Tuscan Ribollita Soup Recipe
Published October 23, 2020. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This incredibly easy to make ribollita soup recipe is loaded with greens, vegetables, and beans that is served with crusty rustic bread.
All fall and winter long we eat soup easily at least once a week. If you are looking for some awesome ideas then check out my chicken and wild rice or mulligan stew.
Ribollita
It’s indigenous to the Tuscany region in Italy, which is on the west coast of the country and up towards the top. It was really a peasant recipe as it utilizes crusty leftover bread and leftover minestrone soup. The term Ribolitta literally means re-boiled, and this recipe in its origin uses up everything in the kitchen, so nothing goes to waste.
Once the soup is finished, classically it would be placed in a terra cotta pot along with the crusty bread and a lid, and it would sit for 15-20 minutes so that the bread would soak up all of the soup and it would become like a gruel.
How to Make It
Follow these simple procedures for making this amazing ribollita recipe:
Soak some dried cannellini beans in water overnight.
The next day, drain them and slowly cook them in water with a fresh sprig of rosemary over low to medium heat for 30 to 35 minutes or until tender.
Once they are cooked, puree about half of the number of beans with some of the water they are cooked in until smooth and set aside.
In the meantime, sweat the onions, garlic, celery, and carrots in a small amount of olive oil over low to medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until tender.
Add in sliced Lacinato kale and savoy cabbage along with crushed tomatoes, pureed beans, cooked beans in water, and vegetable stock and simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes or until the greens are soft and tender.
Finish the soup with salt and pepper and serve over old crusty bread.
Ingredient Variations
This recipe, like many classical Italian recipes, is very fluid and the ingredients were almost solely dependent upon what was available and what people could afford. Here are some additional ingredients you could add in or swap with a current ingredient:
- Baby Spinach
- Kale
- Escarole
- Leeks
- Zucchini
- Potatoes
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make this soup up to 1 day ahead of time and I advise that you keep the bread separate from the soup until it is ready to be served.
How to Store: Keep covered and keep the soup separated from the bread and in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This will freeze in the exact same manner for up to 3 months. Be sure that you thaw for 1 day in the refrigerator until it is thawed.
How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of soup into a small size saucepot and head up over low heat until hot. Likewise, you can heat it up in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl.
chef notes + tips
- Please feel free to use any homemade or store-bought bread from the bakery. Please do not use sliced bagged bread from the bread aisle as it will totally scale down the flavor of this soup.
- For a bean alternative, you can use drained and rinsed canned cannellini beans or boil water and cover the dried beans and let stand for 1 hour.
More Amazing Soup Recipes
- Classic French Onion Soup Recipe
- New England Clam Chowder Recipe
- Pork Confit and Split Pea Soup
- Zuppa Toscana Recipe
- Wedding Soup
Be sure to follow me on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest, and if you’ve had a chance to make this then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below!
Video
Tuscan Ribollita Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1- pound cannellini beans
- 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 peeled and medium diced medium-sized yellow onions
- 4 medium diced stalks of celery
- 4 peeled and medium diced carrots
- 4 finely minced cloves of garlic
- 2 bunches of thickly sliced Lacinato kale
- ½ sliced savoy cabbage
- 15 ounce can hand-crushed whole peeled tomatoes
- 64 ounces vegetable stock
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- slices of old crusty rustic bread
Instructions
- Add the beans to a container and cover with until it is about 4 inches over the top of the beans. Cover and set at room temperature overnight.
- In the morning drain the beans and add to a medium-size pot and cover with water until the beans are covered by about 2 inches along with a sprig of rosemary.
- Cook the beans for about 30-35 minutes over low to medium heat or until tender.
- Remove the sprig of rosemary and take ½ of the beans and the liquid and put them into a blender and puree them until smooth. Set aside and keep the other ½ of the beans in the liquid warm.
- In the meantime, add the olive oil to a large pot over low to medium heat and cook the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender.
- Next, add in the kale, cabbage, cooked beans in water, pureed beans, tomatoes, and vegetable stock, and cover with a lid and cook for 15-20 minutes over low to medium heat or until the kale and cabbage are tender.
- Season the soup well with salt and pepper.
- To serve, place some bread in a serving bowl and pour some of the soup over top. Garnish with optional shredded parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley and rosemary.
Notes
- Make-Ahead: You can make this soup up to 1 day ahead of time and it is advised to keep the bread separate from the soup until it is ready to be served.
- How to Store: Keep covered and keep the soup separated from the bread and in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This will freeze in the exact same manner for up to 3 months. Be sure to thaw for 1 day in the refrigerator until it is thawed.
- How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of soup into a small size saucepot and head up over low heat until hot. Likewise, you can heat it up in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Please feel free to use any homemade or store-bought bread from the bakery. Please do not use sliced bagged bread from the bread aisle as it will totally scale down the flavor of this soup.
- For a bean alternative, you can use drained and rinsed canned cannellini beans or boil water and cover the dried beans and let stand for 1 hour.
Nutrition
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THIS RECIPE SOUNDS DELICIOUS!!
Question: If I use dried Great Northern Beans instead of Cannellini, is the recipe, timing, etc. exactly the same?
THANKS!
same
Love to cook and love this recipe. It was so delish. Thank you. I am a diabetic and the soup is friendly to my needs also. I just omit the bread. And use a pumpernickle on the side. Blessings your amazing.
Tracy
Looke so good!!
Thanks!!