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.
149 Comments on “Potato, White Bean & Kale Vegan Soup”
This soup is absolutely delicious! It’s hearty, nutritious and comforting all at the same time. Definitely going to be a staple for the fall/winter months for me.
Aside from the prep work, this recipe is very easy and stress-free. Have a huge bowl of this with a glass (or two) of your favorite red wine and thank me later!
I love to hear that it was hearty and comforting Emily. Even better that it will now be a staple in your home. Love you pairing of it with your favorite wine! :) Sounds perfect!
Has anyone commenting and rating this recipe actually made it? I have, and sadly is has so little flavor it was actually my first vegan meal in over five years that has made me feel meat was missing from my dish! I truly believe a potato bean and bacon recipe was used and just deleted the bacon, thus the flavor, and did not replace w anything else. My family finally gave up and added BBQ sauce to it! Lol! This recipe is missing the basic building blocks to good tasting food, like a tang that is added to the end of many soups (vinegar, citrus, etc). Again, no flavor.
Well shoot! So sorry you didn’t enjoy my soup Kristin. I get how frustrating it is to make a new recipe and not enjoy it. Again, so sorry about that.
Just made this for the family dinner, it was a huge hit! Thanks for the recipe!
I am so glad you and your family liked my soup Kimberly! I really appreciate the feedback!
Yum!!!
I am so happy you liked my white bean kale soup Aubrie! Isn’t it just a perfect warm meal on these cold winter days? Enjoy!
This looks like the the prefect recipe I’ve been looking for. Thanks a lot for posting it.
Forgive my grammar Nazi tendencies, but there’s no need to put an apostrophe in crostinis. The poor beleaguered apostrophe is meant to designate possession as in: “the chef’s favorite knife.” Not plural words as in: “I’ve read a lot of book’s.” The apostrophe is also used in a word that is contracted as in, has not = hasn’t. In this case, it takes the place of the “o” in “not.” Can you tell I’m a teacher lol?
Hope you love the recipe when you try it!
Very tasty!!!
Yea! So glad you liked it Kimberlee! Thank you!
If you’re looking for the perfect soup, look no further. This soup was easy, light and full of flavor! So perfect for the winter and everyone enjoyed it (1yo, picky toddler, preteen and carnivorous hubby). I omitted the Rosemary only because I didn’t have any, subbed half the potatoes for sweet potatoes, and used navy beans instead. I also added a “beef less” vegan bouillon cube along with salt and pepper. Didn’t have the crustinis this time around but I look forward to making them next time!
I am so so so so glad to hear you liked it! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know! And that the whole family liked it too. Yea! The substitutions you made sound delicious. I want to try that next time!
I’m cooking for my vegan daughter and family. I’ve tried kale in everything. Ugh. This is ssssooooo good! Only one serving left for tomorrow. The breastfeeding mom gets first dibs.
I’m so glad you liked it! What a great mom you are! I bet your daughter is loving this! So healthy and nourishing for her, and will make great milk for baby. Thanks for taking the time to let me know you liked my recipe. Means the world!
LOVED IT!!! THIS IS A KEEPER.
So glad you liked it Beverly! That means so much. Thanks for taking the time to let me know you liked my recipe. Made my day!
Hi!! Just wondering if I rinse the beans? Or just throw everything in there? If I missed that I apologize! Making this tonight!!!
You don’t have to rinse the beans, but drain them for sure. Discard the bean liquid! Hope you love it when you make it!
How have I not reviewed this yet?! Been making it for YEARS and I love the compliments I get from dinner guests (who doesn’t?). Though I prefer to not have guests because it makes such awesome leftover lunches. The crostinis take it over the top. I admit my favorite way to make it is to add ground turkey I pre-season with chorizo spices. This will be something I make until I die and will pass it on to my kids. Thank you! ?
I’m so glad you like it Amy! And that you serve it for dinner guests! Highest compliment of all! It does make great lunch leftovers. I love that you add ground turkey. I’m going to try that next time! Yum! Thanks for taking the time to let me know you like my recipe, you made my day!
This soup looks great! I will definitley add it to my list to try. Just wanted to point out the amazing vegan cheese and butter options now available. I didn’t think I could ever give up cheese either but have been vegan since 2012 and don’t miss a thing! Even restaurants are offering more options by the day :)
Hope you love this soup when you make it! And yes, so many great dairy free options for cheese now! Love cashew and almond cheese. Makes it so much easier to get my cheese fix without actually eating dairy : )
Delicious recipe! I am impressed to see your writing style and also appreciate your blog. Thanks for posting. Keep going.
I made this tonight for a food day at work tomorrow. I was trying to find some thing that would be delicious and accommodate me (vegetarian), our wonderful receptionist (no dairy, gluten, or sugar), and the birthday girl we’re celebrating (no spicy foods!). Oh, and I had left over kale I was trying to use before it got icky. Voila! (My gluten free friend just has to leave off the crostini.)
This is delicious. It is really just as yummy as a decadent potato soup my butter and cream loving grandma would have made me as a kiddo.
One question, though: 43g of fat?
Guessing that’s a typo? ;)
Yea! So glad you liked it Chelsea! Oh yes, that must be a typo! Haha!
Wait, so you went vegan than went back to meat eating?!?! Have you not seen Cowspiracy or Earhlings? Please watch them. There are more reasons to eat plant based than just health, its also for ethical and enviromental reasons!
I know, good points. I try and do my best. We only eat meat a few nights a week. It’s just what works for our family. I’ll have to check out those documentary. Thanks for sharing : )
Hi Natalie!
I stumbled upon this recipe tonight after searching Google for a vegan kale/white bean soup…and I’m SO GLAD I clicked on your blog link. This soup is amazing. I love the quantity that it makes and am already excited for my lunch leftovers tomorrow. :-) it’s been cold and damp in my corner of the world (Maine!) so this soup hits the spot. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Just made this and it’s amazing. Don’t hate me, but could you correct the crostini’ stop crostinis? Apostrophes are used for possessives not plural. Love your site.
~grammar gremlins gotta eat too
Autocorrect… Crostini’s to crostinis. No stop…
Haha, thanks for catching that. Clearly grammar wasn’t my strong suit : )
This soup is good but bland for my taste. I kicked it up a notch by adding jalapeno sauce, lemon juice, and red wine. I think it was a lot better that way! I also added lentils and used garbanzo beans in place of white beans based on what my pantry had to offer.
Oooh, jalapeno sauce sounds delicious! That would definitely give it a nice kick! Love the additions you added to the soup. I’m going to try those next time I make it. Thanks for letting me know Charlotte, means a lot to me! Hope you have a great rest of your day : )
Thank you so much for posting this recipe, I loved it! I used the crock pot method and it turned out great. My 22 month old enjoyed it as well, so much as to say it was, “nummy”! :)
I am so happy you liked this soup Megan! Thank you so much for telling me! You just made my day. And happy your little one liked it too. Have a great rest of your day!
This was so good! Thank you!
I’m so glad you liked it Jen! Thank you for taking the time to comment and let me know. You just made my day!