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!
You know when you’re craving something warm and hearty but don’t really feel like standing over the stove? This is the recipe for you!
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. It’s my favorite vegetarian soup!
With nearly 20g of protein and 12 grams of fiber per serving, this soup is so satisfying. 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!
If you’re looking for other hearty soup recipes, be sure to try my Italian Sausage Spinach Soup, Turkey Sausage Kale Soup and Lazy Lasagna Soup too!
Before You Start Cooking
- 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.
- For kids, you may want to chop the baby spinach up before adding it to the soup to make the spinach a bit more subtle. This is totally optional and you can add whole baby spinach in there as well. Frozen chopped spinach is a really convenient alternative!
- If you plan to make this recipe 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.
Key Ingredient Notes
- Coconut milk: Use full-fat canned coconut milk (not evaporated 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Slow Cooker Tuscan White Bean and Spinach Soup – Step-by-Step
- 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 with a wooden spoon to combine. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.
- When there is half an 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.
If you prefer, you can also prepare this soup in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop!
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.
Scroll to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
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.
Serving Suggestions
With lots of pasta, veggies, and beans, this hearty soup is a meal in itself. We like to serve it with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and chopped fresh basil or fresh parsley. You can even add a little drizzle of pesto (try this cashew pesto) for extra freshness!
Or, you can enjoy a soup and salad combo with a side of my Healthy Caesar Salad. The sharpness of the dressing really balances the rich tomato flavor!
Recipe Variations
- Add more vegetables: Load up on fresh veggies, 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.
- 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. You can also substitute protein pasta, like Banza.
- For extra heat: Add about 1 tsp of red pepper flakes.
- For additional flavor: Add a parmesan rind to simmer in the soup all day and remove it before serving. This is a great way to add major depth of flavor!
More Vegetarian Soup Recipes
Soups are the perfect slow-cooker meal for busy vegetarians, especially when you use canned beans! We make veggie-rich soups all the time. My husband and I love the warm Mexican-inspired flavors in this Mexican Chickpea Soup. The quinoa, chickpeas and corn make it really satisfying.
If you’re craving something simple and timeless, my Slow Cooker White Bean Soup is always a hit. Great with a little crusty bread on cold winter days!
This Spiced Carrot Lentil Soup truly couldn’t be easier, but the warm spices and fresh lemon juice really bring it to life.
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
Hearty Italian White Bean Soup {Slow Cooker}
Video
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 whole grain or regular 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 half an 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 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 too.
- 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 and becoming mushy, 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. The text, formatting and some photos were updated again in January 2026.
Let me preface this review by saying we are a family who eats very meat-forward meals. In fact, my husband and I both have been eating a nearly carnivore diet for 2 months now. However, Lent has started and our church prescribes a plant-based vegan diet during Lent. Let me say, my entire family LOVED this recipe! I loved the simplicity, the affordability, the use of pantry staple ingredients, and the flavor bomb! We will be eating this soup once a week throughout Lent, and I foresee it making it into regular rotation afterwards.
Love this Kim!! I’m so glad you found a meatless meal that your family enjoys! Sometimes it’s good to have an excuse to step outside of the box and try something new :) This soup definitely comes in handy when you want/need to take a break from the meat. Glad you found a new recipe to add to your rotation!
What are your thoughts on using kale instead of spinach? I don’t enjoy the texture of cooked spinach.
Sure, you could definitely add some kale instead of spinach! Hope you enjoy :)
This was very tasty. Used beef broth and parm. Rind. Next time I will cook pasta separately, overcooked in half hour on high
So happy you enjoyed the soup! Love the addition of the parm rind too. Sorry to hear the pasta got overcooked, but good call on cooking the pasta separately. Every slow cooker cooks differently, but you could also try decreasing the cooking time in the slow cooker as well. Thanks for the feedback!
I don’t know if it’s because the coconut milk kind I used was a different brand than yours or something, but my batch ended up looking a lot lighter in colour and tasting distinctly of coconut (it also tastes too fat for my liking). Will try again with half the can of coconut milk (and substitute with an extra cup of broth) and see how it goes. I liked the seasoning and my husband LOVED It (didn’t really taste the coconut) so it’s definitely a winner, just needs a bit of tweaking on my side. I’m not in the US too so it could just be that the brands of coconut milk available over here are more concentrated than the ones you have access to!
Hmm, it could definitely have to do with the brand of coconut milk because I didn’t find that I noticed the coconut milk taste all that much. Did you use coconut cream by any chance? That could possibly explain the lighter color and extra fat content. I’m glad your husband loved it at least. Hope it works out better for you next time if you decide to try it again!
We typically use unsweetened cashew milk for a good savory milk alternative in cooking. Would recommend instead of coconut to avoid the coconut flavor. Looking forward to making this recipe this week!
I haven’t personally tested it, but you could definitely try it with the cashew milk! It might not be quite as creamy, but it would eliminate the coconut flavor. Keep me posted on how it turns out if you try it!
if I want to use dry white beans instead, after soaking, when can I add them to the crock pot? Or what would you recommend? Thanks in advance!
After soaking, you should be able to add them right at the start of the cooking time. They typically take about 5-6 hours to cook on low or 3-4 hours on high. Hope that helps! Enjoy the recipe :)
Edit: I only found evaporated coconut milk. I wasn’t sure what to look for. A picture or more info would be helpful 😊
I’ve only used coconut milk sparingly in recipes, so not really sure what to use here (full fat vs evaporated-what’s the difference?). I bought evaporated coconut milk in a can, will that work in this recipe?
I apologize for the confusion! I’ll add a note to the recipe. Evaporated coconut milk is thicker and more concentrated and also has a stronger coconut flavor than regular canned coconut milk. That’s because the water content has been removed, leaving behind a higher proportion of coconut solids. It may still work for this recipe, but you might want to add a bit less or increase the broth a bit if you find that it’s too thick and creamy. Hope it still works out for you!
Love this soup!! It’s delicious! Wondering what a serving size is? 8oz? I used chickpea barilla rotini for a little extra protein!
So happy you enjoyed the soup! I would say a serving size would be about 8-12 ounces. Love how you used chickpea pasta for an added protein boost!
Was too much for my small crock pot, didn’t see anywhere a guide for how big of a crock pot I needed. Had to put some of the tomatoes and juice in a regular pot and then once the stuff cooked, add more of it to the regular pot before adding the noodles and spinach.
Sorry about that! I used a 5-quart slow cooker and that worked out well for the quantity of soup. I’m glad you were able to find a way to still make it work. Hope you still enjoyed the soup :)
Are The macros you have listed for 1/6 of this recipe? Since I do count macros most of the time I appreciate your listing them.
Yes, that’s correct! The macros are for approximately 1/6th of the soup. Hope that helps!