If you’re watching your weight, this Tuscan Vegetable Soup is a great choice!
It has been a chilly winter so far in much of the country. The Tahoe area (where we used to live) is getting crazy snowfall. Oregon (where we live in the summer) has been freezing and snowy too. And even Arizona (where I am now) is seeing 50 degree temperatures and rain (chilly for AZ!)
In any case, soup is on the menu! If you’re needing a warm-you-up kind of meal, or if you’re just looking for a healthy soup that you can eat for a couple of days, then this Tuscan Vegetable Soup is it! There are simple flavors, but it’s really delicious.
Ingredients needed:
- cannellini beans
- olive oil
- onion, carrot, celery, zucchini and garlic
- fresh thyme and sage
- salt and pepper
- chicken or vegetable broth
- canned diced tomatoes
- fresh spinach leaves
- Parmesan cheese
Substitutions:
Use any white bean. Great Northern Beans work well in this Tuscan vegetable soup recipe too. Use yellow squash in place of zucchini, if you’d like. Dried herbs may be used in place of fresh. Kale may be used instead of spinach. Cheese is optional.
How to make Tuscan Vegetable Soup:
The full, printable recipe is at the end of this post.
Mash half a can of beans and keep the other half whole. Chop up the veggies. If you don’t like what’s in the recipe, then improvise with what you do like. Sauté the veggies and spices in a little bit of olive oil, then add the tomatoes and broth.
Add the beans (smashed and whole) and fresh spinach. Stir just a bit until the spinach is wilted.
It’s a great, low fat, vegetable soup on its own. And it’s filling because of those added beans.
Add grated or shaved Parmesan for added flavor. As a self-proclaimed cheese addict, I personally like the saltiness of added cheese. This Tuscan vegetable soup is a good one for those who are watching their flabs and folds. It’s perfectly satisfying, and it feels like a treat with its pretty nature. This might not pass as main-dish dinner fare (unless you add chicken!), but add a slice of whole grain bread and it certainly makes for a nice lunch (on a chilly day). Enjoy!
Here are a few more soup recipes you might like to try:
- Wisconsin Style Beer Cheese Soup
- Thai Beef Coconut Curry Soup
- Creamy Italian Tortellini Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Sausage Soup
- Beef and Barley Soup
If you happen to be following the Weight Watchers WW plan, you’ll find a link to the WW Points on the recipe card below.
Tuscan Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- One 15.5-ounce can cannellini or Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion (about 1 large)
- 1 cup diced carrot (about 1 large)
- 1 cup diced celery (about 2 stalks)
- 1 cup diced zucchini (about 1 medium)
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage (or ½ teaspoon dried)
- ½ teaspoon salt (+ more, to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (+ more, to taste)
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes (with juice)
- 2 cups (packed) baby spinach leaves
- ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mash half of the beans with the back of a spoon; set aside.
- In a medium-sized soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the veggies and spices (onion thru pepper), and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add the mashed and whole beans and the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes more.
- Serve topped with Parmesan.
Notes
- If you're preparing this recipe as GLUTEN FREE, just be sure to use a brand of chicken or vegetable broth that is designated as GF.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I may be visiting Tuscany in July, I hope it can work out. I already want to try something of the region, gotta try out your recipe, I love soups and yours is very healthy and I need some detox dishes !
I loved this soup and I’m not usually a big fan of veggies soups. This one was delicious and very satisfying. I will definitely be making it again.
I have been craving a soup similar to this for over a month and with just a small adjustment of adding a small can of tomato paste before the broth it was exactly what I had been craving, I will add a bit more spice like cayenne or red pepper flakes next time but that is just because I like spice