White Bean and Bacon Soup

Italian bean soups come from the Tuscan culture of “cucina povera” ~ rustic, simple cooking where nothing is wasted. In Tuscany you’d make this white bean and bacon soup with pancetta or maybe pork belly, but today I’m using bacon. The smokey flavors and creamy textures of this bean soup are absolutely delicious and satisfying enough for a meal. I love to top it with hefty croutons.

make white bean and bacon soup step by step

First decide if you are using canned or dried beans. I use dried, so I soak them in cold water overnight and drain in the morning before starting my soup.

1. Cover soaked beans in fresh well salted water, add aromatics, and cook until tender but not mushy.
2. Meanwhile chop and cook your bacon until crisp.
3. Sauté the ‘soffritto’ (minced onion, celery and carrot) in the bacon grease until soft.
4. Add tomato paste, cheese rind, chicken stock, beans and some of the bean water to the pot and stir well.
5. Bring to a simmer and simmer gently, partially covered, for about 30 minutes.
6. Fish out the bay leaves, cheese rind and whole herb sprigs; taste and adjust seasoning.
7. Serve garnished with croutons, fresh sage, and Parmesan cheese if desired.

make easy croutons

• Slice up a small baguette.
• Slather with olive oil and salt. You can add Parmesan cheese if you like.
• Toast in a 400F oven on a baking sheet until crisp.

white bean and bacon soup variations

the bottom line

White bean and bacon soup is a great meal, and we found it gets even better the next day. The flavor of the smokey bacon really permeates the dish, and fresh sage gives it a nice fall vibe. I’m glad I opted for dried beans here because they were nice and firm, not falling apart. Fresh sage perfumes the soup without overwhelming, it’s definitely worth it. If you have the space I recommend growing it, here in Wisconsin mine is gorgeous right up to Thanksgiving! (It’s a hardy perennial in zones 4-8.)

White Bean and Bacon Soup

5 from 1 vote

Hearty white bean and bacon soup ~ smoky bacon, tender beans, and a silky broth you can make with pantry staples.

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Cook Time:1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Total Time:1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 servings

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Equipment

• Dutch oven

Ingredients

 

• 1 lb dried Great Northern beans, soaked overnight
• coarse salt*
• 3 bay leaves
• 2-3 whole sprigs of sage
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed, divided
• Parmesan cheese rind**
• 12 ounces bacon, chopped
• 1/2 medium onion, minced
• 1 stalk celery, minced
• 1 medium carrot, minced
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste***
• 32 ounces chicken stock or broth
• crusty croutons, optional
• grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Instructions

• Drain the beans and add them to a large pot. Cover with at least 2 inches of cold water. Add a tablespoon of coarse salt*, 3 bay leaves, 2-3 whole sprigs of sage, 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed. Add the Parmesan cheese rind**, too. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and boil gently until the beans are just tender but still firm, about 40 minutes. Drain the beans and reserve the liquid (and parm rind.)
• Meanwhile fry the bacon, in 2 batches. Remove and drain the first batch. After the second batch is nicely browned add the minced onion, celery, and carrot to the pan and sauté until nice and soft, stirring often. Add the drained bacon and the remaining 4 cloves of smashed garlic to the pot.
• Add the 1 Tbsp tomato paste*** to the pan and sauté to 'toast' it and bring out the flavor. Add the beans to the soup (I also transfer the cheese rind.) Add about 2 cups of the reserved bean cooking water along with 4 cups chicken stock. Add some fresh sage sprigs as well.
• Bring the soup to a simmer, then loosely cover and simmer gently for about 20-30 minutes. Taste to adjust the seasonings. Add more bean water or stock as needed.
• Remove the whole herbs and cheese rind. The soup can be cooled and refrigerated at this point or served right away.
• Serve topped with croutons, sage leaves and grated cheese, if you like.
• The soup will keep in the fridge for a week.

Notes

*Bean-salting advice has evolved! The current consensus is to salt the water from the start when cooking dried beans for best seasoning. The “salt at the end” approach is outdated.

**Parm rind is liquid gold for soup ~ drop a cleaned Parmesan rind (2–3 inches) into the pot as it simmers and it quietly melts flavor into the broth: nutty, savory, a little silky from natural glutamates. Fish it out before serving.

***The tomato paste tints the soup a lovely color, but doesn’t make it taste like a tomato based soup, so don’t skip it. I keep a tube of tomato paste in my fridge for recipes like this where a little dab is needed.

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Course: Soup

Cuisine: Italian American

Author: Sue Moran

Keyword: bacon, beans, Italian, soup

Nutrition

Calories: 419 kcal · Carbohydrates: 42 g · Protein: 21 g · Fat: 19 g · Saturated Fat: 6 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 3 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 8 g · Trans Fat: 0.1 g · Cholesterol: 31 mg · Sodium: 477 mg · Potassium: 1058 mg · Fiber: 12 g · Sugar: 4 g · Vitamin A: 1348 IU · Vitamin C: 5 mg · Calcium: 112 mg · Iron: 4 mg

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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