White Bean Stew Recipe

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White Bean Stew is a hearty bowl of perfection to warm you to your toes during the cold months. Brimming with white beans, aromatic herbs, and vegetable stock, it’s a comfort dish that hits every spot. Serve with garlic bruschetta on the side for an added dash of deliciousness.

White bean stew recipe.

Italian White Bean Stew from Scratch!

This hearty recipe features bold flavors of fresh rosemary, sage and leeks, it only requires one pot and includes no ham hock. It’s just pure, clean protein, no tomatoes, with zero cholesterol, and as healthy as can be. When served with garlic bruschetta or Crusty Bread, it becomes a complete and satisfying meal. If desired, you could always serve it with some Ciabatta Bread or Focaccia Bread on the side as well. If you decide to add more side dishes, that’s totally up to you, but often ends up being too much food for me. This is one hearty meal!

Italian White beans from scratch

What is Ribollita Soup?

Ribollita soup is a Tuscan bread soup made with beans and vegetables. It’s usually made with a specific flavor from a rind of Parmigiano reggiano cheese. In our case a kind alternative, dairy-free nutritional yeast baby. This specific recipe is basically a white style ribollita as no tomatoes are used in this dish. This changes with the seasons and the regions. There isn’t only one, legit version of ribollita out there. It varies from home to home and pantry to pantry.

Vegan white bean stew.

How to Make White Bean Stew

  1. Prep the beans – Wash and pick the beans. Soak for a minimum of 6 hours. Drain.
  2. Saute – Heat a heavy bottomed pot with oil and saute the leek/onion, carrots, and celery until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for a few seconds.
  3. Simmer – Add the beans and water. Bring to simmer and add the bay, sage, and rosemary. Simmer for 45 minutes or until the beans are soft.
  4. Season – Stir in the nutritional yeast and add the desired amount of smoked sea salt.
  5. Make the bruschetta – Grill the bread on both sides until dark grill marks form. Rub both sides with a garlic clove, brush with oil, and sprinkle with salt.
  6. Serve – Ladle the stew into bowls, tear the bread into chunks and place on top. Drizzle with olive oil, serve, and enjoy!

White Bean Ribollita Stew.

White Bean Stew Tips + Variations

  • Storage – Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
  • Reheating – Reheat over the stove or in the microwave. Over the stove just seems to taste better and is always my first option.
  • Add-in ideas – If you want to kick up the ingredients on this white bean stew, try some add-ins. Some of my top choices are broccoli rabe, Swiss chard, spinach, mustard greens, collard greens, basil pesto drizzle, sun dried tomato pesto, or plant-based Italian sausage, cooked separately, and added to each bowl when serving.
  • Can I use canned beans? – I don’t tend to go for canned beans as they always have added junk in them. However, if you’re in a pinch or need a quicker option, canned beans will do. Just be sure to drain and rinse them. Be careful cooking them for too long as they might turn into mush. The magic of this stew has a lot to do with being cooked low and slow from scratch, truth is you can never get this out of a can.
  • Use day-old bread – If you don’t want to make the garlic bruschetta, use some day-old bread to serve on the side. I personally prefer the bruschetta because it just completes the dish, but old bread will definitely do the trick as well.
  • What does ribollita mean in Italian? – Well, it simply means “reboiled.” This is because it was originally a peasant food. It was often leftover minestrone soup with added, old bread, that was reheated before serving. Hence the term “reboiled.”

FAQs

Can You Freeze White Bean Stew?

Yes, you can definitely freeze ribollita soup. It tastes absolutely delicious after being reheated. I never notice much of a texture difference either, just make sure you do it without the bruschetta or bread. Great for planning meals in advance in order to save some time.

Are White Beans the Same as Navy Beans?

Navy beans are just a type of white bean. There are quite a few varieties of white beans out there. For example, cannellini, pea beans, great northern beans, etc. Although many of them taste very similar and look very similar, they are definitely different varieties and not the exact same. So, for this soup, choose your favorite white bean and roll with it, the authentic Italian beans would be the cannellini.

Italian White Bean Stew with Leeks, Rosemary and sage.

More Vegan Dishes

White bean stew recipe.
5 from 1 vote

White Bean Stew from Scratch

White Bean Stew - a hearty bowl of perfection to warm you to your toes during the cold months. Brimming with white beans, aromatic herbs, and vegetable stock, it’s a comfort dish that hits every spot. Serve with garlic bruschetta on the side for an added dash of deliciousness.
Print Recipe
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:45 minutes
Soaking:6 hours
Total Time:6 hours 55 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Rinse and pick the beans then cover them with water and soak for 6 hours or overnight. Drain.
  • In a large heavy bottom pot heat up a good lug of olive oil (or veggie broth for WFPB) and saute the leek (or onion) with the carrot and celery until they begin to soften.
  • Quickly stir in the chopped garlic and cook for a few seconds just until fragrant then add the soaked beans.
  • Pour in the water and bring to a constant simmer. Add the bay, sage and rosemary, cover with a lid and cook for 45 minutes or until the beans are soft and tender to your liking.
  • Check the beans half way through cooking and see if you might need to add extra water if they are absorbing lots of liquid.
  • Once your beans are perfectly cooked remove from heat, stir in the nutritional yeast and season to taste with the smoked sea salt.
  • OPTIONAL but Recommended: Meanwhile grill or toast the bread on both sides until nice dark char marks form. Rub each slice on both sides with a garlic clove, lightly brush with some olive oil and finish with sea salt.
  • Ladle the bean stew into bowls and tear chunks of the garlic bruschetta over the top. Finish with a light drizzle of olive oil on top and enjoy.

WFPB + Plantricious

  • To make this recipe WFPB + Plantricious compliant make sure to omit the oil and saute the veggies in water or veggie broth instead.
    Certified Plantricious

Video

Notes

  • Storage - Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
  • Reheating - Reheat over the stove or in the microwave. Over the stove just seems to taste better and is always my first option.
  • Add-in ideas - If you want to kick up the ingredients on this white bean stew, try some add-ins. Some of my top choices are broccoli rabe, swiss chard, spinach, mustard greens, collard greens, basil pesto drizzle, sun dried tomato pesto, or plant-based Italian sausage, cooked separately, and added to each bowl when serving.
  • Can I use canned beans? - I don’t tend to go for canned beans as they always have added junk in them. However, if you’re in a pinch or need a quicker option, canned beans will do. Just be sure to drain and rinse them. Be careful cooking them for too long as they might turn into mush.
  • Use day-old bread - If you don’t want to make the garlic bruschetta, use some day-old bread to serve on the side. I personally prefer the bruschetta because it just completes the dish, but old bread will definitely do the trick as well.

Nutrition

Calories: 266kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 32mg | Potassium: 1415mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1459IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 203mg | Iron: 8mg
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: beans, plant based, vegan recipes, wfpb, white bean stew
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 266kcal
Author: Florentina

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12 Comments

  1. The creamiest most delicious pot of beans I have ever had. Followed the recipe exactly including the garlic bread and it was absolutely perfect. Will be adding this to my weekly rotation from now on. Thank you for sharing this fabulous recipe Florentina! ❤️

    1. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Sadly I also followed the directions, though mine is more like a liquid than creamy 🙁

      1. Hey Nancy, this could be the beans you used, (what variety did you use?), how old, moisture content…. However you can continue to cook the beans longer to break down or puree 1/3 of the soup until creamy smooth then mix back into the soup ~ Florentina

        1. Hey Cindy, I linked to it in the recipe card but if you have a Home Goods or Whole Foods close by they often carry it, otherwise just order online.

  2. Delicious. I added more carrots and celery. Added beet greens. Didn’t have smoked salt so added 1/2 tsp smoked paprika and a tsp of salt.

  3. I have no idea what is the smoked salt, never heard of it b4 but even without is this dish was delicious !!! Goes in my rotation :). Thank you very much for all your wonderful recipes!!!

    1. Hi Erika, I’m so glad you loved the stew! Smoked salt is just sea salt infused with applewood smoke, it adds a subtle smokiness to the dish just like liquid smoke would if you are after that type of flavor profile 🙂

  4. Sounds yummy!! My favorite dry white beans are Peruano, or Mayacoba beans. They end up so rich & creamy! Costco sells 25lb bags for less than $25!! If I want a soup to be extra thick & creamy, add cauliflower, & then when all is cooked, put a portion of the soup into the Vitamix or blender and add a couple handfuls of cashews! Blend till smooth & then add back to portion that wasn’t blended. Enjoy!!

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