I’ll be the first to admit that a white bean soup might not sound that exciting, but I promise you that this super savory, hearty white bean soup is no ordinary bean soup.
A mixture of dried white beans, fresh herbs, and miso elevates this soup, while garlic (braised inside the soup!) and extra virgin olive oil add lots of rich flavor.
Cozy up to this nourishing yet indulgent white bean soup this winter, make it as part of your meal prep, or freeze leftovers for an emergency meal.
Table of Contents
1. Why you’ll love this recipe
2. Ingredient notes
3. Step-by-step instructions
4. Tips for making this recipe
5. Variations
6. Frequently asked questions
7. Recipe card with notes
Why you’ll love this recipe
Simple ingredients, big flavor
Some of my favorite recipes are ones that feature relatively simple ingredient lists but surprise you with their big, bold flavors. Think my Tomato-Fennel Braised Chickpeas, Vegan Broccoli Salad, or Lemony Chickpea Soup.
And this soup is a great example of that in action. The primary ingredients are a simple mirepoix (onions, carrots, and celery), dried white beans, fresh herbs, garlic, and olive oil. In other words, budget-friendly, plant-based staples you can find in nearly any grocery store.
But the deep savoriness and woodsy, herby flavors will blow you away. Thanks to a little miso and Better than Bouillon plus two heads of garlic, the result is a soup that’s perfectly salty and savory with a surprising depth of flavor.
RPL recipe tester Callie says it has “chicken noodle soup vibes” (no chickens required!).
Nourishing but indulgent
Beans are arguably the cheapest and most accessible superfood in the world and they come with a whole host of health benefits, including lots of heart-protective fiber, plant protein, and minerals like potassium, iron and magnesium.
Combined with vitamin-rich carrots as well as antioxidant-rich garlic and fresh herbs, there’s a lot to love about this soup.
Despite the nourishing ingredients, this soup is cozy and even rich. That’s because the beans are lovingly drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and whole garlic braises inside the soup, lending a rich mouthfeel that’ll delight your taste buds.
Great for meal prep
With 1 pound of dried beans, this soup makes a generous quantity so you’ll have lunch or dinner set for several days. Or, you can freeze half the soup for 3 to 6 months. That way, you’ll have a few emergency meals ready in the freezer when you have a busy week.
And while the cook time is on the longer side because we’re using dried beans, after the first 20ish minutes, the soup cooks completely hands off in the oven. So use that time to do whatever else you love: hanging with the fam, exercising, having a glass of wine with your number one, taking a walk…whatever you like!
Ingredient Notes
Dried White Beans
While I am a fan of using canned beans in soup for convenience, as in my Vegan Potato Leek Soup, in recipes where beans are the main attraction, I prefer to use dried beans because it really makes a big difference.
Cooking beans from scratch dramatically improves the flavor and texture of the beans (and it’s simpler than you think).
For this soup, any dried white bean works, such as Great Northern Beans or cannellini beans, or even smaller navy beans. And don’t worry, you don’t need to cook the beans separately. They cook in the soup at the same time as everything else.
Note: You do need to soak the beans in advance in order for them to cook through in the soup without the soup taking 2 to 3 hours to finish.
Don’t have time for a full soak? Check out the FAQ for instructions on how to quickly soak beans.
Mirepoix
This is the French term for a mixture of onions, carrots, and celery, lightly cooked or sauteed in oil or butter. It’s used as the aromatic flavor base for so many dishes, including soups.
For tips on varying this soup with different flavors, check out the Variations section.
Fresh herbs
If you’ve made any of my soup recipes by now, you’re probably already familiar with a bouquet garni. Another French term, and it simply means a bundle of herbs tied together.
In this recipe, I use a mixture of rosemary, sage, and bay leaves, but you can mix things up based on what you have on hand (again, see the Variations section).
Tips for buying: Some grocery stores will send a package of herbs called “poultry herbs.” The exact mix varies, but it may include a mix of thyme, rosemary, or sage. Feel free to buy one of those packages if you don’t want to buy individual rosemary and sage.
Garlic
Instead of mincing sautéed garlic as is customary in soups, this recipe uses whole garlic that gets sneakily braised inside of the soup.
This technique (and this recipe in general) is adapted from the recipe in my cookbook Big Vegan Flavor for “A Really Good Pot of Saucy Beans,” and once I started cooking beans that way, I’ve never turned back.
Instead of peeling and chopping garlic, all you do is slice off the top layer of each head of garlic to expose the cloves, add it to the soup, and drizzle with olive oil.
The result is a savory-sweet, mellow and not too intense garlicky flavor that infuses the entire soup. And yes, it tastes as good as it sounds.
Extra virgin olive oil
Again, whenever I cook beans from scratch, I always add some olive oil to the beans before they cook and at the end. It significantly improves the mouthfeel and makes me actually crave beans.
In this soup, olive oil is really the only source of fat and it makes a huge difference, so don’t skip it!
White miso
Miso is a fermented soybean paste and thanks to the fermentation process, it has a wonderful savory depth of flavor with a subtle sweetness. The miso is whisked into hot broth at the end to make it easier to blend into the soup, taking this humble soup over the top.
Tips for buying: Look for white miso or similarly mild forms of miso, such as shiro miso or yellow miso (affiliate link). Darker varieties of miso (e.g., red or brown) are much stronger in flavor and will overwhelm this soup.
Better than Bouillon No-Chicken Base
While I typically use a store-bought organic vegetable broth for soups, when I need a little extra oomph, I turn to Better than Bouillon’s vegan No-Chicken Broth Base (affiliate link). It gives this soup a chicken noodle soup flavor profile and a richness that broth alone can’t bring.
Unlike salt or bouillon cubes, Better than is more like a seriously savory condiment, almost akin to soy sauce.
Tips for buying: My local Whole Foods sells this, but you may need to purchase it online. You can also try the Better than Bouillon’s vegetable base. Or, an alternative brand like this (which is sold at my local Sprouts).
Substitute: If you don’t want to buy a seasoned broth base, omit and use low-sodium vegetable broth instead of water.
Step-by-step instructions
Sauté the mirepoix in an oven-safe soup pot or Dutch oven for about 10 minutes, or until softened.
Add the red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds.
Pour in the water and scrape up any browned bits. Add the soaked dried beans plus a bit of salt and pepper.
Stir to combine and bring to a boil (cover the pot to speed this up).
While the soup comes to a boil, prepare the herbs and garlic.
Tie the herbs together to make a bouquet garni. Remove the papery outer layers of the garlic heads and slice of the top to expose the cloves.
When the soup has come to a boil, add the Better than Bouillon.
Stir well to dissolve the Better than Bouillon.
Add the bouquet garni and the garlic heads to the soup. Pour a glug of extra virgin olive oil on top of the beans.
Cover the soup and transfer to the oven at 350ºF (175ºC). Bake until the beans are tender, about 1 hour, depending on size and freshness of beans.
When the beans are tender, scoop out the bouquet garni (discard) and garlic heads (keep).
Scoop out a ladle or two of hot broth into a glass. Add in the miso and whisk well to dissolve the miso.
Pour the miso broth back into the soup and stir to combine.
Once cool enough to touch, squeeze the garlic cloves into the soup. Add a drizzle of good-quality olive oil and stir well.
Taste, adding more salt or pepper or extra virgin olive oil for richness. Garnish with parsley, if desired.
Tips for making this recipe
Don’t use those dusty old beans!
If you’ve had a bag of beans lying around in your pantry for years, I’m afraid it’s time to dump those.
I know, I know…food waste, but luckily dried beans are one of the cheapest grocery store items. And you’ll save yourself some time. Old beans never soften fully, or they take forever to soften, and constantly checking the beans for doneness without success will annoy you greatly.
Tip: If using a standard-sized white bean like Great Northern Beans, provided the beans aren’t too old, the soup should be done in about 1 hour. If using smaller beans like navy beans, check at 45 minutes.
The baking soda and salt help soften the beans.
You might be wondering why I soak the beans in a mixture of water with baking soda and salt.
Contrary to myths proclaiming that adding salt to beans before they’re done cooking prevents them from softening, in reality, soaking beans in a salty solution actually tenderizes them and improves their texture (read more at Serious Eats).
And baking soda helps soften them a bit more quickly (this is why I add baking soda to my chickpeas in my homemade hummus recipe).
Don’t skip the flavor boosters
In this otherwise simple soup, three ingredients play a big role: extra virgin olive oil, miso, and Better than Bouillon.
If you need to omit the Better than Bouillon, use low-sodium vegetable broth instead of water.
If you don’t have access to miso, you can add 1 to 2 teaspoons of soy sauce or tamari instead (no need to dissolve them in hot water like the miso).
Variations on this recipe
Mirepoix
While a classic mirepoix consists of onions, carrots, and celery, you could easily replace the celery with 1 bulb of thinly sliced fennel, the onion with two finely chopped leeks, or the carrots with 2 medium diced red bell peppers.
Dried beans
If you’re a specialty bean fan, feel free to branch out into other bean varieties.
I’ve made this soup with Rancho Gordo’s mayocoba beans (technically a yellow bean) and I’m sure it’d be fantastic with their cassoulet beans, flageolet beans, or ayocote blanco beans.
If you’re wondering “are Rancho Gordo beans worth the hype,” check out this YouTube video where I blind taste tested five types of dishes made with (a) canned beans, (b) dried beans, and (c) specialty dried beans from Rancho Gordo.
Spoiler alert: The Rancho Gordo beans won in pretty much every category, so much so that there are several comments accusing me of posting sponsored content on behalf of Rancho Gordo without disclosing it (it was not a sponsored video!).
Fresh herbs
Feel free to replace either the rosemary or sage with fresh thyme. And, if you love oregano, add ½ to 1 teaspoon of dried oregano when you add the red pepper flakes.
Other variations
For extra veggie action, stir in some finely chopped lacinato kale during the last 15 to 20 minutes of cooking. Or after the soup is done, stir in a few handfuls of chopped baby spinach or baby kale, and simmer the soup briefly until wilted.
For a fun spin on chicken noodle soup, when the soup is done, stir in some cooked small-sized pasta, such as orecchiette or macaroni. If using this option, use 7 cups (1.7 liters of water), and add more freshly boiled water after adding the pasta as needed.
Flavor variation
For a more Middle Eastern-inspired flavor profile, instead of red pepper flakes, use Aleppo pepper. And add 1 teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon ground coriander, and a tablespoon or two of harissa paste or sauce at the same time.
Frequently asked questions
You can quick soak the beans instead. Just follow the instructions in this post from the Food Network. It will take ~1 hour.
You do need to soak the beans in some capacity though so don’t skip this entirely. Otherwise, the beans won’t cook through in the time allotted in the recipe card. It could take 2 to 3 hours, and the garlic & vegetables might soften too much during that time, plus you’ll need to add more water to prevent the soup from drying out.
Yes, though you’ll end up with more split beans.
Make these changes.
1) Soak the beans using the instructions in step 1 (or the quick soak method listed in the previous FAQ).
2) Use the Sauté method on the Instant Pot for step 3 (sauteing the mirepoix). It will take 10 to 12 minutes.
3) Stir 2 to 3 teaspoons of Better than Bouillon into 1 cup (240 mL) boiling water. Set aside.
3) Add the soaked and drained beans, Better than Bouillon broth, 5 to 6 cups (1.2 to 1.5 L) water, salt, pepper, and Better than Bouillon, stirring very well to dissolve the latter. Add the prepared garlic and bouquet garni. Pour a glug of olive oil on top (~ 2 tablespoons) of the garlic and beans.
5) Seal the Instant Pot and select the Pressure Cook setting at high pressure for 12 minutes (9 to 10 minutes for smaller beans like navy beans).
6) Allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then manually release any remaining pressure.
7) Follow the instructions for adding the miso and roasted garlic, as written in steps 9 and 10.
While the soup will be the best with dried beans, both flavor- and texture-wise, you can use canned beans.
Make these changes:
1) Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Remove the outer papery layers of the garlic heads and then slice off a thin layer off the top to expose the skin of the cloves. Rub the exposed cloves with a few drizzles of olive oil. Wrap each head individually in foil and roast on the oven rack for 35 to 40 minutes, or until soft and tender and lightly golden.
2) Follow step 3 as written in the recipe card.
3) In step 4, add 4 cups (960 mL) water, ½ tsp kosher salt, and lots of black pepper. Bring to a boil, then add the Better than Bouillon and stir well to thoroughly dissolve.
4) Now add in 4 (15 oz / 425g) canned white beans and the bouquet garni, submerging them in the liquid. If the liquid appears low, add a bit more water or broth. Pour a glug of olive oil on top (~ 2 tablespoons) of the beans.
5) Cover the soup and simmer on the stove for 20 minutes, or until the flavors have developed and the soup has thickened a bit. Discard the bouquet garni.
6) Scoop a ladle of hot broth into a glass. Add the miso to the hot broth; whisk well until miso is dissolved. Pour this back into the soup and stir well.
7) When the garlic is roasted and cool enough to handle, squeeze the cloves into the soup and stir well. Drizzle in 1 tablespoon of good-quality olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Skip it and instead of using water to cook the soup/beans, use low-sodium vegetable broth. Imagine Organic is our favorite store-bought broth (affiliate link).
The soup won’t have the same savory depth of flavor, so after you add the miso, taste, and add more salt (or miso) as desired.
Kitchen twine is sold at most grocery stores, hardware and craft stores, kitchen stores, or online.
You can sub with a long stem of parsley (leaves removed); plain, unwaxed dental floss; or cheesecloth.
If you don’t have any of these options, chop the fresh sage and rosemary and sauté them with the red pepper flakes. Add the bay leaves to the soup when you add the beans, and scoop them out before serving.
In a soup with relatively simple ingredients, fresh herbs make a big difference so I’d try to seek them out. And certain dried herbs like sage are a bit bitter, so I don’t like using them.
If you can’t get fresh herbs, I’d use ½ teaspoon of dried rosemary and thyme.
Leftover soup will stay good in the fridge in a covered container for about five days.
Or, you can freeze this soup for 3 to 6 months. I like using these Souper Cubes to freeze individual portions, as they defrost very quickly (affiliate link).
When reheating the soup, add a few splashes of water or broth if the soup is too thick.
If you loved this White Bean Soup, please give the recipe a rating and review below! And of course, tag me with your remakes on Instagram!
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
Really Good White Bean Soup
Ingredients
For Soaking
- 1 pound (454g) dried white beans, such as cannellini or great northern (see Note 1)
- 1 ½ tablespoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (see Note 2)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
For Cooking
- 4 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 large yellow onion, diced (~ 2 cups)
- 3 medium carrots, diced (1 to 1 ½ cup)
- 3 celery ribs, diced (~ 1 cup)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (1 tsp for spicy)
- 6 to 7 cups (1.5 to 1.7 L) filtered water (see Note 3)
- 1 large or 2 small rosemary sprigs (or 8 to 10 thyme sprigs)
- 1 large or 2 small sage sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons Better than Bouillon “no chicken” base (see Note 4)
- 2 medium heads of garlic
- 1 tablespoon white miso
For Serving
- 1 handful of flat-leaf parsley chopped (optional)
- Crusty bread to serve 4 to 8
Instructions
- Soak the beans: Place dried beans in a large bowl and cover with cold water (~ 8 cups/2 L). Add the salt and baking soda. Cover and soak for 8 to 12 hours, or overnight. Drain and rinse well. See Note 5 for a quick soaking.
- When ready to cook, arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350ºF (175ºC).
- In a Dutch oven or large ovenproof soup pot, heat 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil over medium. Once hot, add the onions, carrots, and celery with a big pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes, if using, and stir frequently for 30 seconds.
- Pour in 6 cups (1.5 L) water, the drained beans, ½ tsp kosher salt, and lots of pepper (if not using Better than Bouillon, use 1 tsp kosher salt). Partially cover and bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile, make the Bouquet Garni: using kitchen twine, tie together the rosemary and sage sprigs plus bay leaves.
- Once it comes to boil, add the Better than Bouillon and stir thoroughly to dissolve. Add the bouquet garni and submerge in the liquid. Boil uncovered for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, peel the papery outer skins from the garlic but leave the heads intact. Slice off ~ ¼ inch (0.5 cm) from the top of each head to expose the cloves, as if roasting whole garlic.
- Once the beans have boiled for 10 minutes, turn off the heat. Add in the garlic heads. Pour a glug of olive oil (~ 2 tablespoons) on top of the garlic and beans. Cover the pan.
- Bake in the oven until the beans are tender, 60 to 75 minutes (for small beans, like navy beans, check around 45 minutes; see Note 6).
- Pick out the bouquet garni (discard) and garlic heads (keep these). Scoop a ladle of hot broth into a glass. Add the miso to the hot broth; whisk well until miso is dissolved. Pour miso broth into the soup and stir well.
- If the soup is too thick for your liking, add ½ to 1 cup (120 to 240 mL) of freshly boiled water.
- Once cool enough to touch, squeeze garlic cloves out of their skins and into the soup, stirring well. Drizzle in 1 tablespoon of good-quality olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Taste, adding more olive oil for richness.
- Once cooled, store the soup in a storage container for up to 5 days in the fridge, or freeze for up to 6 months.
Notes
- This soup is best with dried beans cooked in the oven, but if using canned beans or for Instant Pot instructions, check out the FAQ section.
- If using Morton’s kosher salt or sea salt, use 2 ¾ teaspoons. If using table salt, 2 ¼ teaspoons.
- If you prefer a thick consistency almost like a stew, use 6 cups (1.5 L) water. If you like a thinner texture, use 7 cups (1.7 L) water. I typically start with 6 cups or 6 ½ cups, then add boiled water at the end as needed. If using 7 cups, you may want to use 1 TBSP Better than Bouillon.
- The Better than Bouillon no-chicken base adds incredible savory flavor to this soup, lending it a grown-up chicken noodle soup flavor. If using 7 cups (1.7 L) water, you may want to add 2 ½ teaspoons or 1 tablespoon.
- To quick soak beans, follow the instructions here (it will take ~1 hour).
- If your beans are not that fresh, they will take longer to soften and may never get truly creamy so I recommend using beans you’ve purchased not in the distant past.
I made this today – perfect soup to start the new year! We love the flavors, and I think cooking the garlic heads in the soup is genius!
Hi Pamela, Thank you so much for such a fantastic review! Appreciate you taking the time!
Hello Nisha!
Happy New Year! I just found your recipe and will be trying this, this week.
As I am WFPB noSOS, can you recommend, other than simply omitting the oil, what I could use in place of the it, if anything? Thanks so much!
P.S. I do love and enjoy your recipes and videos!
Best,
Janet
Who knew beans could be this good?!!!! I couldn’t believe my tastebuds when I tried this for the first time. Two heads of garlic is genius. This will live in the rotation forever!!!
We’re over the moon to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Madelyn. Thanks for your kind words!
Best soup I ever made! Just perfect for the cold weather and a great start to the new year.
Hi Joclyn, thank you so much for your fantastic review!
This was absolutely delicious!! <3 I made it for NYE to start my January WFPB journey and I’m so happy I did!
I’m so happy to have found you at the start of my vegan journey! You and your content have been an incredible asset to me in the kitchen! Your recipes are incredible !! Thank you Nisha!!
Hi Lea, we’re delighted to hear you’re such a fan of the recipes :) And we hope your vegan journey is going well so far!
Yum! I couldn’t find the BTB in time to make this today, so we used Wegman’s generic equivalent, and it was delicious. I loved the bouquet garni and the garlic — so beautiful, visually. Like another commenter, I whisked the miso, broth, and garlic together before adding to the soup — it worked out perfectly.
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Bette!
We Love this soup! Very flavorful. I made it yesterday, and served it with vegan cornbread. Next time, I wiil reduce the crushed red chili amount to 1/8 or 1/4 tsp.
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Ron!
WOW! These are the beans of my dreams! The soup comes out so rich and flavorful. The broth is delicious and can easily handle the addition of greens, noodles, or extra water for a brothier soup. This may be my new go-to bean recipe!
Thanks for sharing, Casey! We are so happy you loved the recipe :)
You are being FAR TOO humble when you call this white bean soup “really good.”
I shall refer to it as The Best Ever White Bean Soup, even if modesty prevents you from doing the same. The miso and the two heads of roasted garlic put it over the top! (I squeezed my garlic into the the broth and miso and whisked it in too, to break it up)
This will absolutely be a staple winter soup for us. Thank you!
Aw, that’s so sweet of you, Michael! Thanks for the rave review!
Husband loved this soup so much. He said it was probably the best bean soup he has ever had. I thought it was good. Very easy to make. I like the oven method. Made me quite gassy. I would make it again. I did not make a garni but let the herbs loose in the pot and just fished them out. I did use one extra head of garlic since mine were small.
We’re happy to hear you two enjoyed the recipe, Isolde. Thank you for the comment!
This was so creamy and delicious! We used Rancho Gordo beans and it turned out amazing. Didn’t have twine so I chopped the rosemary and sage and sautéed before adding the beans. A total keeper, would be a great dinner party first course!
We appreciate your feedback and support, Megan. Thank you for leaving a review!
Yummy soup! Perfect for a rainy day! And I used RC cassoulet beans from my pantry.
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Dina!
Just like the title says, this bean soup is really good! I was surprised the recipe called for 2 whole heads of garlic, but I trusted Nisha, and as it was baking with that mellow aroma of the garlic wafting through my condo, I knew I had done the right thing by following the recipe.
For a moment while chopping all the aromatics, I wished I had cut the recipe in half (since I live alone), but once I tasted this soup, I remembered I had purchased some “souper cubes” a while ago. They were just sitting in my pantry waiting for such an opportunity!! I’ll enjoy another bowl tomorrow, and the rest will head to my freezer as soon as it cools.
The soup is wonderfully savory. I put about half the baked soup in my blender and added it back to the Dutch oven to smooth out the base. My only regret was that I used 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes…I could have handled the full teaspoon!
Hi Colleen, thank you for the wonderful review! We appreciate you giving the recipe a shot.
Perfectly hit the spot on this cool evening!
We’re so happy that the soup turned out well for you, Nick. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and for trying out the recipe!
I followed the recipe exactly and this was such an amazing soup. Thick, creamy, savory, comforting. The bouquet garni and garlic preparation created magic! Perfect for these winter nights. Can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow.
Awesome, English. Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to review!
What a terrific soup. The flavor had so much depth!!
Hi Laurie, thank you so much for your kind review!
Excellent! We really enjoyed. Used fewer beans and water given there’s only 2 of use.
It makes us happy to know you loved the soup, Steph!
This looks delicious! Does it really just make 6 servings? A full pound of dried beans cooked makes so much!
Hi Elaine, serving sizes are very individual and it depends on what you serve it with. I am a big bowl of soup kind of gal, so 6 servings seemed accurate to me, but of course everyone has different preferences and appetites. If you serve it with a big hunk of bread, it will serve more. If you want to stretch out the soup more, you can add more water or broth to the soup. Hope that makes sense.
Elaine, this recipe gives a very thick soup (especially if you blend some of it, like I did, to smooth out the base after it’s baked). I’ve seen a lot of other bean soup recipes call for 8 cups of water for 1 lb of beans, whereas Nisha’s recipe only calls for 6 cups. If you use 8 cups water/broth, certainly you’ll get more servings. If you use extra water, though, maybe include a little bit extra sage, rosemary, and miso paste to maintain the “savory notes.”
beautifully laid out and clearly written – never thought one could describe a recipe as “a good read”. Recipe writing as a “food writing genre”…hmmm, well done..
5 stars without trying the recipe?
Hi Janet, thank you for the lovely words! We can’t wait for you to try the soup :)
I made this and it’s delicious! I liked the braised garlic pieces in the stew too. I didn’t have better than bouillon and used veggie stock instead, I do want to try it with the better than bouillon too. :)
Hi Bekah, Thank you so much for such a fantastic review! Appreciate you taking the time!