Have you ever had a Tuscan Vegetable Soup? On a chilly overcast fall day when you’ve been outside for any length of time, there isn’t anything better than getting warm inside and filling your belly with a delicious soup like this one. One of the great things about this soup is that you probably have all of the ingredients in your refrigerator and pantry, yet this Tuscan Vegetable Soup is not the typical go-to soup like a chicken noodle soup (although our family LOVES chicken noodle soup). This Tuscan soup is a unique soup full of different flavor.
I found my inspiration for this recipe in the newspaper in the USA Weekend. It looked so yummy and full of veggies, I had to try when I had my friend over. When you entertain guests, are you the type of person that goes with a standard recipe that you know works or do you experiment and try a new recipe? I often experiment! I did modify it a bit, because I do have a hard time following directions at times:), and I thought it would transfer to the slow cooker well. The first time I made it I forgot the smashed beans, zucchini and spinach, so I made sure to add all of those the next time and liked it both ways.
The smashed beans contributes to a nice thicker texture. Look at that steam coming right out the soup in the picture below. The spinach in these pictures hadn’t had the time to wilt yet because we were so ready to eat it. When making this recipe in the slow cooker you are going to extract a lot more flavor out of the vegetables if you sauté them first.
Tuscan Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 2-15.5 oz. cans of white beans like cannellini divided
- 1 T olive oil
- 1/2 onion diced
- 1 carrot diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 1 zucchini diced
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 t dried thyme
- 1/2 t dried sage
- 1-14 oz. can of diced tomatoes low sodium with their juices
- 4 cups of broth
- dash of cayenne pepper or other flavorings as desired
- 1/2 t black pepper
- salt to flavor
- 2 cups lightly packed spinach chopped
- _optional 1/2 cup nutritional yeast (optional for dairy-free/vegan) or grated Parmesan cheese _
Instructions
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Optional saute the diced vegetables in the olive oil for 5 minutes.
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Put all ingredients into the slow cooker, minus the spinach, nutritional yeast/cheese and 1 can of beans.
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Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
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Smash one can of beans (I put mine in the Vitamix until blended).
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Add smashed beans and spinach the last 45 minutes.
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Salt to taste, top with nutritional yeast/cheese and enjoy!
Optional Stove Top Directions:
- Saute the diced vegetables in the olive oil for 5 minutes.
- Add the other ingredients, minus the spinach and 1 can of beans.
- Bring the pot to a boil.
- Add the spinach and smashed beans, and cook for 3 minutes.
- Salt to taste, and enjoy!
The Results:
Love it! This is my new favorite soup. The first times we had this, I had thirds, along with my Abbie girl, and everyone else had seconds. I did want more beans, so I added an extra can to the recipe the next time I made it. Also, make sure you give your crisp veggies enough time to soften. I made it once with the crock-pot on high for 3 hours, and the veggies were not soft enough, although JSarr and my friend Carin said they really liked it with the crisper veggies. If you are in a time crunch, you can microwave the veggies in water to soften.
**Updated 10/13.
Love the looks of this recipe. I think you cook like me… experiment, add a bit, etc. I just posted Pasta Fagoili on the blog hop and I did the same thing. I deviate from directions too! 🙂 I cannot wait to try this one. Looks so good!
I just made an adaptation of this recipe for supper. I had black beans waiting in my fridge, so I used those. No zucchini, but I had a bag of frozen Italian veggies, so I added that. Used a pint jar of home-canned tomato sauce instead of a can of tomatoes. And used a full onion instead of half.
Nice result…although the kids were intent on working on leftovers rather than trying a new recipe. Gotta remember to try new recipes at times when they don’t have favorite-meal leftovers on hand!
Hi Linda. I have added black beans too, when I doubled the recipe and was trying to stretch it. Home-canned tomato sauce-awesome! Good your kids eat leftovers, too! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Sonja! Your soup looks fantastic, perfect for a hot lunch or dinner!
Hi Beth. Thanks so much, and thank you for visiting!
This looks deilish! So glad it’s soup season.
Thanks, Leah, and thank you for visiting!
This sounds delicious! I’d nix the tomatoes for our own home preferences, but otherwise this recipe sounds terrific! Saving, and sharing with my vegan mother who struggles to make food both healthy and yummy. 🙂
Hi Sarah. I hope your mother enjoys it, and thanks for sharing!
Love the addition of the fresh spinach. Great idea! Thank you for linking up at Centsibly Sugar and Grain-Free!
Hi Stacy. Thanks, and thank you for visiting!