Italian Greens and Beans Recipe with Escarole

Here's a simple, comforting and delicious soup that's nothing more than greens, beans, fresh escarole and a wonderful, flavorful broth.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

There's nothing quite like a bowl of well-made of homemade soup, especially one with a fragrant and flavorful broth, creamy beans and vegetables. This Italian Greens and Beans Recipe with Escarole is filling & restorative and delicious any time you're in the mood for something warm and tasty.

Here's some good reasons to make it:

• This is an easy soup to make and other than the escarole, which is found in the produce section, we'll use mostly pantry staples such as canned beans

• This soup has a deep, wonderful flavor. Escarole is one of my favorite greens, and it really gives this soup a fresh vegetable taste and slight bitterness that's toned down with a big squirt of fresh lemon juice. So good!

• This homey, Italian classic reminds of one of those "little Italian restaurants around the corner" :

• Make this hearty dish any time of year - it's light and perfect and restorative no matter what the season is. Perfect as a main dish or side.

For the full recipe, please scroll down to the recipe card below.

• Escarole: A bitter green & leafy member of the chicory family, it looks a lot like romaine but is slightly bitter and very flavorful

• Vegetable Broth: Light & flavorful, but chicken broth if you prefer

• Shallot: To give lots of flavor and substance to the soup

• Miso: Mellow white miso gives this soup a deep, cooked all-day flavor

• Cannellini Beans: Creamy, hearty & so, so good

• Garlic: For an extra bump of flavor

• Lemon: To balance the bitterness of the escarole

• Seasonings: Black pepper and kosher salt

For the full recipe, please scroll below.

Leafy escarole is a slightly bitter green that's part of the chicory family, and it lends a substantial punch of flavor to this soup.

1. Start by washing the large, leafy greens the same way you do a head of romaine lettuce, rinsed well and drained in a salad spinner or soft (clean) kitchen towel.

2. Break it down by removing any rough-looking outside leaves first

3. Remove the core, cutting about 2" inches off the bottom

4. Cut into small pieces, about 2" (and the cuts don't need to be perfect)

To put the soup together, add these ingredients to a heavy large pot:

1. Saute the shallots and crushed garlic cloves, stir with a wooden spoon over medium-high heat in a large skillet.

2. Add the chopped escarole

3. Add the red pepper flakes and other seasonings, beans and broth to the sauteed escarole

4. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes on medium heat.

5. If you have a Parmesan rind in your refrigerator, add it in too! (just remove what's left of it before serving...)

6. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and drizzled tablespoons of olive oil and serve!

This Italian Greens and Beans Recipe with Escarole is easy and deeply satisfying.

This is a soup you can definitely adjust with your favorite add-ins, such as:

• Sliced and grilled cooked sausages (above)

• Chunky country pork sausage (cook on the stove top, then add to the soup)

• Shredded chicken (try some rotisserie chicken for a time saver)

• If you've never used miso paste, it gives any soup you make just a wonderful, Umami flavor that makes it taste like it's been cooking all day, without the "all day" part. Use mellow white or yellow miso, and find it in the cold section of the grocery store.

• That said, if you can't find miso or don't want to, add a reduced sodium vegetable bullion cube instead.

• Fresh lemon takes the bitterness out of the escarole, and gives a fantastic balance of flavor to this soup

• If you have a rind of Parmesan cheese laying around, add it to the pot for even more flavor...just remove what's left of it before serving!

• Use homemade chicken stock instead of vegetable broth if you'd like.

Can this soup be made in advance?

Sure! Make it the day before you plan to eat it if that's more convenient. It'll stay very good in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Can I add meat to this soup?

You sure can. Add cooked Italian sausage or shredded chicken to add more protein if you'd like.

What if I can't find Cannellini Beans?

Use Great Northern Beans, or any white bean instead.

Italian Greens and Beans Recipe Escarole

This simple, satisfying soup with beans, escarole and creamy cannellini beans is fragrant, comforting & so delicious!

Course: Soup

Total Time: 28 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tablespoon Olive Oil

• ▢ 1 tablespoon Butter

• ▢ 1 large Shallot, chopped fine about a ½ cup chopped

• ▢ 3 cloves Garlic, fresh, crushed

• ▢ 1 bunch Escarole, washed, outside leaves and stem removed, chopped into 1-2" pieces

• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt

• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Pepper, freshly ground

• ▢ 2 cans Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed approx. 14-15 ounce cans

• ▢ 1 tablespoon Miso, white or yellow, mellow

• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

• ▢ 1 32 ounce container Vegetable Broth, low sodium if possible

• ▢ 1 Juice of one small Lemon, seeds removed

• ▢ 2 tablespoons Olive Oil, for serving

• ▢ 2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese, for serving

Instructions

• Add the olive oil and butter to the dutch oven or soup pot and add the chopped shallots, cook for 3- 5 minutes on medium heat until the shallots look soft and translucent. Add the garlic and stir and cook for another minute.

• Add the chopped escarole to the pot with the salt and pepper, stir to combine. Let this cook down for 3-5 minutes, then add the drained and rinsed cannellini beans, miso, pepper flakes, the vegetable broth and the juice of one small lemon.

  Stir occasionally on medium heat at a low simmer for 15-18 minutes.

• Taste the soup at this point with a clean spoon and see if it needs more salt. Add another ¼ teaspoon if you prefer.

• The soup is ready when the foam on the top subsides, about 18-20 minutes.

  Serve this soup with grated Parmesan Cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

Notes

• If you’ve never used miso paste, it gives any soup you make just a wonderful, deep flavor that makes it taste like it’s been cooking all day, without the cooking part. Use mellow white or yellow miso, and find it in the cold section of the grocery store. It’s worth seeking out!

• That said, if you can’t find miso or don’t want to, add a reduced sodium vegetable bullion cube instead.

• Fresh lemon takes the bitterness out of the escarole, and gives a fantastic balance of flavor to this soup!

• If you have a rind of Parmesan cheese laying around, add it to the pot for even more flavor!

• Use homemade chicken stock instead of vegetable broth if you prefer.