bean Soup
- Simple to make: With this recipe, you can let your slow cooker do all the hard work for you! Just add in the ingredients earlier in the day and have a warm and delicious meal waiting for you. No hovering over the stove required!
- Basic ingredients: Made with a lot of pantry staples, this Tuscan white bean soup is easy to whip up on a whim and is budget-friendly too.
- Healthy: With nearly 20g of protein and 12 grams of fibre per serving, this is the ultimate filling and satisfying meal. Plus, there are lots of vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, K and potassium thanks to the veggies, making for a great well balanced meal that can be made all in one pot!
Ingredient notes
- Oil: For cooking. I like to use olive oil for more Tuscan flavour, but vegetable or canola will work well too.
- Coconut milk: Use full-fat canned coconut milk for the best results. It makes the soup really creamy, while keeping it dairy-free and vegan for those with specific dietary requirements.
- Garlic: Use freshly minced garlic for the best flavour.
- Sun-dried tomatoes: Sun-dries tomatoes have a really rich taste and add a great burst of flavour when pureed into the base of the soup. Drain them of the oil before using.
- Seasonings: Italian seasoning, salt and pepper flavour up this soup. You can adjust the seasonings to taste.
- Diced tomatoes: Use canned diced tomatoes. I like to use ones with Italian seasoning for a boost of flavour, but you can use regular lower sodium canned diced tomatoes as well.
- White beans: Use canned white kidney beans or cannellini beans, preferably with low or no sodium. Drain and rinse well before adding to the slow cooker.
- Broth: Use a low sodium vegetable broth. You can also use chicken broth if not following a plant-based diet.
- Spinach: Fresh spinach adds a lot of goodness to this Tuscan white bean soup. You can also use frozen if you have that on hand.
- Pasta: I like to make this with rotini pasta, but penne, fusilli or bow tie will all work well. Use a gluten-free pasta if you require the recipe to be gluten-free.
Vegan white bean soup – Step by step instructions
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the onion until softened and fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. You can also do this step in the slow cooker if it has a saute function.
- Meanwhile, in a blender, add coconut milk, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, Italian seasoning and salt. Blend on high until smooth.
- Add the onion and coconut milk mixture to the slow cooker along with the diced tomatoes , white beans, and vegetable broth. Stir to combine. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.
- When there is one hour left on the timer, turn the heat to high (if it’s not there already) and add in the dry pasta and stir. Stir in the spinach when there are five minutes left on the timer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Recipe Tips
- I like to blend the coconut milk and sun-dried tomato mixture in a mini blender (we love the Ninja) since it makes the mixture ultra smooth and creamy. You can use a regular blender too if that’s what you have.
- I like to chop the baby spinach up before adding it to the soup to make the spinach a bit more subtle and kid-friendly. This step is totally optional and you can add whole baby spinach in there as well. Frozen chopped spinach is a really subtle, yet convenient option as well.
- The soup tends to thicken up the longer that it sits, so you may wish to add some extra broth to thin it out before serving.
- If you plan to make this soup hours before serving, you might want to cook the pasta separately and add it into the soup just before serving to prevent it from thickening it up too much, but it’s a personal preference.
Recipe FAQs
You can store this soup in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to four days. You may wish to add some more broth before serving since the pasta will absorb some of the liquid and cause it to thicken as it sits.
This white bean soup will keep well frozen for up to 6 months. However, if you plan to freeze it, I recommend cooking the noodles separately and adding the cooked pasta in just before serving.
Yes, it works well on the stove and in the instant pot! For the stovetop, saute the onion then add in the coconut milk mix, diced tomatoes, white beans, and vegetable broth. Let it simmer for 10 minutes, then add in the pasta and spinach and cook until the pasta is soft, about 10-12 minutes.
For the instant pot, add all of the ingredients, but leave out the pasta and spinach and cook on high for 15 minutes and naturally release for 10 minutes. Stir in the fresh spinach to wilt and then stir in cooked pasta to serve.
Serving suggestions
This tuscan bean soup recipe is hearty and filling and can easily be served by itself with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and chopped fresh basil.
You can also serve it up with some crusty bread, or a small fresh side salad such as this Spring Mix Salad or Greek Cucumber Noodle Salad.
Recipe variations
- Add more vegetables: You can easily add more veggies to this soup, like bell peppers or mushrooms. If you choose to add more, saute them along with the the onions first. You can also replace the spinach with chopped kale.
- Make it gluten-free: Use your favourite gluten-free pasta like brown rice, corn or lentil.
- Add more protein: If you don’t require the soup to be meatless, this soup also tastes great made with diced chicken or ground sausage.
More similar recipes
- Instant Pot Pumpkin Soup
- Chicken Meatball Soup
- ABC Soup
- Lemon Lentil Soup
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Italian Sausage Soup
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Tuscan White Bean Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 14oz can full-fat coconut milk
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes drained of oil
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 28oz can diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning
- 2 19oz cans low sodium white beans drained and rinsed
- 3 cups reduced sodium vegetable broth
- 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
- 1 cup rotini pasta gluten-free, if needed
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the onion until softened and fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. You can also do this step in the slow cooker if it has a saute function.
- Meanwhile, in a blender, add coconut milk, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, Italian seasoning and salt. Blend on high until smooth.
- Add the onion and coconut milk mixture to the slow cooker along with the diced tomatoes, white beans, and vegetable broth. Stir to combine. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.
- When there is one hour left on the timer, turn the heat to high (if it's not there already) and add in the dry pasta and stir. Stir in the spinach when there are five minutes left on the timer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve warm sprinkled with some freshly grated parmesan cheese and fresh basil, if desired.
Notes
- I like to blend the coconut milk and sun-dried tomato mixture in a mini blender (we love the Ninja) since it makes the mixture ultra smooth and creamy. You can use a regular blender too if that’s what you have.
- I like to chop the baby spinach up before adding it to the soup to make the spinach a bit more subtle and kid-friendly. This step is totally optional and you can add whole baby spinach in there as well. Frozen chopped spinach is a really subtle, yet convenient option as well.
- The soup tends to thicken up the longer that it sits, so you may wish to add some extra broth to thin it out before serving.
- If you plan to make this soup hours before serving, you might want to cook the pasta separately and add it into the soup just before serving to prevent it from thickening it up too much, but it’s a personal preference.
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