I’ve been talking a lot lately about my love of soup and how it’s transformed my lunch habits. Seriously, every Sunday, I get fresh ingredients and make two enormous pots of soup, which I then portion into little containers and freeze. When I pack my lunch at night, I pull out a container, let it thaw, and take it, along with an apple, as my lunch for the day.
Eating well is obviously part of my New Years resolutions (cliche, I KNOW) and this soup is one of my favorites. It’s light, healthy and clean and best of all, it freezes well. A big thanks to my friend Steph for sending this delicious recipe my way.
Healthy Bean Soup With Kale
(adapted from this recipe — a few minor changes)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 cups raw kale, chopped
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans, undrained, split
- 3 large sliced carrots
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons Italian herb seasoning
- salt and pepper
Directions
- In a large pot, heat olive oil.
- Add garlic and onion; saute until soft and the onion is transparent.
- Wash the kale, leaving small droplets of water. Saute, stirring, until wilted and a lovely emerald green, about 15 minutes.
- Add 3 cups of the broth, reserving 1 cup, 2 cups of the beans, reserving 1 cup, all of the carrots, tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper.
- Simmer 5 minutes.
- In a blender or food processor, mix the reserved beans and broth until smooth.
- Stir into the soup to thicken it nicely.
- Simmer 15 more minutes.
- Serve or freeze.
A few notes: if you want it to be yummier, serve with parmesean cheese. I tend to think this soup is even better the next day. Also, for my vegetarian friends, sub vegetarian broth for a vegetarian soup!
I am desperate to start making and eating my own soups but the glaring problem is that I’m not a big fan of soup. I think this is something I’ll need to overcome this because, like you, I need to eat well this year, knuckle down and lose some weight. Well done, Amy!
I love soup, too – and I really like your idea of making a vat of soup every Sunday! I want to look into this. And by “look into,” I mean “do.”
This sounds amazing. Thanks for sharing!
What kind of containers do you use to freeze the soup?? I’ve been wanting to use my crock pot more and I would love to freeze leftovers!
This sounds divine. Thanks for the recipe!
I LOVE soup. I could eat soup every day, year round. Even on a 100 degree day, I’ll still heat up a pot of soup.
This recipe sounds delish! And perfect for the cold weather we’ve been having up here.
Do you like spicy Thai food? I have an excellent recipe for a Thai red curry chicken soup if you’re interested.
Soup is my favourite food! I always have lots of jars in the freezer for days I don’t feel like cooking (I use old canning jars or reuse tomato sauce jars). I just saw another recipe for a bean/kale soup and had decided that it would be tomorrow’s dinner. Now that I’ve seen this one I’ll probably use a bit of both – I like the idea of thickening the soup with the pureed beans.
Do you ever throw your parmesan rinds into your soup while it’s simmering? Do it to this soup. It would b delish. Don’t waste the rinds! Just pull it out and throw it away when you’re portioning.
I just said “b delish” like I’m a 14-year-old texting you. HA. Also, I’m not sleeping and it’s late, please shoot me before I shoot myself tomorrow.
I’ve been taking Campbell’s soup at hands to work. Soup makes such a great lunch but I think it would be even better if I’d follow your lead and make homemade soup. I think I’ll have to give your recipe a try this weekend!
Oh yum – that sounds great and so easy. I love love love soup! I never get sick of it, really!
This soup sounds delish! I cannot wait to try it! I’m also a big soup lover and it IS a great lunch for teachers :) Easy to pack, easy to eat, and filling to get you through the rest of the day :) I have a great 8 can soup recipe from Weight Watchers. It’s really easy and I really like it :) Let me know if you’d like it!
Hollah!!