Vegan Oil-free Hearty Italian White Bean Basil Soup is full of Italian herbs and fresh basil and is super hearty thanks to protein-rich white beans and hearty rice. This will have your house smelling absolutely amazing too!
Oh, what an exciting post I have for you all today! It’s a new year with lots of exciting things to come on the blog. First up, is this Hearty Italian White Bean Basil Soup! Vegan, gluten-free and oil-free and just 8 ingredients! I wrote this recipe for my favorite home store ever, Pottery Barn. When they contacted me to create a healthy, simple recipe to kick off the new year, I jumped at the chance!
Everybody is always making New Year’s resolutions and thinking about diet changes or exercise routines. Most people think that you have to eat nothing but boring salads to achieve a healthier lifestyle. Well, I wanted to showcase a recipe that was much more interesting than salad, and at this time of year when it’s cold, a soup is perfect.
This soup is incredibly high in protein and nearly fat-free. It is not only delicious, but a healthy start to the new year.
HOW TO MAKE ITALIAN WHITE BEAN BASIL SOUP
You will need just 8 simple ingredients:
- jasmine rice
- low sodium vegetable broth
- yellow onion
- garlic cloves
- tomatoes and tomato sauce
- Italian seasoning
- white beans
- fresh basil
- red pepper flakes
This soup has Italian herbs throughout, a fresh tomato base, hearty white beans, textured rice and fresh basil. You will feel full and satisfied and not bored by it, I promise. I used Pottery Barn’s gorgeous Vintage Wood Bowls. I wanted to serve the soup in something other than your expected white bowls. I’m a huge fan of distressed, worn woods and pieces and these bowls are just beautiful.
A huge thank you to Pottery Barn for sponsoring this post. Be sure to check out Pottery Barn and blog to see this recipe featured.
Can’t wait to hear what you think of this Hearty Italian White Bean Basil Soup!
Hearty Italian White Bean Basil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 packed cup (160g) finely diced yellow onion
- 4 large garlic cloves (1 large tbsp minced)
- 4 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup (104g) white jasmine rice
- 1 1/4 cups (300g) tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Optional: I love a little heat to everything so I added a heaping tsp chili powder, or pinch chili flakes would work too)
- two 15 oz low-sodium canned white beans, drained & rinsed
- 1/2 packed cup finely chopped fresh basil (don't leave this out, it really brings it all together!)
Note
- I used an Italian spice blend that you can find at any grocery store. Mine is a combo of basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, savory, fennel, sage and marjoram. Some versions have red pepper or salt, so I would avoid those as it could make the soup really spicy.
Instructions
- Add the onion to a large pot over medium heat with ONLY 1/2 cup of the broth and sauté for 5-8 minutes until tender, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the remaining 4 cups broth, rice, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and chili powder or chili flakes. Stir well and bring to a high boil. Once boiling, turn down to medium-low and cover and cook for 10 minutes until the rice is tender.
- Once the rice is tender, add the drained beans and cook another 5 minutes. Taste and add any additional salt/pepper if needed. Add the fresh basil and let the soup sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. It will thicken up a lot as it sits because of the rice.
Notes
- Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, nut-free
- Nutrition per serving: 271.4 calories, 14.12 g protein, .6 g fat, 51.54 carbs, 6.2 g sugars
I just made this and it is delicious – you cannot leave out the basil. It provides really great flavor to the soup.I didn’t not have tomatoes so i subbed Pomi chopped tomatoes.
Love it – thank you so much for another great recipe. Its easy to be vegan with all these great recipes.
T
Thank you so much Terri! And I agree, that’s why I noted how important that fresh basil is because dried just will not cut it here, haha! So glad you loved it. I make it pretty much weekly!
How long does this soup keep in the fridge?
About a week!
Hi Brandi! Made this in my Instant Pot tonight! I sautéed the onion and garlic using water, then put everything in but the rice and basil. 5 minutes on high pressure, natural release. Then stirred in the rice and basil. YUM! Thanks for another great tecipe!
That is so wonderful to hear Lisa! So glad it turned out so well in the Instant Pot!
I just took this off the stove and I must tell you, this is a home run! I am vegan and my flexitarian husband eats mostly vegetarian, bit misses animal protein sometimes. He said he could have this soup every week, so thank you for sharing!
So very awesome to hear that Cindi, thank you for letting me know!
Made this the other night and it was soooo good and smelled absolutely amazing. Only problem was that I cooked my own beans instead of using canned, and apparently I am not so good at that. I had some major texture issues with the beans, which is tragic because it tasted so wonderful and I wanted to gobble it all down. I’m gonna make it again for our church Christmas party — with canned beans this time — and I’m really looking forward to it 🙂
So glad you loved this Brianna and yes make sure to use the canned! Thank you so much for the feedback!
Yum!!! Made this for dinner tonight. It was delish! I am slowly changing to a vegan diet. My Husband isn’t following my lead. So unfortunately we’re usually cooking two separate meals. But he wasn’t in the mood to cook tonight and had this wonderful soup with me. We both loved it!! It is so flavorful and very filling. He’s “resting up” right now and says he’s going back for more in a bit. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. We loved it!
That is so awesome! Thank you so much for the feedback Mimi!
Hmmmm, well I don’t even know where to begin on my review of this recipe. It is BY FAR my favorite recipe of any soup I’ve ever made! I made mine a little too spicy for my young kids so I had to add a bit more water to it so it didn’t turn out as thick looking as Brandi’s BUT, even with the heat, my 7 & 8 year olds loved it so much, I didn’t ONCE have to yell at them to eat. As a matter of fact, they ate it so fast, asked for seconds and then asked if they could take any leftovers to school for lunch! I’m already looking forward to eating the leftovers tomorrow morning for breakfast! 😋
Thank you so much Samantha for the amazing feedback! I’m so happy to hear it, that is wonderful your kids loved it too!
Just has it for lunch. Easy and yummy. I had problems finding fresh basil, I used dehydrated. I’m sure it would be better with fresh basil, still it was very very good!
Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Alberto! Yes, fresh basil takes it over the top!
Started typing this review before last step was complete. My kitchen smells like heaven! Can’t wait to serve this soup w crusty sourdough bread. YUM.
20 minutes later: WINNER! Hearty, creamy, bursting w flavor. Already looking forward to lunch tomorrow.
Thanks, Brandi!
Yay!! So happy you loved it Courtney, thank you for the feedback!!
Just made it. YUMMMMMMY!!! Thanks!
Wonderful Linda, I’m so happy to hear that!
This soup was a hit with the whole family. Thank you for such an easy yet super yummy recipe!
So happy to hear that, thank you so much Natasha for the feedback!
Do you use cannellini beans or Northern for this recipe? I have both.
Either will work 🙂 But I used cannellini.
This soup is delicious! I have made it at least 6 times this month, plus taken to a potluck and served for company. I really cant get enough of it. Its probably my most favorite soup, ever!!!
I made this soup tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I loved how flavourful and hearty it was. My husband, our two toddler daughters and my husband’s brother all approved. Since going vegan I have tried a lot of recipes and unfortunately many have gone straight into the garbage. I have tried about half a dozen of your recipes and they have all been amazing! Thank you!
Wow, now that’s a great homerun to have all of those people love it! Thank you so much Nicole for such amazing feedback, it really did make my day! So happy to hear all of my recipes so far have been hits, that really means so much to hear, so please keep leaving feedback on the recipes! Thank you 🙂
This soup looks amazing! Do you think it could work in a crockpot? Thanks for sharing!
Hi Chelsea! I have never tried it in a crockpot, so I don’t know how well it would work. It is a very quick soup, so I think a crockpot would be a bit too much since that’s designed more for slow cooking.
This sounds like a great recipe to try. Thanks for sharing this..
Simon
Thank you! Let me know when you do!
Oh my it looks incredibly delicious. I am so going to cook this soup. Very healthy my son is going to love it.
Thank you so much Sonia, I can’t wait to hear what you both think!
Yum, this soup was delicious, very cozy and filling. My whole family loved it! Thanks so much!
Wonderful Kay! I’m so happy to hear that, thank you so much for the feedback!
Tried this soup last night. It was so delicious. I followed the exact recipe. It felt very light and yet was very filling. Thanks.
Awesome! That’s exactly how it should be…light, but filling! I’m so happy you loved it so much, thank you so much for the feedback. I love to hear it!
This was really delicious! We did some chili salt on it and a little squeeze of lemon. Fantastic! It may be filling but it didn’t slow us down. Seriously, when are you going to invent a vegan hotdog recipe?! Thanks again, Brandi!
Hi Nina! I’m so sorry I just saw this comment! I get so many and sometimes one slips through. Anyways, I am so happy you loved the soup and chili salt and lemon sounds incredible! Vegan hotdog? Oh gosh, I don’t know, haha! I’ll have to work on that!!
Made this last night. My new favorite soup!!
Golda, I’m so happy to hear that, thank you so much!