Simple Plant-based Tuscan Bread Soup (Budget-friendly Ribollita)

This budget-friendly recipe for Ribollita (also known as Tuscan Bread Soup) is a healthy, hearty comfort food you can indulge in. Guilt-free. Using pantry staples and satisfying ingredients—rich in both plant-based protein and fibre—this dish is served best with your favourite Silver Hills Bakery loaf.

This will be one of the healthiest, most satisfying, budget-friendly meals in your recipe collection. You can easily make it in one pot, any night of the week! The use of canned or dried beans makes this dish more than just hearty and healthy—it’s easy on the wallet too!

Course Soup, Main Course

Cuisine Italian, Mediterranean

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword Kid-friendly, Soup

Servings servings

Author Silver Hills Bakery

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion , chopped
1 large carrot , chopped
2 sticks celery , chopped
4 small potatoes , cubed
6 cups veggie broth (store-bought or homemade, see our easy DIY Veggie Scrap Broth recipe)
1 large can (796 ml / 28 fl oz) diced tomato
2 cups kale , chopped
3 cups white beans , cooked (1 cup dried beans, cooked, or two cans (398 ml / 14 fl oz) of white beans, drained and rinsed)
8 slices Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery Full Seed Ahead™ bread (or Silver Hills Bakery Sprouted Big Red’s Bread), lightly toasted or stale
3 cloves garlic , minced
3 bay leaves
1 rosemary sprig
1 tsp salt
to taste ground pepper

Instructions

In a large saucepan or pot, gently fry the onion, carrot, celery, bay, rosemary, and a pinch of sea salt in 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat for 10 minutes.
Add the garlic, potatoes and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the diced tomato and kale, stir well.
In the blender add 2 cups of white bean and 6 cups of broth. Blend until smooth.
Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer for around an hour and a half, occasionally stirring in more bean broth, a ladleful at a time.
When the vegetables are cooked, and the soup is creamy, stir in the rest of the beans and the bread.
Cover, and set aside to rest for 30 mins, then season with a few grinds of black pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil before serving.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Tips

- Place bread in the toaster or oven to stiffen up if you don’t have stale bread.

- You don’t need to make a special trip to the store if you’re missing bay leaves. Simply use dried rosemary or your favourite dried herbs for added flavour.

- Don’t have fresh kale? Don’t worry, frozen kale or frozen spinach works just as well. If using frozen, add it in step 6.

- Any kind of white bean will do! (Navy beans, cannellini beans (also known as white kidney beans), or great northern beans—use whatever you have!)