Kale White Bean and Orzo Soup
A flavorful soup made with vegetables, tomatoes and white beans. This is an easy and filling week night meal that can be made vegetarian or vegan. Unless you adhere to a vegan diet, this recipe really gets its delicious umami flavor from the parmesan rind
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup sliced carrot
- 1 cup white or red onion
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 15 oz can of unsalted white cannellini beans (or white navy beans)
- 8 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth (or chicken stock)
- 8 oz of plant-based sausage (such as Field Roast Italian) or 8 oz of turkey sausage
- 1 cup whole wheat orzo, cooked al dente
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 (4 oz) Parmesan cheese rind (omit if vegan)
- 4 cups of chopped kale (or baby spinach)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
Instructions
- In a separate pot, cook orzo according to package directions (note, cook in salted water)
- In a large pot or dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat
- Add onion, celery and carrot and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook stirring occasionally until onion is translucent (about 5 minutes)
- Add crumbled vegan sausage to pan and sauté until browned, about 3 minutes (see notes if using turkey sausage). Add garlic and stir. Cook for one minute.
- Add can of diced tomatoes, vegetable stock, white beans, bay leaves and parmesan rind.
- Bring mixture to simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
- Turn off heat. Remove bay leaves and parmesan rind. Stir in kale and allow to wilt.
- Ladle into bowls. Garnish with parsley if desired.
Notes
If you are cooking with turkey sausage, I recommend browning the sausage in the pot first. Brown until cooked through (no pink). Remove the sausage from the pan. Follow the remaining directions. Add the sausage back in once you add the tomato/stock/white beans/bay leaves and parmesan rind.