Potato, White Bean & Kale Vegan Soup
Did you know I was once vegan for 7 months?
It’s true. 7 months with no meat, dairy or eggs.
It started after what was supposed to be a very romantic getaway to Napa with Shawn in December 2011. After eating more than my fair share of cheese with all the wine we tasted, I was not feeling well for days after. I convinced myself that I must have an issue with dairy. This definitely had may have had something to do with having watched Forks Over Knives and Food Inc. documentaries a few days earlier. Either way, I decided to give up all animal products and was vegan from the January until July.
And like the good fiance he was, Shawn went vegan with me. Our entire diet was fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains. Our weekly grocery bill was cut by 2/3 and better yet we even lost a few pounds. We both felt amazing.
But…
I sure did miss pizza with cheese. Real cheese. Vegan cheese never cut it for me. And eggs cooked over easy with sourdough toast and avocado. And more than anything, I really missed deli sandwiches. Eating out was tricky too.
So when we went on a camping trip that July, the idea of chopping veggies and cooking brown rice on our Coleman stove sounded like too much of a pain. Turkey burgers it was!
I slowly started incorporating in all foods again, and now we’re in a happy medium where we still have vegan meals from time to time, along with eating dairy and lean proteins. Everything in moderation is what works best for us now.
This vegan potato, cannellini bean and kale soup is one of my favorite recipes I created during our vegan months. It is so full of flavor, and the white beans give it a meaty texture and chew. You’ll forget there isn’t any meat.
What really makes this soup is the garlic rosemary crostini’s. You slice up a sourdough baguette and top them with a flavorful garlic, rosemary and olive oil mixture then toast them up in the oven. Their crispiness and sourness makes this soup irresistible.
After weekends full of holiday parties, sugary cocktails & cookies galore, I love to reboot with this clean eating soup. After eating it you’ll feel like a whole new person.
Potato, White Bean & Kale Vegan Soup
Ingredients
For the soup
- 1 large yellow onion chopped medium, about 2 cups
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves finely minced, about 1.5 tablespoons
- 2 32 ounce containers of veggie stock
- 2 pounds yukon gold potatoes chopped medium, about 4 cups
- 2 cans cannellini beans (also known as white kidney beans)
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 3 cups kale, ribs removed and torn into 2" pieces
- salt & pepper
For the crostini's
- 1 baguette sourdough bread, sliced into 1/4" slices
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves finely minced, about 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat a large pot over medium heat with 2 teaspoons olive oil. Saute onions for 5-7 minutes until translucent. Add in 1.5 tablespoons minced garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
- Pour in vegetable stock, potatoes, cannellini beans and rosemary. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Make the crositini's by combining 4 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon minced garlic and a pinch of salt. Press and smash the garlic & rosemary into the olive oil with the back of a spoon to release the flavors. Lay sourdough slices on a baking sheet. Evenly divide olive oil mixture on top of each slice. Bake with oven rack at upper third of oven until crostini's are crispy, 20-25 minutes.
- Add the kale to the soup and cook 5 more minutes. Remove from heat, salt & pepper to taste, then allow to rest for 5 minutes. Serve warm topped with crostini's.
- Will keep in an air container in the fridge for 7 days.
145 Comments on “Potato, White Bean & Kale Vegan Soup”
Sorry, that Pinterest button is going crazy.:(
Just pinned this! Did you see the # of pins on this recipe?! Good for you, girl! Being vegan is hard, I think, but I’m sure it taught you many healthy habits. We used to be vegetarian for 7 months and it was tough. Now we just eat meat and cheese in moderation. Dairy makes me so bloated. Especially cheese…I agree.
Thanks Olena! I love when my recipe gets lots of pins, makes me so happy I could do back flips! But…I won’t because I’m not a gymnast. Ha. Being vegetarian is tough too. Glad moderation works best for you too : )
Oooooooooh! This soup sounds amazing! I could really use a hot bowl right now…the windchill in SD is -14. :)
At first when I saw the picture, I thought the recipe would be so elaborate and hard for me to make . But the ingredients seems quite simple and easy to follow, I definitely will give it a try.
By the way you take such amazing pictures.
Why thank you Cynthia! It is actually a super easy soup, perfect for week nights. And thanks for your compliments on my pictures! Means a lot to me : )
Pinned and can’t wait to enjoy this. I love a great brothy soup with vegetables, especially with lots of kale! Looks delicious!
Thanks Pamela! And thanks for tweeting it! You are so nice! Seriously. Thank you. Hope you enjoy this soup if you make it : )
You went vegan?? Wow, Im impressed. I did somewhat the opposite this summer and did a version of paleo. I missed cheese and chocolate the most but i sure did feel good without eating dairy! This soup looks delicious…i think ill make it this week to lighten up before the real holiday eating begins!
So crazy right? Hard to believe it now looking back, but at the time it was super easy. Except when we would get together with friends for dinner. I was that annoying person saying, “does the soup have cream? Is it made with chicken broth or veggie broth?” Definitely don’t miss doing that! Paleo is great too, but you still miss out on cheese, wah wah… Hope you and Jon enjoy this soup if you make it : )
This soup looks amazing! I love the texture of kale in soup and the creamyness the beans add! So delicious! The crostini’s put it over the top! I could never go vegan but we do have meatless days in our house! I’m off to pin the for later!
Thanks Serena! It’s nice and hearty, even though it’s only vegetables. The crostini’s are my favorite part. I usually end up eating 3 or 4 on top. Ha! We still do Meatless Monday’s most weeks too. Thanks for pinning!
Holy wow! I had no idea that you were vegan for an extended period of time. I did mostly vegetarian for a while (it is amazing what you save on groceries), but somehow, I don’t think the hubs would be as supportive as Sean!
It definitely took a bit of convincing to get the mister on board. But there is no way I would be making 2 meals every night!
Kale and white beans make a great flavor combination especially in soups. This is a fantastic recipe Natalie. I can’t wait to make it. I already know my hubby is going to love it
Thanks Kathy! I actually thought of you when I was posting this. I know you and Kurt were vegetarian all last week. You should try this next time. It’s definitely husband approved. Hope your finger is doing better and healing nicely : )
I agree that it’s better to find what works for you best! I don’t think I’d ever go vegan as I’d miss gree yogurt and eggs way too much ; ) Although I’d love to give this lovely soup a try, it looks so comforting and delicious! x
Being vegan was so easy and so hard at the same time. Definitely missed my eggs and cheese. Glad I have them every now and then. Thanks for the compliments!
I can’t believe you didn’t eat cheese for six months! Cheese is one of my main food groups! I love love love cheese! I don’t think I could ever go vegan…got to have my cheese!
Oh Laura, it was so hard not having cheese! Really missed it. And butter. And chicken! Life is a little better with dairy in it : )
No, I didn’t know that. But what I do know is that this soup looks amazingly delicious. Pinning for later. :)
Thanks Melanie! Hope you and your family enjoy it : )
Oh your soup looks so so delicious and tasty!Love the kale in this and its absolutely perfect for these colder days :)
Thanks Soni! The kale makes this delicious. Definitely warms you up on cold nights : )
What a fantastic soup! I love kale and this soup is just what I need with the cold weather hanging around. Great post Natalie!
Thanks Anne! Kale is the best. It stands up much better in soups than spinach. It’s my new favorite soup addition ingredient.
I’m such a fan of soup, especially soup with lots of good-for-me stuff in it! this looks incredible–thanks for sharing! :)
Thanks Christina! Can’t go wrong with a healthy soup : )
This looks so good! I am not eating meat right now, so this fits right in with my diet. I will be making this over the weekend. Thanks!
Thanks Nicole! This will be perfect for you. Hope you enjoy it!
This soup looks so creamy and delicious and healthy! will be making this for the hubby tonight!
Thanks Layla! The yukon gold potatoes give this soup lots of body and thickness. Hope your husband loves it : )
This soup looks amazing! There’s just one thing I have to point out. You use apostrophes throughout the post, but crostinis should be plural, not possessive. Sorry, but it was bugging me. Can’t wait to try the recipe though!
Thanks Abigail! Love this soup. So flavorful and healthy. And yes, I definitely have some grammar issues. Should brush up on my apostrophe rules. Ha!
Making the recipe now- and unfortunately everyone is wrong! The word Crostini is already plural in Italian! Crostini – adding the I makes it plural… just write Crostini – no s, no ‘s … looking forward to eating this for dinner tonight! Thank you!
So good to know! Thank you!
I agree…moderation! Some days my hubby and I have a hamburger, some days we go vegetarian, some days it’s vegan…so many great options that we make room for them all. Your soup look so so good! I especially love how you topped it with the crostini. Amazing. :)
We’re the same way Tina. A little of this, a little of that. Much easier to do than eliminating foods altogether. And thanks for the compliments! The crostini might be the best part : )
This soup looks so good & comforting! I don’t know how you went vegan for that long. I could do vegetarian I think, but I would never give up real cheese!
Thanks Leah! Not having cheesy pizza might have been the worst. And butter! Really missed toast. The vegan butter just isn’t the same.
I actually don’t miss butter after trying Miyokos.
I’ve only been vegan 5 months but I’m not yet missing much of anything! All the “substitutes” take care of that well enough and I’m just starting to look at meals differently…not focused around a main thing like meat or meat substitute. It’s actually freeing and creative for me.
Also, painlessly losing weight over 50 has been more than amazing!
I agree vegan cheeses need work, but I’ve found 2 that are pretty good: Chao’s spicy tomato and Follow Your Heart smoked Gouda.
However you eat, thank you for the recipe!
I’ll have to look in to Miyokos! Congrats on your health journey! Rooting for you!
Yum! This soup looks so good! I love when a soup has greens in it, I try to get my family to eat more greens any way that I can! I have never been able to go totally vegan. Although I don’t eat dairy or eggs, I can’t give up meat. I like my chicken and beef too much. And bacon. :)
Thanks Kelly! Looking back now it’s crazy to think I was vegan for so long. Definitely missed meat though. Bacon especially! The veggie bacon is pretty good, but not the same as the real stuff.
Eating a vegan lifestyle shouldn’t be a political stance, it should be a healthful living choice. One of the things I have the most problems with eating this way is that I seem to get a good dose of political jargon every time I look for a recipe. So happy your site is not so much about making us all feel guilty as much as it is about good food, smart ideas and fun! Thank you for that. What a breath of fresh air! You’ve made me a follower not an easy thing to do. :)
veganism is inherently a political act of resistance against industrial capitalism and animal agriculture, so the discourse is inevitable.