This deliciously creamy and chunky borlotti bean soup is very filling and packed with protein. A hearty lunch to keep you full until dinner time!
🍴Why you will love this recipe
This hearty borlotti bean soup is absolutely packed with flavour and so easy to make. It is thick and creamy thanks to the blitzed beans, and chunky with vegetables making it a meal in itself. A squeeze of lemon juice adds a citrus zing for maximum flavour!
Beans are such a great source of protein and fibre, this article from Jamie Oliver outlines whey they are so nutritious.
This soup is perfect for freezing, and I often batch-cook a double quantity and freeze individual portions ready to microwave for a quick and easy lunch.
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📝 What you need
Borlotti Beans I use tinned beans for ease, but you can by all means soak and cook your own dried beans - I like to do this in a slow cooker, but there are many different methods - here's a great article on soaking dried beans. If you don't have borlotti beans to hand, many other types of bean will work well - kidney beans, cannellini or butter beans would all be delicious.
Onion, Celery and Carrot add a traditional savoury flavour base to the soup. I like to chop mine fairly roughly so that the finished soup has a lovely chunky texture.
Curly Kale adds a hit of green and an extra texture to the soup. If you are making it ahead or freezing, leave out the kale until you reheat, as its texture is best when just cooked.
👩🏽🍳 How to make your Borlotti Bean Soup
For a full, printable recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this page 👇🏼.
Peel and chop the onion, carrots and celery into chunks. Fry them in a large saucepan, adding the crushed garlic cloves after 5 minutes.
Drain and rinse the borlotti beans and add to the pan, followed by the vegetable stock and tomato purée. Season well and simmer.
Remove about a third of the soup and tip into a blender or food processor. Blitz until completely smooth then return to the pan to thicken the soup. Roughly chop the kale and add to the soup. Cook for a minute, stir through the lemon juice and serve.
🔪 Top Tips & FAQs
Adjust the texture to your own preference - you can blitz the whole lot to a smooth purée for maximum creaminess, or don't blitz at all for a chunky minestrone-style soup.
Add herbs for extra aromatics - dried oregano or thyme are delicious added at the same time as the vegetable stock, and fresh parsley or basil are perfect stirred through just before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this soup freezes really well. I recommend either leaving out the curly kale and adding it just before serving instead, or else chopping it finely, as its texture changes somewhat with freezing.
This soup is even better after a day or two in the fridge when the flavours have mellowed. Again, I recommend leaving out the kale until just before serving, or chopping it finely instead.
If you don't have borlotti beans to hand, this recipe would work well with kidney beans, cannellini or butter beans instead.
🍽 If you liked that...
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📖 Recipe
Borlotti Bean Soup with kale and lemon
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 2 sticks celery
- 2 tablespoon rapeseed or sunflower oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 x 400g tins borlotti beans
- 800 ml vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoon tomato purée
- handful curly kale
- ½ lemon
Instructions
- Peel and chop the onion. Peel and trim the carrots and chop into chunks. Trim and slice the celery stalks.
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion, carrot and celery for 5 minutes until starting to soften. Peel and crush the garlic and add to the pan.
- Drain and rinse the borlotti beans and add to the pan, followed by the vegetable stock and tomato purée. Season well with salt and black pepper. Simmer for 12-14 minutes until the carrots are cooked through.
- Spoon about a third of the soup into a blender or food processor and blitz until completely smooth. Return it to the pan and stir through the soup.
- Remove any tough stalks from the curly kale and roughly chop. Stir through the soup and simmer for a minute or two until wilted.
- Stir through the juice of half a lemon, then taste and adjust the seasoning as required. Serve immediately.
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Beth says
This is one of the best bean soups I've ever made! I absolutely love all the flavors. They're so perfect.
Kate Ford says
Ah that's great to hear, thanks Beth! X
Tayler says
This is one of my family’s favorite soup recipes! We make it all the time!
Kate Ford says
That's lovely to hear, thanks!
Dana says
This is just so hearty and delicious! I have a feeling this will be my go-to soup come soup weather!
Traci says
So easy and delicious! I love how healthy this is and how quickly it comes together. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Dannii says
I love bean soups - so hearty and comforting. perfect for winter!
jenf says
When serving try adding some toasted pumpkin seeds for a nice crunch