For the ultimate healthy comfort food, indulge in a bowl of this easy Kale Soup. It’s a one-pot meal made with a nourishing, yet flavor-packed blend of kale, white beans, tomatoes, and Italian seasonings. Plus, it’s so hearty and satisfying, you’ll never know it’s vegetarian!
If you hate wasting leafy greens as much as I do, then you’ll love this vegetable kale soup recipe. It’s a hearty and nourishing meal, and the best way to use up the bunches of kale in your fridge!
This vegetarian kale soup is made with simple, wholesome ingredients, but you’d never know that it’s healthy from taste alone. Made with a blend of white beans, kale, tomatoes, Italian herbs, and aromatics, its flavors are almost addictively comforting and will always warm you up on chilly days.
Best of all, it’s an easy one-pot meal that makes for delicious leftovers or a healthy meal prep option. Serve it with a hearty Prime Rib Sandwich on the side, and you have a well-rounded and satisfying meal!
Why You’ll Love this White Bean and Kale Soup
- It’s unbelievably easy to make. Just toss the ingredients in a pot, let them simmer, then serve!
- The wholesome and nourishing ingredients make this white bean kale soup deliciously satisfying.
- Whip it together for a quick and comforting dinner or save the leftovers for later. It’s perfect for meal prep!
Ingredients Needed
- Olive oil
- Yellow onion and garlic – Two aromatics that start the soup with a savory baseline of flavor.
- Kale – This recipe for kale soup works with any type of kale you like. Use curly kale, lacinato kale, or purple kale! Anything goes.
- Vegetable broth – Or use chicken broth or beef broth if you don’t need the soup to be vegetarian/vegan.
- Diced tomatoes
- White beans – I used canned cannellini beans but chickpeas and Great Northern beans are just as tasty.
- Carrots
- Potatoes – Russet potatoes soften nicely, but hold their shape when simmered in soup. Yukon Gold potatoes are another great choice.
- Italian seasoning – Use store-bought or make your own homemade Italian seasoning.
- Bay leaf – A bay leaf works its magic to upgrade the herbaceous flavors. Just remember to take it out of the soup at the end!
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Kale Soup
For the detailed instructions, please see the recipe card.
- Sauté the onions and garlic in a large oiled soup pot over medium-high heat until they’re soft.
- Stir in the kale and let the leaves wilt.
- Pour the vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, cannellini beans, carrots, potatoes, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf into the pot. Bring the mixture up to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Cover the pot with a lid and let the soup simmer until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
- To finish, adjust the seasonings as needed and discard the bay leaf. Serve and enjoy!
5 Star Review
“This soup is delicious and I plan on making it again.” ~ Patricia
Tips and Tricks
- Wondering how to cook kale for soup? Tear the leaves off of the stems, give them a coarse chop, and throw them in the pot. There’s no need to steam or blanch kale for vegetable soup because the simmering broth perfectly tenderizes and cooks the leaves.
- Give it a somewhat creamy, smooth, and luxurious texture by blending half of the batch with an immersion blender or regular blender.
- To take this delicious soup a step further, sprinkle every bowl with Parmesan cheese, add buttery croutons on top, and serve crusty French bread or a comforting Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich on the side. Totally satisfying!
Recipe Variations
Bulk it up with meat
Cannellini beans pack this soup with plant-based protein, but if you’re looking for more, add diced or shredded chicken breasts, sliced Italian sausage, meatballs, bacon, or leftover roasted turkey into the batch.
Add more vegetables
The amount of vegetables you can add to this soup is almost limitless. Besides kale and the other veggies, add in zucchini, celery, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, green peas, corn kernels, or any other veggies you like or have on hand.
Make it a kale noodle soup
Just like classic chicken noodle soup, egg noodles or short-cut pasta noodles are always welcome in vegetable soup with kale.
Pro tip: Cook the noodles separately from the soup, especially if you plan on saving the leftovers for later or if you’re making this for meal prep. When the noodles and soup are ready, store them in separate airtight containers in the fridge. It’s the best way to avoid soggy noodles!
Cook the white beans yourself
Freshly cooked dried beans are much more flavorful than canned beans. If you have the time, I recommend cooking them yourself on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot before stirring them into the soup.
Upgrade it with fresh herbs
Substitute the dry Italian seasonings for a bouquet of fresh basil, thyme, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, and/or sage. Tie your bouquet garni (herb bouquet) with kitchen twine and let it simmer in the soup to infuse it with vibrant restaurant-quality flavors.
Give it a fiery kick
If you like a little heat, add a pinch of red pepper flakes or cayenne when you add the Italian seasonings, substitute the diced tomatoes for a can of fire-roasted tomatoes, or saute spicy Italian sausage in the pot before cooking the soup. These fiery flavors pair well with the Italian-inspired ingredients but are mild enough to please picky eaters or sensitive palates.
Storage
- Refrigerator: Once it’s cooled, transfer the leftover soup to an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
- Freezer: Freeze the soup in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Before serving, let the leftovers defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat in a pot on the stove or in the microwave.
More Vegetable Soup Recipes
Kale Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ cups chopped yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
- 1 bunch kale (8 to 12 ounces) rinsed, large stems removed and coarsely chopped
- 1 (32 ounce) container vegetable broth
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes undrained
- 2 (15.5 ounce) cans cannellini beans undrained
- 2 cups peeled and sliced carrots (sliced ¼ inch thick) 3 to 4 carrots
- 3 russet potatoes peeled and sliced into bite size pieces (about ½ inch cubes) about 4 cups
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon salt more or less, to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper more or less, to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a 6 quart Dutch oven or soup pot. Add onions and garlic and cook for 2 minutes, or until onions are soft, stirring constantly.
- Add kale and cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, cannellini beans, carrots, potatoes, Italian seasoning and bay leaf. Stir to combine. Bring to a gentle boil and reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer (medium low to low).
- Cover and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, or until potatoes and carrots are tender. Season with desired amounts of salt and pepper. Remove and discard bay leaf before serving.
Video
Notes
- This recipe yields approximately 14 cups.
- Cannellini beans can be substituted with great northern beans.
- Vegetable broth can be substituted with chicken broth, but will not be vegetarian.
- Once cooled, store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
- Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and reheat.
Nutrition
If provided, nutritional info is a courtesy, is not guaranteed and should only be considered as a guideline.
This recipe was originally published February 2016. Photos and text updated September 2023.
I used herbs de Provance , Ozette Potatoes and added Sheepish Pig Mangalitsa Andouille sausage. this soup is amazing. Thank you for your recipe.
My family LOVED this recipe. Only thing I did different was add linguisa, sauté it in the beginning with onion, garlic and kale.
Ohhhh this soup!! Perfect to get back on the healthy track after Thanksgiving!! I added leftover bacon, fresh grated parmesan and chopped parsley! Will be eating this for life! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Lovely flavor meld and healthy, so guilt-free delish.!It is so nice to have a robust soup as the weather turns chilly. This is a forgiving recipe – the only kind I have success with!
I love it!
Thanks so much, Haila – So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Thoroughly enjoyed this recipe, as ot took me back to childhood when my Tia Maria would have a pot of this waiting on cool winter evenings. Here in Bermuda, Kale is extremely popular, and used in a lot of dishes. (My mom actually grows kale, so always using it!!) Two favoured variations on the island are: with red kidney beans, crushed tomatoes for more of a hearty broth, beef, and chourico (pronounced sha-deesh), a Portuguese sausage. I would think that Linguica sausage would work well with it also, as it’s basically the same thing. The second would be basically your recipe, without the tomatoes. I cheated and put some chourico in this recipe and omitted the tomato this time, as I was feeling nostalgic. It took me back to being 8 again, soup on, chatting and helping my Tia Maria make Malasadas (Portuguese Donughts) and rolls waiting for dinner. Thank you! I have some soup left over, as i made quite a large pot. Tomorrow, I am going to add the tomatoes, and I am already pleasantly anticipating it being a meld of my two all time favourite soups! Xo
Thank you for sharing, Jess! Your versions in Bermuda sound absolutely delicious. Hope you have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
This is a great recipe. Very hearty but fresh tasting. I did add celery with the onions and carrots but other than that I followed the recipe. My husband even loved it & he is never happy with soup for dinner. lol
I will definitely be making this one again!
This soup was a snap to make and a perfect use for the hodgepodge of veggies I had in my fridge – especially the half jumbo bag of fresh kale that I had bought at the market a week ago and needed to use before it wilted! I didn’t have any canned diced tomatoes on hand, but I sliced a bunch of grape tomatoes and those tasted quite nice in the finished product. Instead of canned or boxed broth, I used veggie bullion cubes and extra water to compensate for the liquid from the canned tomatoes. Very flexible recipe and the soup came out great, looking forward to a week of healthy easy lunches and dinners from the leftovers!.
That sounds delicious, James… thank you! 🙂
Love this soup, made it with sweet potatoes instead of russet absolutely outstanding. Has become a staple in our house.
That sounds so good, Kathy! So happy you love it! 🙂
This soup is delicious and I plan on making it again❣
Thanks so much, Patricia… so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
Made this soup for dinner tonight and used up some of the bountiful kale coming in from the garden. It will definitely be in the fall/winter rotation as it is wonderfully hearty and flavorful. The only change I made to the recipe is that I didn’t peel the potatoes (mostly because I’m lazy) and I added a couple dollops of plain greek yogurt to my bowl. Initially, this was just to cool the soup down as it was piping hot coming right off the stove and we didn’t want to wait to eat. It turns out, I love the yogurt addition. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Cinda, Thanks so much, the yogurt addition sounds delicious! So happy to hear you enjoyed it! 🙂
Oh My Gosh, this soup was “Outstanding”! Thank You, you just made My night. You were right, not missing the meat. 5 plus Stars!
Thanks so much, Sheryl… so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
This kale soup looks like just the thing to offset all of the sweets this Valentine’s Day! I love your photos of the kale- you really captured its beautiful green colors. 🙂
Thank you so much, Demeter! 🙂
TOTAL awesome, i would also add pepper flakes for a little kick.
I just bought two bunches of Kale from Earth Fare and this will be our dinner for tonight.
Thank you for all your great recipes -)))))))
Hey Mary Frances, That sounds like it would be great too! Thanks for the nice words and I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
This looks so hearty and wonderful – exactly how I’d like to recover from too much indulgence over the weekend!
Thank you so much, Valerie! 🙂