What’s better than a nice soup hot (steaming hot as I like it!), warm, healthy, and genuine? Even better if it’s also cheap, incredibly creamy, and ridiculously good, just like this Bean Soup with Broccoli and Carrots.
I confess that I am passionate about soups, broths, creams, and stews, and in autumn-winter, I make so many that I lose count! Like, for example, this Chickpea and Mussel Soup, perfect for impressing someone at the table with simplicity!
I consider these dishes to be true comfort food capable of providing well-being to our entire body.
Every time I try to prepare them by mostly using the ingredients I have available, in the spirit of “waste not, want not”!
Today’s version is really tasty, with cannellini beans, broccoli, and carrots. We can personalize this soup in a thousand ways, and at the end of the article, you will also find some equally tasty variations.
If you want to make this soup even richer and more complete, you can even add the pasta you prefer, thus serving a dish that your guests will hardly forget!
This type of soup can also be prepared in two different ways, and the choice is entirely yours, depending on how much time you have to spend in the kitchen!
If you’re always in a rush and prefer quick recipes that make your life easier, my advice is to use pre-cooked legumes. If, on the other hand, you are an attentive organizer and can manage your time well, you can use dry legumes that need to be soaked for about 12 hours and then cooked for about an hour.
But now, enough talk, let’s prepare together the quick soup with pre-cooked beans, broccoli, and carrots.
Are you also a lover of dishes like this? Then don’t miss the most appreciated recipes by my loyal readers:
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 2 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 jars canned cannellini beans (If you prefer not to use pre-cooked ones, remember this to calculate the doses: 100 g dry beans = 200 g boiled beans (or drained canned beans))
- 10.6 oz broccoli (fresh or frozen)
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion (red or white or yellow if you prefer)
- 2 tbsps olive oil (about 25 grams)
- salt
- Half tsp chili powder (if you like it)
Tools
- Casserole
- Cutting board
- Mandolin
- Ladle
Steps
Let’s start by peeling the carrots, rinsing them well under water, and slicing them thinly with a mandolin.
If you don’t have a vegetable slicer, no worries! You can cut the carrots as you prefer using a simple knife or even grate them 😉
Slice a red onion finely too, or half of it if you prefer. If you don’t like onions, you can skip them or replace them with leeks or green onions.
In a casserole, pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, half a teaspoon of dried chili (only if you like it), and add carrots and onion.
Let them cook on very low heat to soften, then add the beans drained of their juices.
Add the broccoli too (I used frozen ones and added them still frozen).
If you prefer, you can buy fresh broccoli, if in season, and you will obviously have to remove the leaves, divide it into florets, cut the tougher parts, and wash under water.
Pour in about 21 oz of water or vegetable broth (you can also prepare it the night before to get ahead with the preparation).
During cooking, pay attention if the liquids reduce too much, and in that case, gradually add water or vegetable broth (always hot or better yet boiling).
Adjust the salt and taste to see if it’s to your liking or if you need to add a bit more.
Lower the heat and cook for about 20-25 minutes. When the liquids have reduced to the right point and the soup is nice and creamy, you can plate it.
If you like even thicker soups, you can mash some of the beans (with the back of a spoon or with a hand blender).
On each plate, add a drizzle of raw olive oil, a pinch of pepper if you like, and why not, a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese.
As I mentioned above, if you want, you can add pasta to make this soup even richer, or serve it with croutons, fried or toasted in a pan.
And your incredibly creamy and so tasty bean and broccoli soup is ready! Enjoy your meal!
Article protected by copyright © – Gabriella Geroni © All Rights Reserved
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What can I use instead of broccoli?
To this question, I answer with “whatever you like best” because this soup can really be made in a thousand ways.
Seasonal or frozen vegetables like zucchini, black cabbage, purple cabbage, mushrooms, peas, pumpkin, fennel, broccolini, potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, turnips, savoy cabbage, fava beans, cauliflower, etc.
You have a wide choice of ingredients to use, just choose what you like best or combine two or more to make your dish even more interesting.
Creamy Potato and Porcini Soup
Bean and Pumpkin Soup
Turnip and Bean SoupI don’t like beans, can I replace them with other legumes?
Of course! The beauty of these preparations is that they can be made not only with various types of vegetables but also with the legumes we like best, such as chickpeas, lentils, grass peas, which I used to make this amazing soup!
If I want to add pasta, do the indicated doses change?
So, the quantities described are for someone on a diet, following a specific diet plan with measurements indicated by their meal plan.
If I were to add pasta to this preparation, I would have to decrease the legume dosage from 200 to 150 and add 50 grams of pasta per person.
However, everyone eats according to their habits, so if you’re not on a diet for specific reasons, you can leave the legume quantities unchanged and add 50 grams of pasta per person or more if you prefer 😉How do I store this bean soup?
The bean soup can be stored in the fridge for a maximum of a couple of days, provided it’s placed in an airtight container. If you added pasta to your preparation, it’s best to keep it in the fridge for a day.
Usually, when I prepare soups and stews, I make plenty so I can consume them the next day as well. Or, I put them in previously sterilized glass jars with airtight lids and store them in the freezer where I keep them for a maximum of a couple of months.
I never freeze soups and stews with added pasta because it tends to overcook once reheated, and personally, I don’t like it. I prefer to add the pasta at the moment so that it remains al dente as I like it!
