White Bean Soup with Pasta

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We use mirepoix—a combination of onion, celery and carrots—to flavor this white bean soup. Keep a store-bought bag of the mixture in your freezer to ensure you always have some on hand without worrying about it going bad.

Active Time:
15 mins
Total Time:
25 mins
Servings:
6

How to Make White Bean Soup with Pasta

This hearty soup is the perfect winter meal! Here are tips on how to make it:

Use Frozen Mirepoix

Mirepoix is a combination of diced onion, celery and carrots. It's typically used as a flavor base for stocks, soups and stews. For this recipe, we use frozen mirepoix, which is convenient to have on hand and cuts down on prep time. You can make your own mirepoix by dicing onion, celery and carrots in a 2:1:1 ratio—two parts onion, one part celery and one part carrot. Reserve 1 ½ cups of it for this recipe and freeze the rest.

Pasta & White Bean Soup Pasta & White Bean Soup
Jacob Fox

Choose the White Beans

We use cannellini beans for this recipe, but you can use any type of white bean such as navy beans or Great Northern beans. Just make sure to use low-sodium canned white beans.

Cook the Pasta Separately

Cooking the pasta separately prevents it from overcooking and becoming soggy. If you're making this soup in advance, storing the soup and pasta separately keeps the pasta al dente before reheating. You can refrigerate the soup and pasta in separate airtight containers for up to 3 days.

Additional reporting by Jan Valdez

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Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 ½ cups frozen mirepoix (diced onion, celery and carrot)

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

  • ¼ teaspoon ground pepper

  • 1 28-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes

  • 2 cups low-sodium no-chicken broth or chicken broth

  • 1 15-ounce can low-sodium cannellini beans, rinsed

  • 8 ounces small whole-wheat pasta, such as elbows

  • 1 ½ cups frozen cut-leaf spinach

  • 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. Put a large saucepan of water on to boil.

  2. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add mirepoix and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, crushed red pepper and ground pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and their juices, broth and beans and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a lively simmer. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to break down, about 10 minutes.

  3. Meanwhile, cook pasta in the boiling water for 1 minute less than the package directions. Drain.

  4. Stir spinach into the soup. Stir in the pasta just before serving. Serve topped with Parmesan.

    Pasta & White Bean Soup Pasta & White Bean Soup
    Jacob Fox

Equipment

Large saucepan, large pot

Originally appeared: EatingWell Magazine, December 2021; updated October 2022

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

277 Calories
5g Fat
49g Carbs
12g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 6
Serving Size 1 1/3 cups
Calories 277
% Daily Value *
Total Carbohydrate 49g 18%
Dietary Fiber 9g 32%
Total Sugars 7g
Protein 12g 24%
Total Fat 5g 6%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Cholesterol 3mg 1%
Vitamin A 2217IU 44%
Sodium 576mg 25%
Potassium 329mg 7%

Nutrition information is calculated by a registered dietitian using an ingredient database but should be considered an estimate.

* Daily Values (DVs) are the recommended amounts of nutrients to consume each day. Percent Daily Value (%DV) found on nutrition labels tells you how much a serving of a particular food or recipe contributes to each of those total recommended amounts. Per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the daily value is based on a standard 2,000 calorie diet. Depending on your calorie needs or if you have a health condition, you may need more or less of particular nutrients. (For example, it’s recommended that people following a heart-healthy diet eat less sodium on a daily basis compared to those following a standard diet.)

(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a special diet for medical reasons, be sure to consult with your primary care provider or a registered dietitian to better understand your personal nutrition needs.

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