Time to cozy up with this delicious Italian white bean soup! Made in the crockpot, this Tuscan soup is made super creamy with a coconut milk and sun-dried tomato base, and bulked up with pasta, white cannellini beans and fresh spinach for a healthy and satisfying Italian-inspired meal perfect for busy weeknights! {Vegan & gluten-free friendly}
Italian Cannellini Bean Soup Recipe – So Hearty!
The cooler weather has officially arrived, so it’s time to break out all of those warm and comforting soup recipes!
This slow cooker Italian white bean soup is one delicious 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 cannellini beans, vegetables and pasta and flavored 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 good soup to serve up to those with specific dietary requirements. So many things to love about this homemade soup!
If you’re looking for other hearty soup recipes, be sure to try my Garbanzo Bean Soup and Lazy Lasagna Soup too!
Why We Love this Tuscan White Bean Soup
- Simple to make: With this easy soup, 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 lots of pantry staples, this hearty Italian 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 extra virgin olive oil for more Tuscan flavor, 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 fresh garlic for the best flavor.
- Sun-dried tomatoes: Sun-dries tomatoes have a really rich taste and add a great burst of flavor when pureed into the base of the soup. Drain them of the oil before using.
- Seasonings: Italian seasoning, salt and pepper flavor 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 flavor, but you can use regular lower sodium canned diced tomatoes as well.
- White beans: Use canned cannellini beans or white kidney beans, preferably with low or no sodium. You can also sub in great northern beans, navy beans or your own cooked beans. If opting for canned beans, drain and rinse well before adding to the slow cooker.
- Broth: Use a low sodium vegetable broth. You can also use chicken stock or bone 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.
Italian White Bean and Spinach Soup – Step-by-Step Instructions
- Heat 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 blended soup mixture to the slow cooker along with the diced tomatoes, white beans, and vegetable broth. Stir Stir with a wooden spoon 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 the finished soup with salt and black pepper and your favorite fresh herbs, to taste.
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
Tips for the Best Soup
- 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 Italian bean soup for meal prep or hours before serving, you may wish 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.
Storage & Reheating Guidelines
To refrigerate: You can store any leftover soup soup in an airtight 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.
To freeze: 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.
To reheat: Reheat in a large pot over medium heat until warmed through. You can also pop it into the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
Cannellini beans are a type of white bean, but not all white beans are necessarily cannellini beans. White beans are a broad category of beans that includes various varieties, with cannellini beans being one specific subtype within that category. Cannellini beans, which originate from Southern Italy, are also known as white kidney beans. They’re characterized by their generous size and oval shape, offering a slight nutty taste coupled with a smooth and creamy consistency.
Yes, it works well on the stove and in the instant pot! For the stovetop, saute the onion over medium-high heat in a large pot or Dutch oven. 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 pressure for 15 minutes and naturally release for 10 minutes. Stir in the fresh spinach to wilt and then stir in cooked pasta to serve.
Although you don’t necessarily have to, it’s recommended that canned cannellini beans be drained before adding them to soup to help reduce the sodium content and prevent any potential digestive upset that may result from consuming the bean liquid.
Serving Suggestions
This Italian white bean soup recipe is hearty and filling and can easily be served by itself with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and chopped fresh basil or fresh parsley.
You can also serve this delicious soup with some crusty bread, or a small fresh side salad such as this Tossed Green Salad or Greek Cucumber Noodle Salad.
Recipe Variations
- Add more vegetables: You can easily add more fresh vegetables 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 lacinato 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, sweet Italian sausage or hot Italian sausage for a spicy kick.
- For extra heat: Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the soup.
- For additional flavor: Add some parmesan rind or a bay leaf to the soup while it cooks!
More Delicious Soup Recipes
- Healthy Freezer Crockpot Meals
- Turkey Sausage and Kale Soup
- Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Instant Pot Pumpkin Soup
- Chicken Meatball Soup
- ABC Soup
- Lemon Lentil Soup
- Healthy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Italian Sausage Soup
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Hearty Italian White Bean Soup Recipe {Crockpot}
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.
Video
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.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in November 2021 and was updated in October 2023 to include more helpful tips.
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