This white bean, kale and potato soup is flavorful, comforting, and easy to make in only 1 pot. It tastes even better the next day, but I doubt you'll have much leftover. It's naturally vegan and gluten-free and completely delicious!
There's nothing better than a bowl of soup filled with hearty ingredients with some crusty bread on a cold or rainy day. My family absolutely loves this soup - especially served with some crusty bread or biscuits.
I frequently use beans in my soups as they are filled with protein and are so versatile. My favorite kind of beans to use in a soup is white beans. If you puree soup made with white beans, it develops a creamy texture without using any milk.
Potatoes also help make this soup creamy. If you're looking for more soup recipes with potatoes, try my Irish colcannon soup and my roasted cauliflower potato soup.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Creamy without dairy: The white beans and potatoes give this soup a natural creaminess, especially if blending.
- Delicious any time of year: While soup is perfect on a chilly day, I make this easy recipe all year long. Even though it's creamy, it still feels light enough to enjoy even in the summer months.
- Family friendly: Blending the soup makes even the pickiest kids eat their beans since they aren't seeing them whole.
Ingredient Notes
- Onion - Yellow onions work best in this recipe but you could also use white or red.
- Cannellini beans - I always use canned beans but you could also soak dried beans and use them. If you don't have cannellini beans, you can also use great northern beans.
- Kale - Make sure you remove the stems! They are too tough for this soup.
- Potatoes - Any kind of potatoes you have will work. I prefer to peel the potatoes but you could also leave them on.
- Vegetable broth - Use homemade vegetable broth or packaged.
Please see the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and amounts needed.
How To Make White Bean, Kale and Potato Soup
Step 1: In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step 2: Add the garlic and the spices, stir and cook for another 2 minutes.
Step 3: Add in the vegetable broth, water, beans (drained and rinsed), kale pieces and diced potatoes. Bring the soup to a boil, cover and lower the heat. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Step 4: Remove the pot from the heat and take out the bay leaf. Use an immersion blender to puree about half of the soup to your desired consistency.
Season to taste and serve hot!
For more recipes with beans, try my Instant Pot 15 bean soup and my Instant Pot pinto beans.
Expert Tips
- Make sure you remove the stems from the kale leaves as they are too tough in soup.
- I prefer using canned beans for ease of use but you can also prepare dried beans in advance and use 3 cups worth.
- If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a blender to puree in batches carefully. You can also use a potato masher for a chunkier soup.
Leafy Green Substitutions
I love using leafy greens in soups! This white bean soup recipe uses kale which I think is the best choice. However, if you don't like kale there are a couple other options.
- Spinach: You could substitute in spinach and follow the recipe exactly the same.
- Collard greens: Another choice is collard greens. However, collard greens take much longer to cook so I would recommend adding the greens but holding off on the beans and the potatoes until later.
- Cook the collard greens for about 20 minutes in the soup and then add the beans and potatoes for an additional 20 minutes. Like kale, make sure you removed the stem from the collard greens before chopping and cooking as they are far too tough.
How To Make White Bean, Kale, and Potato Soup In The Slow Cooker
This soup is easy to make in the slow cooker. First, sauté the onions and garlic. Add them and the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Use the blender right before you're ready to serve it.
Storage and Recipe FAQs
Let the soup cool completely and then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This soup will last around 4 days in the fridge.
Yes! Once cool, transfer the soup to freezer safe containers. This soup is best used within 3 months of freezing. Thaw soup overnight in the fridge first before reheating.
You don't have to but blending soups has a couple benefits. First, it makes the soup thicker and creamier. Second, it hides some of the ingredients that young kids might not be fond of.
My youngest claims not to like beans. But if they're pureed in the broth she's perfectly happy to eat them. In this recipe, there will still be whole beans but a lot of them are blended right in to the broth.
To me, I much prefer using canned beans. Yes, some people prefer to soak dry beans but I don't think there's enough difference to warrant the time it takes.
Plus, I've had several instances where some of the dried beans never softened no matter how long they soaked. Perhaps they were a little old but I'm not willing to take the chance anymore.
I'd much rather open a can of beans, strain and rinse them. They're ready to use in seconds!
More Soup Recipes
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Recipe
White Bean, Kale, and Potato Soup (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups kale pieces, stems removed
- 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed about 2 cups
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and spices and cook for 2 minutes, stirring consistently.
- Add the vegetable broth, water, beans, kale, and potatoes and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove and discard the bay leaves. Use an immersion blender to puree some of the soup to desired consistency. Season to taste and serve.
- Store the cooled soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Equipment
- Large pot
- Immersion blender
- Cutting board
Notes
- Make sure you remove the stems from the kale leaves. They are too tough in soup.
- Make sure you drain and rinse the canned beans.
- I prefer using canned beans because they're much easier to use but you can also prepare dried beans in advance and use 3 cups worth.
- If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a blender to puree in batches carefully. You can also use a potato masher and have a chunkier soup.
Jen says
This is a great nutritious soup to make on a cold night. It's super tasty and we love to eat it with some fresh bread. I puree it a good amount to try to hide most of the beans from picky kids.