Italian White Bean Soup: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free - Healthy Hearty Recipes (2024)

This dairy free Italian white bean soup is gluten-free, and made with lots of vegetables, sausage, bacon, cannellini white beans, and a flavorful blend of spices. It’s made on the stovetop in one pot in 30 minutes, and includes slow cooker instructions to set it and forget it. It’s perfect for an easy weeknight dinner or simple meal prep!

Italian White Bean Soup Ingredients

This sausage white bean soup recipe uses very simple ingredients. Italian ground sausage and bacon are used for the meat. Spicy or mild sausage can be used depending on your flavor preferences! You’ll need a diced yellow onion, 3 diced carrots, 2 stalks of diced celery and baby spinach for your vegetables, along with a bit of minced garlic.

The remaining ingredients are pantry items. Those include 3 cans of cannellini beans, which are often called white beans. Your soup also will need chicken broth, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, rosemary, and canned full-fat coconut milk. You can use bottled coconut milk, but canned milk does make it more creamy and thick.

How to Cook Dairy Free Italian White Bean Soup

This white bean soup recipe takes about 30 minutes to cook on the stovetop. You’ll start by first adding the ground sausage and chopped bacon into your stockpot. Over medium-high heat, brown and crumble the sausage and cook the bacon. After about 10 minutes, you will add in the diced onions, celery, carrots and garlic.

Once the vegetables have been added, just sauté them with the sausage for about 5 minutes until the onions start becoming translucent. Then you’ll add the beans, broth and spices into your stockpot. Bring your white bean soup to a boil, and then reduce the heat slightly so your soup is at a simmer. Then you’ll cover the pot and let the soup simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the carrots have softened.

The last steps are to use a potato masher or large fork to mash some of the beans. If you’re using a potato masher, give it 3 to 4 mashes. You don’t want to mash all of the beans, just some of them. Doing this thickens the soup and adds a creamy texture when combined with the coconut milk.

At this point, you will also add that milk, and the baby spinach. Stir them in until the soup is creamy and the spinach has wilted. Your soup should be removed from the heat, and it will continue to thicken a bit.

Slow Cooker Cooking Instructions

To cook this dairy free Italian white bean soup in the slow cooker, first brown the ground sausage and chopped bacon in a large skillet. Once the sausage has crumbled and the bacon has cooked, drain the excess grease, and transfer the meat into your slow cooker.

Then you’ll add all of the remaining ingredients except for the coconut milk and spinach and stir to combine. Cover your slow cooker and let your soup cook for 3 to 4 hours on high, or 6-8 hours on low. Just prior to serving, use a potato masher or large fork to mash some of the beans.

If using a potato masher, just mash the beans 3 to 4 times. You don’t want to mash all of the beans, just some, which thickens the soup and adds a creamy texture. Lastly, stir in the coconut milk and the spinach. The spinach will wilt and the soup will thicken as the beans and coconut milk combines.

Serving and Storing

This soup is great served with fresh cracked pepper, crackers (gluten-free or oyster), or shredded parmesan. Vegan parmesan is a great option if you’re keeping this recipe dairy-free. Chopped parsley to garnish is also a good way to garnish this white bean soup!

To store your soup in the fridge, let it cool completely first. Then you can store it in an air-tight container, or portion it out into individual meal prep containers. This recipe reheats really well in the microwave or on the stovetop in a small pot. You can keep this soup in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

To store this Italian white bean soup in the freezer, again you will first want to let it cool completely. Then portion it out into individual servings, or servings of 3 or 4 for easy meal prep or a future weeknight dinner. Make sure to store it in freezer-safe containers or bags. Leave about 1-inch of headspace at the top of the container or bag to allow room for the liquid to expand when frozen.

Other Soup Recipes You’ll Love:

Slow Cooker Creamy Potato Bacon Soup

Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup

Slow Cooker Mexican Corn Soup

3 Bean Vegetarian Chili

Ground Beef and Vegetable Soup

Hamburger and Vegetable Noodle Soup

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