Hearty and comforting, this white bean and kale soup recipe deserves a spot in your winter rotation. Crunchy homemade croutons take it over the top.
This kale soup recipe is exactly what I’m craving these days: comfort food + tons of veggies, all rolled into one. Its creamy broth (which, by the way, is thickened with blended white beans, not heavy cream) is swimming with tender kale and aromatics like onions, carrots, and celery. Rosemary and thyme add piney flavor, and a squeeze of lemon juice gives it the perfect bright finish. If you’re looking for a dish that is equal parts cozy, healthy, and delicious, look no further. This kale soup is it!
How to Make Kale Soup
You can find the complete kale soup recipe with measurements below, but here’s a little overview of the process:
First, sauté the aromatics. Heat a big glug of olive oil in a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat. Then, add onion, carrots, celery, garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt, and several grinds of pepper. Cook until the veggies are soft and fragrant, 8 minutes or so.
Next, add the beans and broth and simmer for 20 minutes. You can use cooked dried beans or canned white beans to make this recipe. I definitely recommend cooking your own if you can, because beans cooked from scratch are far more flavorful than canned ones. However, if you do use canned, this first simmer will give the beans a chance to soak up some flavor. The same goes for the vegetable broth. Use store-bought, or make your own! If you cook your own beans, you could also use the bean cooking liquid instead of broth.
Then, blend half the soup. Scoop it into an upright blender and blend until smooth. Stir the creamy puree back into the soup pot.
Finally, add the kale and lemon juice. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until the kale wilts. If needed, add water to thin the soup to your desired consistency. Season to taste and serve!
Kale Soup Recipe Tips
- When it comes to the kale, anything goes. I often make this recipe with curly kale, but Tuscan kale, or lacinato kale, would be lovely here too. No kale on hand? You could swap in another hardy green, such as Swiss chard.
- Adjust the consistency to your liking. This kale soup recipe requires a little tweaking at the end. The type of white bean you use (cannellini beans, great northern beans, and navy beans all work great!) and how much soup you blend will affect how thick the soup is when you stir the puree back into the pot. If it’s too thick, don’t worry about it! Add water, 1/2 cup at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Season to taste. Once the soup reaches your desired level of creaminess, don’t forget to season to taste! After you adjust the consistency, you might need to add more lemon juice, salt, and/or pepper to make the flavors sing.
- Save some for later. This white bean and kale soup keeps well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, though it will thicken as it sits. You’ll likely need to thin it with a bit of water or stock when you’re reheating it. For longer storage, freeze the soup for up to 3 months.
White Bean and Kale Soup Serving Suggestions
Packed with protein and fiber from the white beans, this kale soup recipe is a satisfying meal on its own. Before digging in, top your bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh parsley. A little Parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes would be delicious toppings too. You also can’t go wrong with homemade croutons, which offer a wonderful crunchy contrast to the creamy soup. If you skip them, make sure to serve the soup with good crusty bread instead.
Want something else on the side? The kale soup recipe pairs nicely with a salad. Serve it with any of these recipes:
- Farro Salad
- Wild Rice Pilaf with Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Balsamic
- Pear Salad with Balsamic and Walnuts
Enjoy!
More Favorite Kale Recipes
If you love this kale and white bean soup recipe, try one of these fresh kale recipes next:
- Kale Salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing
- Sweet Potato Hash
- Kale Caesar Salad
- Lentil Salad
- Kale Pesto
- Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
- Kale Smoothie
- Or any of these 33 Delicious Kale Recipes!
Want more cozy soup recipes? Find 35 of our favorites here!
Kale Soup
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 medium carrot, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4½ cups cooked white beans, drained and rinsed
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 6 cups chopped kale leaves
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Homemade croutons, for serving
- Fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, rosemary, salt, thyme, and several grinds of pepper. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until softened. Add the beans and broth. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Transfer half the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Stir the puree back into the pot and add the kale and lemon juice. Cook, stirring, until the kale is wilted, about 5 minutes. If the soup is too thick, stir in water, ½ cup at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency. Season to taste (I usually add another ¼ teaspoon salt at this point) and serve with a drizzle of olive oil, croutons, and fresh parsley for garnish.
Loved this recipe! With organic kale I bought from the Amish farmers at my local farmers market in Cleveland. I made this wonderful wonderful soup. Thank you, thank you thank you!
Delicious. Used organic pinto beans I had on hand. ?
So glad you enjoyed the soup, Joyce!
Hi there how many days would this last in the fridge
Hi Kim, it keeps well for about 4 days in the fridge. It will thicken as it sits, so you might need to thin it with some water when you reheat it. It freezes well too!
Great. Thanks for such a quick reply. Making this on Sunday for my work lunches. Can’t wait to try it.
Kim from Melbourne Australia ❤️
Phoebe, this was a winner for sure… used home made chicken broth that we had (rather than go out in the rain) and went for scrapes of Parmesan & pecorino in place of the croutons (italian household)
This WILL be made again! Thanks!
Hi David, I’m so glad you loved it!
I started following another recipe which seemed bland. until I found this site. WOW! This is a fabulous recipe. I made it for a friend’s birthday dinner and it was a hit. I loved the creamy texture. Try this out you won’t regret it. Thank you.
Hi, I’m so glad you loved the soup!
This is a wonderful recipe.
Hi, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
White beans are problematic for a family member…what to you think about subbing garbanzos in this soup. I’d love to try it (tonite!)
Thanks!
Hi Barbara, I think that’d be great.
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.
(I’ll let you know how those garbanzos work….:)
Did you try garbanzo beans? I was thinking of trying the same!
I did! And they were just fine!
I loved the soup.
Hope they are a good substitute for you as well.
Barbara
Do you provide nutritional information for your recipes?
Hello! I use your blog for recipes, unfortunately your video recipes are coming with pro-Israel ads pushing propoganda against Palestinians despite the fact that Israel is currently facing charges for genocide against Palestinians. I hope you are not profiting from having these ads targeting people who come here for recipes? Please contact google and ask them to stop pushing these ads to your readers. I have also reported them to google. (The soup was great by the way!)
Hi Saskia, thank you for letting me know this is coming up. Political ads of any sort should be blocked – occasionally they get through if they advertiser tags them in a sketchy/unethical way. If you see it happen again, could possibly email me screenshot? I’d have an easier time tracking this specific one down. I really appreciate you for bringing this to my attention.
Great soup!
I made a scaled down version of this recipe for dinner last night, and it was delicious! No leftovers 🙂
I’m so glad it was a hit!
I wasn’t sure what to expect but wanted to find a way make curly kale more edible. I didn’t have to blend any of the soup as it was already creamy from cooking in pressure cooker, and I added a bit of turmeric and black pepper when sweating veg, just for the fun of it. I have lots of soup as it’s just me I’ve cooked for, and I’m going to savour every bowlful – this soup is absolutely delicious. I’ll be making this again
Hi Debbie, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent. I added a tiny bit of heat. Used Good and Gather organic vegetable broth from Target which is A++.
Hi Susan, I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup!
I used mayacoba beans. For the blending, I removed ~1/2 of the solids and used my “boat motor” in the pot. Served with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Delish!
Absolutely thee best Kale soup I’ve come across. Also made your Potato Leek Soup. Both s good and will definitely make again.
I am always looking for new ways to include kale in our family meals. It’s not a favorite green of everyone’s but it is super healthy. I think our family might just go for this version! I can almost imagine making the broth into a sauce and serving over pasta shells! or maybe rice. Do you have any suggestions for a similar revision that might make a pasta topping?
Delicious! The perfect winter soup. Very filling!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I just had to comment, my husband has been asking for new dinner recipes. We were getting bored with the same old meals. I came across your website and I’m glad I did. I decided this past week to make the kale soup it was amazing, it had a great taste and will be one of our delicious go to meals.
Thank You
Hi Hollie, thank you so much for your comment! I’m so glad you both loved the soup.
This looks almost identical to the black eyed peas I made for New Years. I don’t eat ham anymore, but grew up with ham flavoring my beans and bean soup. The combination of rosemary and thyme is a great substitute (along with the garlic, onions, celery and etc) I usually add a bay leaf as well, but that (and the choice of bean) seems to be the only differences.So I can testify this will make a 5 star soup!
great set of soup ingredients, love the use of white beans to make it creamy, as you write, instead of cream, I even like kale! So thank you