carrot white bean soup & croutons

by | Mar 5, 2019 | a slice of life, Fall, Recipes, Winter | 24 comments

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When my shoulder pain was at its worst a few weeks ago, local friends from our church and community stepped in to encourage and support us by giving me rides to my appointments and bringing a few meals.  You have no idea (or maybe you do) how amazing it was to have jars of soups and a “hot dish” (aka Minnesota for casserole) in the fridge just ready to go.  I couldn’t cut food, maneuver pots & pans, or even eat with my right hand, so knowing that we were stocked with easy-to-heat-up and easy-to-eat meals was such a tremendous gift.

All of the food was great, but one of my favorites was a Carrot & White Bean Soup my friend Cheri brought over to me.  I must admit that when I saw what looked like large jars of carrot baby food, I was thankful, but a little skeptical.  But, I’ve learned one thing about Cheri and it is that she has great taste.  Her cooking is also legendary in our church.  So, I brushed any skepticism aside, heated it up, and drank it right out of a mug.  It was heavenly.  And I was making a snack out of the bag of homemade croutons she brought to pair with the simple, pureed soup.

The soup reminded me a little bit of a white bean soup we had in Barga last fall.  It didn’t have carrots in it, but it had a similar mild, earthy flavor.  Cheri used THIS RECIPE from Tasty Kitchen.  I’m sure she tweaked it a little because the soup she made wasn’t spicy.  So, I took this recipe and have made a few batches with my own twist over the past couple of weeks and I thought I would share the recipe I came up with.

Carrot & White Bean Soup | missmustardseed.com

The great thing about this white bean soup is that you literally dump it all in a pot (no sautéing), cook it, puree it, and serve it.  Done.

One Pot Recipe | White Bean Soup | missmustardseed.com

I stuck mostly to the original recipe, but I added three things I put in almost every soup – onions, garlic, and wine…

Carrot & White Bean Soup

A hearty, earthy vegetarian soup.  
5 from 3 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine vegetarian
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 1/4 cup olive oil extra virgin
  • 5 carrots washed & sliced
  • 1/2 medium-sized sweet onion diced
  • 1 15 ounce can White/Cannellini Beans drained & rinsed
  • 1 14 ounce can vegetable broth unsalted
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 1/4 tsp Italian Seasoning
  • 1 garlic clove
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • On a large, heavy stockpot, combine all ingredients except salt & pepper.
  • Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 45 minutes or until carrots and onions are tender.  
  • Remove from heat and puree in batches in a blender or in the stockpot with an immersion blender.  
  • Serve topped with homemade croutons and fresh parsley or microgreens.  

For the croutons, I tried a couple of different types of bread and I liked the way a traditional French baguette worked the best.  Let it sit for a day or two before making the croutons.

French Baguette | Homemade Croutons | missmustardseed.com

I mixed extra virgin olive oil (about 1/4 cup, but enough to coat the bread cubes), 1/4 teaspoon Italian Seasoning (you can substitute with a mix of rosemary, oregano, and basil), 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder, and about 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese.

Herb Dressing For Homemade Croutons | missmustardseed.com

I threw the breadcrumbs into the bowl, gave them a good mix with a wooden spoon…

Homemade Croutons | missmustardseed.com

…and then spread them out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  I tried both tin foil and parchment and parchment was definitely the way to go.  The cheese doesn’t stick to it and the croutons come right off.

Homemade Baked Croutons | missmustardseed.com

Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes.  I made one batch and cooked them for the 25-30 minutes indicated on the recipe and they turned out really crispy and brown.  They were still good, but a little too far for me.  So, I cooked this batch at 20 minutes and that was about perfect.  (The ones in my “beauty shot” of the soup were the ones cooked for 25 minutes, so you can see they were edible but very brown.)

You can serve them right away or allow them to cool and store them in a ziplock bag for 2-3 days.

White Bean Soup | Carrot and White Bean | missmustardseed.com

Here are some more comforting soup recipe ideas that I know you will enjoy.

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    24 Comments

    1. Cheri Dietzman

      5 stars
      All good additions to the soup! I especially like the spicy version, but a few in the family don’t like spicy, so I add it to my bowl only. I have added onion and garlic and I agree it is fabulous too! I also make a double batch of croutons and keep them in my freezer – because, as you know, they are yummy to snack on! 🙂

    2. Kathleen

      As I was reading your post and looking at the amazing pictures I was thinking, maybe I can tweak the recipe to be vegetarian. Imagine my happy surprise when I read the ingredients and it was already meat free!!! I love soup and can’t wait to try it. Thanks

    3. Mary J Beadles

      I cannot wait to try out this recipe.

    4. Melissa Morse

      5 stars
      This will be awesome to throw in the Instant Pot, which will also make it even quicker to prepare (maybe 10 mins under pressure). Thanks!

    5. Cherylan

      if is always a pleasure of hospitality to drop into one of your foodie moments!
      thanks for having us over…all the way from GA!
      I also collect flatware and I enjoy seeing your Kirk and Stief sterling flatware.
      It is now being offered by Towle in 18/10 stainless, named CONTESSINA.
      There is none of the drama of the black shading but it is still an accomplishment in tabletop trompe!

    6. Chris Moore of Seattle

      Interesting! I have been going through carrot and ginger soup recipes, more Asian in flavor than Italian. I love carrots so either recipe is welcome! You could change this any way you like because the beans add little flavor, they are neutral. One day Italian, one Asian, one Mexican…

    7. JENNY

      5 stars
      Yum. Thank you.

    8. Joan

      It sounds wonderful, but I’m wondering what it would be like if you added the beans after blending. Or blending everything and then adding a few more beans, just for some texture. Do you think that would work?

      • Cheri Dietzman

        Joan, it is definitely worth a try! Let me know if you try it!

    9. Tracey

      That looks so good! I am going to try it when my friends come over next week. Thanks for sharing!

    10. Shelia P.

      Hi Marian! I make almost this same identical soup! I call mine Italian cannellini bean soup. It’s very good and yours seems very similar. Sometimes I blend it and sometimes I don’t and add in ditallini pasta. Also very good. Thanks for sharing your recipe! Have a great day tomorrow! ?

    11. Hannah

      Yum! This looks really good, I will try it. I also add wine to almost every soup I make! I can relate to your story about your friends bringing over food when you were laid up…when I was pregnant with my 4th child, the ladies from our church brought over a month’s worth of food for our family—including a double chocolate cheesecake–which went into our chest freezer. I cannot tell you how grateful I was that I could just thaw something out and serve it without having to think about it after the baby was born! It was quite possibly the best gift I’ve been given, other than 4 healthy boys.

    12. Betsy

      Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I’m always on the lookout for healthy food so any ideas you can pass along are so appreciated. I love your blog!

    13. Arlene

      Reminds me of a butternut squash soup I make which is really simple too, just chop up the veggies along with some bacon and fresh ginger and other spices and roast in very hot oven. Then puree in blender by adding some chicken broth and milk. (I use almond milk).

    14. Kathy

      Got to go to the store right now so I can make this soup!!!! Yum! Thank you for a new soup for this cold winter!

    15. Kristin

      Looks delicious! I will have to make this. I actually made a ginger carrot soup with red lentils this morning which is for today’s lunch. I plan to add your lovely carrot soup with white bean to my list of recipes today. I am so glad you are feeling better.

    16. Barbara King

      Oh my goodness, I’m making this soup really soon! Thank you for sharing it, and glad that your should is getting better every day. It’s wonderful to have a group of concerned friends who will prepare and share food for someone who needs the help!

    17. Margo

      I’m not much of a soup person, but the croutons could be my meal three times a day, seven days a week. In fact, just the bread dipped in the olive oil mixture would do nicely!

    18. PJ

      This soup was soooo good. I also like that I could make some for a friend and already have the ingredients on hand. Thanks for sharing.

    19. Noelle

      Hi Marian,
      I made your lovely soup yesterday and enjoyed it very much. Wondering what can be added to enhance the flavor just a tad. Perhaps an orange or red bell pepper, or my daughter suggested a little turmeric. I’ll try those ideas, but any other thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I like that it can easily be enjoyed from a mug and can already tell it will be delicious when served chilled in Summer months.

      • Marian Parsons

        I think any of those ideas could work! I chop up a bunch of Italian parsley and top the soup with that to add some brightness, too, and sometimes I’ll stir in a little bit of butter for richness. 🙂

    20. Amar

      Oh Wow!!! great recipe looks good to me and i will try make it thanks for sharing….

    21. Renata

      When do we add the salt and pepper?

      • Miss Mustard Seed

        Sorry, I add it at the end, so it can be added to taste and there isn’t a danger of the soup reducing and becoming too salty.

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