Creamy Tomato Soup with White Beans

Creamy Tomato Soup with White Beans and grilled cheese sandwiches for dunking, is a warm comforting pot of that classic childhood favorite! The addition of white beans make it a protein rich, well-rounded hearty vegetarian meal. This is homemade scratch soup, loaded with healthy ingredients and pantry staples, and ready in just 30 minutes! It's the perfect one-pot winter weeknight dinner, and makes delicious leftovers for lunch or the freezer.

Why We Love It!

• Filling, Balanced, Vegetarian - I love the classic grilled cheese with tomato soup, but that meal can often feel a little light with just canned tomatoes, bread and cheese, a bit unfulfilling! This high protein tomato soup starts with sautéed veggies like onion, celery, and carrot, and then a can of white beans turns the same flavors into a complete, well-rounded nutritious dinner! You get all the bold tomato soup taste, and those veggies and beans get blended up, completely unnoticed! When the kids are happily dunking their grilled cheese, you'll know you are serving your family a solid healthy dinner.

• Fast and Easy - This creamy tomato bean soup is one of the easiest soups to make and only takes 30 minutes from start to finish! It's the perfect one-pot comfort food, even on a busy fall or winter weeknight. Try my Cheesy Broccoli Zucchini Soup and this Roasted Tomato Basil Soup with Fresh Tomatoes in the summer!

• Simple - These ingredients are simple and basic, and I usually have them all on hand. That's the best part about classic soups, the bold flavor of the tomatoes and simple seasonings combined with a touch of real cream, you can curl up with a cozy bowl, fit for dunking!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Carrot, Onion, Celery, Garlic - This white bean tomato soup is started with the classic combo of veggies. The base of flavors of the soup are super nutritious and all get blended up so even picky eaters won't know they're in there! If you want to bump the nutrition even more, you could add a half red bell pepper or a bit of chopped zucchini.

• Salt, Pepper, Sugar - The seasonings are completely simple here! Salt and pepper flavors all components of the soup while a pinch of sugar balances the acidity of the tomatoes.

• White Beans - The white beans are why I LOVE this recipe! They add protein and turn an otherwise light meal into one hearty enough to be a dinner while still keeping it vegetarian. Not using flour as a thickener makes this a gluten-free tomato soup! Navy beans, great northern, cannellini, or any white beans are fine, even chickpeas. Try my Cauliflower White Bean Soup and this Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup for similar protein-rich bean soup varieties!

• Canned Tomato - Since tomatoes are the star flavor here, I'd go for the good stuff. I use 2 large cans of Cento San Marzo Peeled Tomatoes. These are the tomatoes left whole in their sauce, and I think San Marzano, a variety from Italy, are the deepest in flavor. When you open a can you can just tell, the sauce is seriously thick, never watery and those whole tomatoes will thicken the soup when blended. Another brand of whole peeled tomatoes or crushed tomatoes will work.

• Stock - Vegetable stock, or chicken stock if you aren't worried about keeping it vegetarian, are both fine for this recipe. Freeze your vegetable scraps to make Homemade Chicken Stock!

• Cream- Real heavy cream gives this protein tomato soup a rich velvety texture that is so delicious. However, if you want to lighten it up, you could use less cream, about half a cup, or substitute half & half or whole milk. I have not tried using a non-dairy milk, but if you want to try it, use something without a strong flavor.

• Garnish with Fresh Basil and Parmesan - A simple pot of soup is all about the garnishes! Fresh basil and shredded Parmesan are the best!

• Grilled Cheese Sandwiches - I might argue that the dunkable sandwich is the most important part of the meal! Cut your grilled cheese diagonally for those extra corners to dunk! I like making grilled cheese in my panini press, it's so quick and easy! You could also serve white bean tomato soup with any style of garlic bread, my Overnight Dutch Oven Bread, croutons or crackers.

Instructions

Step 1 - Wash and chop all your veggies and add them to a large soup pot or Dutch oven to saute in olive oil, seasoning with salt and pepper. Stir frequently, about 7 or 8 minutes.

Step 2 - Add garlic and saute another minute. Then add beans, tomato and stock and give it a good stir. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes (or longer is fine).

Step 3 - Add heavy cream and puree the soup until very smooth using a hand-held immersion blender or transferring to a regular blender in batches.

Step 4 - Garnish with fresh chopped basil and shredded Parmesan cheese and serve with grilled cheese sandwiches.

Make Ahead Instructions

• Meal Prep and Storage Instructions - This is a great big pot of soup in only 30 minutes, so meal prepping a batch is perfect for a week of great lunches! Just make your soup and store it in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days. A glass pint sized jar makes a perfect individual storage container for one serving!

• Freezer Instructions - This soup freezes well! Store it in airtight containers, preferably glass, in the amounts you plan to eat it in, and cool completely (overnight is best) in the refrigerator first. Then transfer your containers to the freezer for 3 to 6 months. When freezing in jars, fill only ¾'s of the way full to allow for expansion, and always cool completely in the fridge first! To use, thaw overnight in the fridge, then warm in a saucepan or the microwave.

• Slow Cooker Instructions - This soup is so fast and easy to make that I don't usually use a slow cooker. But, if it's easier for you, it can be made in a slow cooker. Just add all ingredients except the cream and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Then add the cream and blend.

Chef Tips

• Don't worry about chopping the veggies carefully, they will all get pureed! Remember this is a quick and easy soup and the blender is very forgiving for uneven chopping!

• After adding your tomatoes, pour the stock into the tomato cans back and forth a few times to rinse all the tomato into the soup.

• Be careful when pureeing hot soup!  If using an immersion blender, make sure to keep it submerged so it doesn't splatter.  If using a regular blender, only blend a few cups at a time, tightly secure the lid but remove the little steam trap and firmly hold a clean kitchen towel over the hole while blending. Really blend your soup long enough to get it ultra smooth.  

• Use the best tomatoes, this is Tomato Soup after all! I like using Cento products and San Marzano are the best! Check what your grocery store carries, they are worth the extra couple dollars for this recipe!

• The amount of stock - The amount of stock you use will affect the thickness of your soup, which is completely a personal preference. About 2.5 cups of stock will give you a thicker soup. Some people might think this is too much like a tomato sauce. About 3 cups or more will give you a thinner soup, similar to Campbell's classic tomato soup. You can always add more stock or water to thin your soup, or thicken it by simmering over a low burner to allow steam to escape. Adjust to your liking!

If you made this recipe, I'd love to hear how you liked it! Be sure to leave a star rating by clicking the stars in the recipe card, or leave a comment below!

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