Italian White Bean Soup – Gluten & Dairy Free
This Italian White Bean Soup is the perfect combination of creaminess and spice. It feels so decadent and comforting but light and nutritious at the same time. Our family loves this recipe and I know you will too.
*Originally Posted 09/2019; post updated 09/2020
A more traditional Italian soup would not call for coconut milk, but I created this recipe when my daughter was completely dairy free for a while. It is absolutely delicious and does not taste like coconut. If you are not dairy free, you could use heavy cream or half and half.
What You Need:
- Spicy (or mild) Italian Sausage
- Onion
- Carrots
- Celery
- Garlic
- Chicken Broth
- White Beans (cannellini)
- Fresh Spinach
- Rosemary
- Bay Leaves
- Coconut Milk (for dairy free); if not dairy free – you can use heavy cream
- Salt & Pepper Flakes
Let’s Make Soup:
- I use a dutch oven for this recipe – you can use any soup pot. The oil gets added to the pot over medium heat. Then we add the sausage until mostly cooked through.
- Then we add in the aromatics (carrots, onion, celery & garlic) these get cooked with the sausage for about 3 minutes. This helps them start to develop flavor and soften a bit.
- The remaining ingredients (except coconut milk and spinach) get added in. We bring this to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes. Then discard bay leaves & rosemary sprig.
- The last step is to stir in the coconut milk (or cream if using) and the fresh spinach. The spinach will wilt perfectly into the hot soup. Remove from heat and serve!
This soup is so comforting and perfect for a chilly night. We love to serve it with some crusty sourdough bread for dipping!
You Might Also Like:
Gluten Free Chicken Noodle Soup
Healthy Beef and Vegetable Soup
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Italian White Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbls Olive Oil
- 1 lb Spicy Italian Sausage ground
- 1 Yellow Onion small, diced
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 3 Carrots peeled & diced
- 2 stalks Celery diced
- 4 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 2 Cans of White Beans (drained) 14.5 oz, cannellini
- 2 cups Spinach fresh
- 1 sprig Rosemary
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 cup Full Fat Coconut Milk
Instructions
- In a soup pot, heat oil over medium heat and cook the ground Italian sausage until mostly cooked through
- Then add in the onion, carrots, garlic and celery. Cook for 3 minutes until the onions are translucent and the carrots are slightly tender
- Add in the chicken broth, salt, pepper flakes, beans, rosemary and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 15 minutes
- Discard rosemary and bay leaves. Stir in the coconut milk and spinach. Remove from heat and serve.
Hi when you say full fat coconut milk, is that canned coconut cream or canned coconut milk?
I love this soup and make it at least a few times a year. I made a mistake and bought LITE Coconut milk so I’m a little nervous about how this is going to turn out! Help, anyone else made this mistake? And will adding some 1/2 & 1/2 thicken it like it would normally be? Or should I add a can of ‘full fat’ coconut milk to my ‘goofed’ soup? Help!
Can it simmer all afternoon and add spinach at the end?
Yes, that should work just fine. Enjoy!
This soup was delicious!! I’ll be making this again for sure! I didn’t have spicy Italian so I used regular and I didn’t have coconut milk so I used heavy cream but it turned out fantastic even so. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
This was one of the/if not the best soups I have ever made!!! And I make a lot of soups. The taste is just so bold and delicious you keep going back for more. I 💯 recommend making this. AND it’s sooo easy! Husband pleaser too 😉
Making this for the 2nd time in two weeks. Mmmm. I follow the recipe to a ‘T’ except for garlic, I add a few more cloves. It’s a nice light dinner with some corn bread or a good baguette. Love it. Thanks!
How much is one serving? An ounce? A cup?
This soup was awesome! I will definitely make it again! My husband loved it too. It will definitely be in my soup rotation.
Can I use lite coconut milk
I tried this recipe and was so glad I did. It’s easy to make and very delicious. One of my new favorites.
Planning on making this tomorrow! Would the recipe still be tasty if no milk was added? Have everything but coconut milk and hoping to not have to make a trip to the store haha
This recipe is FANTASTIC! So easy abs flavorful. My sister tried some + ran to the store the next day to make it herself. I enjoyed this so much I am going to make it next week as well 🤍!
I’m really hoping to make this recipe for my family soon but my daughter is allergic to coconut. I was wondering what the best replacement would be for the coconut milk? Thanks!
Hi Alana! If you are dairy free, you can use plain unsweetened almond milk. If you are not, you can use whole milk or heavy cream. I hope you enjoy!
This is legit the best soup I’ve ever made! I was so impressed at how delicious and gourmet it turned out. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it Chelsey!
This is one of our go to soups! Seriously, so easy and flavorful! Sometimes I just use Italian chicken sausages and chop them up! Such a quick weeknight staple for us!
This soup is sooooooo good and it’s a nice break from similar-ish soups that call for potatoes. We I prep a soup for our lunches every week so im tried a lot and this is definitely my favorite. Even better than the Zuppa Toscana we eat a lot.
I made this last night and it was so good I had a bowl for breakfast today too. The flavors are incredible and it’s so satisfying. Great recipe!
This looks delicious! Do the leftovers freeze well? Should I leave the spinach out if freezing?
I have not tried freezing this, so I am not sure how well it would work.
Amazing. Absolutely amazing. Easy to make, easy to make my wife and 7-year-old daughter satisfied with this wonderful dish. Followed the recipe as written, and swapped out the coconut cream with heavy cream. (Added the red pepper flakes after, versus incorporating during cooking, on account of my young one’s aversion to spiciness.) And, when serving, we topped with some freshly grated parmesan! A gorgeous dish indeed.
Can you make this in advance? Maybe add spinach when I make the next day?
Yes absolutely, it re-heats well with the spinach too!
Made this last night. It was delicious. A comfort food soup. I did not have bayleaves and I used cream instead of coconut milk. Paired it with a cheesy, zucchini cornbread. Cant wait for dinner tonight for leftovers
I made the soup today and it turned out perfect!! I forgot to add the minced garlic so I sprinkled garlic powder on top at the very end👍👍 it was excellent.
This was amazing! We added 1 jalapeno pepper with seeds and doubled the both, everything else the same. I would add a little more beans, although my husband loved it as is.
So happy that you enjoyed it Penny, love the addition of the jalapeño! We love spice in our family too 🙂
Has anyone tried to make vegan version?
Hi Rafa, I have not personally made a vegan version of this recipe, but I would love to know how it turns out if you try it!
I am making a vegan version right now and just subbed the Italian sausage for Field Roast brand vegan Italian sausage. Saute the vegan sausage first and remove to add it back later as it will fall apart if left to simmer for too long. You can add the sausage the last 5-10 mins of simmering. I also used veggie broth instead of chicken. The vegan sausage releases the same flavour and spices as real sausage for an aromatic and delicious soup!
Is the coconut milk sweetened or unsweetened? I am in the middle of making the soup and have unsweetened.
Hi Lisa, I don’t normally get to comments as you are making the recipe, but you were correct in getting unsweetened. Hope you enjoyed it!
Do you rinse the beans after you drain them?
I don’t, but you can do it if you prefer that!
Absolutely LOVE this recipe! Turned our perfect and the only small change I made was using dried Rosemary instead of fresh. I paired the soup with take & bake bread for a perfect meal. My husband raved about this soup, despite disliking all “Italian” soups. Ha!
Thanks for sharing!
Woo hoo! I’m so glad that you guys loved it, thank you for sharing!