Kale Soup

Our creamy kale soup is a nutritious and comforting recipe. It features tender kale leaves speckled with smooth white beans and a rich, velvety broth.

This recipe is perfect for those of us who are trying to incorporate more greens into our diet.

It’s easy to make in one pot and a deeply satisfying meal that will warm you up on a cold winter day.

This kale soup recipe is inspired by our Tuscan white bean soup, which combines kale with tender cannellini beans, tomatoes, and aromatic Italian herbs.

Like other Italian-inspired soups such as lentil soup, tortellini soup, minestrone, chickpea soup, and pasta e fagioli, kale soup qualifies as healthy comfort food.

Thanks to part of the white beans being blended, this dish has a rustic yet creamy and velvety texture, perfect for a cozy family dinner.

The fact that it is one pot and ready in about 30 minutes helps, too.

Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

1. Prepare the ingredients

To make kale soup, you can use Tuscan kale or cavolo nero, sometimes called lacinato kale (picture), or curly kale.

For the flavor base, you’ll need extra virgin olive oil, onion, carrot, celery, and garlic.

You’ll also need crushed or diced canned tomatoes, cannellini beans or another white bean variety, vegetable broth, thyme, and rosemary. You can optionally add a potato.

We season with sea salt or kosher salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.

2. Make the flavor base

Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven.

Add chopped carrot, onion, and celery, season with a pinch of salt, and sauté gently for 5 to 10 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Stir occasionally.

Add pressed or grated garlic, rosemary, thyme, and red pepper flakes, and sauté one more minute or until fragrant.

Tip: While 5 minutes is enough to make a great soup, 10 minutes will make it even more flavorful.

3. Simmer

Add 3 cups of vegetable broth, 2 cans of drained cannellini beans, canned tomatoes, and, optionally, a potato chopped into small bite-size pieces.

Blend the remaining 1 cup of vegetable broth with the remaining 1 can of cannellini beans and add the resulting cream to the soup.

Season with salt and black pepper, stir, cover with a lid, bring to a boil, lower the heat, crack the top open, and simmer for 20 minutes.

While the soup simmers, prepare the kale. If you have whole kale leaves, we recommend rinsing them and separating the tender leaves from the woodier stems.

Chop the leaves into bite-size pieces and add them to the soup.

Finish cooking for 10 – 15 more minutes or until the kale and the potatoes are tender.

Taste and adjust for salt, then let the soup cool down for 10 minutes to allow flavors to meld.

4. Serving suggestions

Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, freshly cracked black pepper, and a slice of toasted bread. Grated or shaved parmesan is optional.

Alternatively, you can serve it with rosemary focaccia, pita bread, or a grain of your choice; we recommend farro, barley, or brown rice.

Louise also likes adding a dollop of Greek-style or non-dairy yogurt. I sometimes stir in a splash of balsamic vinegar.

Questions

Make ahead: Kale soup is an excellent meal prep recipe because its flavor improves as the soup sits in the fridge. It’s also very easy to refrigerate and freeze.

Refrigerator: Let the soup cool to room temperature, transfer it to an airtight container, and store it in the fridge for up to four days.

Freezer: Let it cool down completely, transfer it into a freezer-friendly container, and freeze it for up to 3 months.

Thaw: Defrost kale soup in the refrigerator over several hours, or use a microwave’s thawing function.

Reheat: You can reheat it in a saucepan with a spoonful of water or in the microwave. It’s best not to reheat the soup multiple times.

Similar recipes

KALE RECIPES: Kale quinoa salad, kale pasta, kale salad, sautéed kale, kale chips, kale pesto pasta, kale pesto.

SOUP RECIPES: Lentil vegetable soup, minestrone, curry lentil soup, potato leek soup, black bean soup, cauliflower soup, harira soup, Moroccan lentil soup, red lentil soup.

For more delicious soup ideas, check out our compilation of wholesome soup recipes.