Our Best Brothy Beans

Creamy Fennel and White Bean Soup

A silky puree of creamy white beans soak up the savory, sweet, and slightly licorice-y flavors of fennel, contrasted by salty bits of bacon.

By Sandra Rose GluckFebruary 5, 2018

Ribollita (Tuscan White Bean and Vegetable Soup)

This Tuscan veggie soup ribollita makes smart use of beans and bread to create a creamy soup with clear flavors.

By Rose HattabaughAugust 13, 2018

Mexican Stewed Beans with Salsa Fresca

Soupy beans brightened with a late-addition sofrito of tomatoes and chilies, learned from chef Eduardo García in Mexico City.

By Diane UngerJune 8, 2020

Italian Bean Soup with Fresh Pasta

“Everyone should eat this,” a reader writes of one of our all-time most popular soups: rustic Italian bean soup, the perfect vehicle for fresh pasta.

Greek White Bean Soup (Fasolada)

Greece’s cold weather soups are designed to taste like a summer garden.

By Diane UngerOctober 8, 2018

Kale and White Bean Soup

A leftover Parmesan rind and canned cannellini beans make for an extra-savory broth in one of our favorite crusty-bread soups.

Spanish Chorizo, Ham and White Bean Stew

This is a quick-and-easy version of the Spanish tapa known as fabada asturiana, a hearty stew of dried beans, sausage and other smoky, porky ingredients. We pared back on the meats, using only chorizo and ham, both of which lend deep flavor to the bro

By Courtney HillOctober 15, 2019

Paprika-Pinto Bean Soup with Collard Greens

This recipe was loosely inspired by Portuguese feijoada, a rustic stew of beans, cabbage, sausage and multiple cuts of pork. Tomato paste is browned early in the cooking process to bring depth and umami to this hearty dish. For the meat, we opted for

By Diane UngerOctober 17, 2023

Sardinian Herb Soup with Fregola and White Beans (S’erbuzzu)

Traditionally, the Sardinian soup called s’erbuzzu is jammed with wild herbs and greens—sometimes more than 17 varieties. And with both fregola (a pea-shaped Sardinian pasta) and white beans in the mix, the soup—which we learned from Chef Luigi Crispo

By Courtney HillFebruary 10, 2020

Kale and White Bean Soup

A leftover Parmesan rind and canned cannellini beans make for an extra-savory broth in one of our favorite crusty-bread soups.

Creamy Bean Pasta Fagiole

"This may be my favorite recipe, but that’s perhaps because I am a bean freak. By no means a traditional pasta fagiole, this version is a terrific expression of the creamy texture of a well-cooked bean and especially of the deep umami flavors that goo

By Milk StreetNovember 7, 2025

Romanian Pork and White Bean Soup with Vinegar and Caraway (Ciorba de Porc)

This soup, called ciorbă de porc, was inspired by a recipe from “Carpathia: Food from the Heart of Romania” by Friend of Milk Street, Irina Georgescu. It’s a hearty, subtly smoky potful of pork and beans in a tomatoey broth scented with caraway and fi

By Diane UngerAugust 9, 2021