Six Bean Vegetable Soup Six Bean Vegetable Soup (2024)

This hearty soup is packed with huge flavour and lots of good-for-you ingredients. Six Bean Vegetable Soup is filling and delicious, is very freezer-friendly, and can be prepared from start to finish in less than one hour!

Soup season is back and I couldn’t be happier! We love soups and stews. In fact, I think it’s the only meal that we all agree on every single time. No matter what type of soup I prepare, everyone loves it. And, most of the time, my soup recipes are vegetarian – just like in the case of this Six Bean Vegetable Soup!

Lord Byron’s Kitchen is no stranger to canned beans and I have no problem with admitting it either! In a perfect world, we would all have time to soak dried beans. For that matter, we’d probably all make our own soup stock too! But, there is no perfect world, so in this recipe, canned beans and a carton of vegetable stock will come to my rescue!

There is no shame in using store-bought canned beans. In fact, I highly encourage you all to have a well-stocked pantry which includes canned beans. They’re good for you, they’re inexpensive, and you can add them to many recipes for heartiness and protein. I’m a firm believer that a hearty soup doesn’t need meat of any kind. Sure, I love a goodLeftover Turkey Soupas much as the next guy, but I very rarely set out to make soup that has meat. That’s why I like to serve soup with bread. In this case, I’ve used thinly sliced baguette.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Olive Oil – I always use extra virgin light olive oil so that the flavour is muted. Olive oil has a high heat tolerance, so it’s perfect for sautéing.
• Onion – I use yellow, white, and sweet onions interchangeably. Either of them will do just fine.
• Carrots – I save my thinner carrots for crudités, because the tend to be sweeter. If you buy carrots by the bag, use the larger carrots for soups and stews. Plus, with larger carrots you can get a more even dice.
• Celery – I love celery in soup, but it can overpower the flavour, so use it sparingly.
• Garlic – Fresh garlic will result in the best flavour every single time.
• Vegetable Stock – If you are using store-bought, use low sodium. Some of them can be overly salty!
• Diced Tomatoes – Use canned diced tomatoes and add the juice to the pot as well.
• Seasonings – Italian Seasoning Blend, salt, ground black pepper, paprika, and dried thyme.
• Canned Six Bean Medley – Find these in the canned vegetable/bean section of your local grocer. Rinse the beans well to rid them of the marinade they’re usually sitting in.
• Spinach – Fresh baby spinach works very well in soups and stews.
• Parsley – For freshness, colour, and garnish.
• Parmesan – For garnish; optional.

HOW TO MAKE SIX BEAN VEGETABLE SOUP

Use a heavy-bottomed pot with a heavy lid when preparing this soup. The soup does need to be boiled. A heavy lid will prevent the stock from evaporating too much. When ready to cook, add the onion, carrots, celery, and olive oil to the pot. Over medium-high heat, sauté the vegetables for 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another 2 minutes. Be sure to stir often.

Next, add the canned tomatoes, vegetable stock, and seasonings. Continue to cook over medium-high heat with a lid on the pot for 20 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Add in the rinsed canned beans, stir to combine, and cook with the lid on for 3-5 minutes. Next, add in the spinach. Using a wooden spoon to push the spinach down into the soup stock. Place a lid on the pot and cook for 3 minutes.

The soup is now done. At this point, you can remove the lid and turn off the heat. Stir in the chopped parsley and serve the soup immediately with good, crusty bread. Sprinkle over a little bit of parmesan cheese for flavour and garnish.

CAN I ADD PASTA?

Pasta is a very common ingredient in these types of vegetable soups. I have opted to not add pasta to my Six Bean Vegetable Soup. I did this for two reasons. First, pasta tends to make the soup more filling and this soup doesn’t need it. All of those beans and the spinach pack a good bit of protein, so the soup is already quite filling without the need for pasta.

Secondly, when you add pasta to a soup recipe, it tends to make the broth thicker. This is because of the starch in the pasta. Even though I love thick soups, I like the broth to be thin. Thin broth works so much better for dipping bread into!

If you want to add pasta to your soup, you can certainly do that! Since there’s nothing worse than overcooked pasta, here’s what I recommend. Cook your pasta in salted water separately. Be sure to undercook the pasta slightly. Drain and add to the soup when you add the spinach. This way, the pasta will be warmed through and not overcooked.

CANNED BEAN OPTIONS

You can certainly use whatever canned beans you have on hand for this soup. I used the Six Bean Medley, but you can use just one type of beans is that’s how you wan to go. I would suggest white kidney beans, because I like the plumpness and meatiness of kidney beans. Other beans that would work well are of course navy beans. They are probably the most common canned white bean.

You can also try great northern beans or even lima beans. For the purpose of keeping things fast and easy, I opted to use canned beans. If you’re a purist, you can certainly soak and boil dry beans for your recipe. Otherwise, open a can and call it a day!

FREEZING AND RE-HEATING

When freezing Six Bean Vegetable Soup, I like to make sure it’s completely cooled. The best way to do this is to just turn off the heat, remove the lid, and let the pot of soup just sit at room temperature for at least ninety minutes. Then, stir well to ensure the veggies have not settled at the bottom.

Portion as you wish. I like to portion two cups per person. Use a freezer-friendly container with a very tight fitting lid. Also, be sure to label the soup so you know what it is!

To reheat, allow the frozen soup to sit at room temperature for at least two hours. Then, slowly simmer in a covered sauce pan with two or three tablespoons of water. This will create some steam and get the soup back to where it should be – hot, hearty, and delicious!!