High-Protein Creamy Mediterranean White Bean Soup Recipe (35 Minutes) Soups Mediterranean Diet Recipes Lunch Dinner Gluten-free High Fiber Recipes High Protein Recipes Low Sugar Recipes

Beans are an inexpensive ingredient that can add so much flavor, versatility and nutrition to your healthy diet. White beans are a wonderful source of protein, fiber, magnesium, folate, vitamin B, to name just a few. (Read about the health benefits of white beans.) This creamy white bean soup recipe is quick to make and full of strong, delicious flavors.

One flavor is Parmesan, which you can add by including a Parmesan rind in the soup as it simmers. Parmesan rind gets soft as it cooks and adds saltiness, umami and a wonderful cheesy essence to the soup. You can also use Parmesan rind in sauces and stews for extra flavor. If you don't have a Parmesan cheese rind, the soup will still be delicious.

To make this creamy soup recipe you will need canned great northern beans, olive oil, onion, celery, garlic, dried Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes, an optional Parmesan cheese rind, vegetable or chicken broth, a bay leaf, lemons for juicing and zesting and grated Parmesan cheese for serving, if desired.

The genius way to thicken this soup without added ingredients is by blending some of the white beans and stirring them back into the soup. This high-protein, high-fiber soup is a delicious part of the healthy Mediterranean Diet. Serve this gluten-free bean soup for lunch or as a vegetarian dinner with a salad or bread.

Cuisine: American / Mediterranean
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
• crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
• 30 ounces (2 cans) great northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 ounces Parmesan cheese rind (optional)
• 4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• grated Parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)

Here's how to make it: 

1. Heat the olive oil in a soup pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery. Cook until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper flakes, to taste. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
2. Add the beans, Parmesan rind (If you don't have a Parmesan rind, no worries! The soup is still delicious.), if using, broth and bay leaf. Season with salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring every now and then, until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. To reduce the sodium in this soup recipe use low- or no-salt beans and reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth. Instead of great northern beans you can use cannellini beans.
3. Discard the Parmesan rind. Put 2 cups of the soup into a blender. Process until smooth. (Be careful, the soup is hot!) Pour the blended soup back into the soup pot. If you don't have a regular blender, you can use an immersion blender to blend the 2 cups of soup.
4. Add the lemon juice and zest. Stir. Taste and adjust seasonings to taste. 
5. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired. Store the soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. Any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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