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Creamy Tuscan White Bean Lemon Soup. My family’s favorite quick and easy Italian-style soup. Spicy Italian chicken sausage mixed with onions, shallots, garlic, and Italian seasoning. All cooked together to create a wonderfully creamy and spicy soup. Add carrots, celery, sun-dried tomatoes, a couple of cans of white beans, and fresh baby spinach. Then, just before serving, add a bit of cream, parmesan, and lemon juice to balance the spice and give a touch of creaminess to this delicious, hearty winter soup. Ladle into bowls and top each with extra parmesan and fresh parsley. It’s just the yummiest!
Ever since Christmas Eve, we’ve had some of the snowiest weather. It’s been heavy winter days filled with chilly temperatures and a good amount of snow. At this point in the winter, I’m still loving this cozy weather.
It always inspires me to create some of my favorite recipes of the year. And from the looks of the numbers, some of your favorite recipes too.
I guess we can’t deny that there are a lot of us who really do enjoy a cozy meal!
I’ve been on a major soup kick. I feel like I have new ideas every single day! But when I created this simple, spicy Tuscan-style soup, I knew it was something special.
The flavors, the colors, and the creaminess were all indications that this soup would be delicious. It turns out that this has become one of my favorite soups – and my family’s too!
I blame a lot of this on the spicy Italian chicken sausage. It’s one of my favorite Whole Foods purchases. I usually pick up a pound from the meat counter. If you’re lucky, they’ll make it for you, and the seasonings are just perfect!
I love the spicy sausage in the creamy broth. The addition of lemon just before serving creates the perfect balance. Such a yummy winter soup!
These are the details
Ingredients
- sun-dried tomatoes – use the tomatoes with the oil in the jar
- spicy Italian chicken sausage – you could also use pork sausage
- onions
- shallots
- garlic
- carrots
- celery
- Italian seasoning
- broth
- canned white beans
- baby spinach
- cream or whole milk
- parmesan cheese
- lemon zest and juice
- fresh parsley
Special Tools
None! All you need is a nice big Dutch oven/soup pot. This recipe really is so easy!
Steps
Step 1: the sun-dried tomatoes
Start with the sun-dried tomatoes. I love using a jar of oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes. Not only are the tomatoes delicious, but I also use the oil from the jar to cook the chicken. The oil is always seasoned, so it adds even more flavor. Just make sure it’s extra virgin olive oil.
Most people will discard the oil, but you must use it! It adds a lot of flavor to recipes.
Step 2: cook the sausage
Add the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes to a Dutch oven. Add the sausage and onions and brown them. Then mix in the shallots, garlic, carrots, and celery. Mix in the Italian seasoning too.
Let the veggies soften up a bit.
Step 3: add the broth and simmer
Next, add the broth and simmer until all the veggies are tender and the soup start to really smell yummy!
Step 4: finish the soup
Now add the spinach, the sun-dried tomatoes, and white beans. Mix in the cream, parmesan, and lemon, cooking until warmed throughout.
The cheese will melt into the creamy broth.
Serve
When you’re ready to eat, divide the soup between bowls and top it with extra parmesan and freshly chopped Italian parsley.
And, of course, no bowl of Italian soup is complete without some crusty bread (I particularly love a loaf of warm ciabatta) or my Nonnie’s homemade beer bread. Both are great with this soup!
Looking for other soups? Here are a few ideas:
Easy Chipotle Cheddar Beef Chili
Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey and White Bean Chili
Healthy Slow Cooker Chipotle Bean Chili
One Skillet Saucy Chicken Tortilla Enchilada Rice Bake
Healthy Chipotle Chicken Sweet Potato Skins
Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup with Salty Lime Chips
Crockpot Chipotle Queso Chicken Chili
Lastly, if you make this Creamy Tuscan White Bean Lemon Soup, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. If you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Creamy Tuscan White Bean Lemon Soup
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 373 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 jar (8 ounce) oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 pound spicy Italian chicken sausage
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 6 cups broth
- 2 cans white beans
- salt and black pepper
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 cup whole milk or cream
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- chopped fresh parsley, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Drain 3 tablespoons of oil from the sun-dried tomato jar into a Dutch oven. Chop the sun-dried tomatoes and set aside.2. Set the pot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and onion. Cook, breaking up the meat as you go until browned. Add the shallots, garlic, carrots, celery, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook another 5 minutes, fragrant. 3. Add the broth. Simmer for 10 minutes over medium heat until the veggies are tender. Add the spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and white beans. Mix in the cream, parmesan, and lemon. Cook for another few minutes until warmed through.4. Divide the soup among bowls and add additional parmesan and fresh parsley. Enjoy with warm bread – of course!
This post was originally published on January 13, 2025
Is there anything you would change about combining the ingredients if you were to use a crockpot instead of stove top?
Love this recipe!
Hey Melissa,
Nope, I think that would work nicely for this recipe. Please let me know if you give it a try! Happy Sunday! xT
This was delicious! A big hit in our house. Thank you!
Thanks so much, Stacy! So glad to hear this dish was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it! XxT
Do you drain the beans before adding?
Hi Rene,
Yes, you will want to drain the beans:) xx
Soup is delish and delivers as a hearty, winter soup to please family and friends.
Giving 4.75 stars because it is a bit oily. I am making it again for dinner tonight and I will not use the extra oil from the tomato’s or add parmesan to the pot. The cheese sticks to utensils, bowls and the pot so I will offer it as a topper at serving. And I think the cream is optional. Cream is always good, but the soup is strong enough on its own to please the palate.
Bon Apetit
Hey Lara,
Amazing! Thank you so much for trying this recipe, I am so glad it turned out well for you! xxT
Is the spinach also meant to be chopped or whole leaves when added?
Hi Sam,
You can leave the spinach whole:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
This soup is just fabulous. The only change I made was subbing 1 lb. of ground pork for the chicken sausage. We are trying to eat a more Mediterranean diet with less emphasis on meat and more on veggies – this really hit the mark with the onions, carrots, celery and spinach! I used my food processor to chop the veggies so it all came together quickly. Big plus that the recipe ingredients are pantry/fridge staples for me. Wish I had taken a photo before we dove into it – because it looked beautiful and tasted even better. This is definitely going in my winter rotation. Thank you so much Tieghan!!
Thanks so much, Cynthia! Love to hear this soup turned out nicely for you, I appreciate you making it! Great idea to use ground pork! xxT
How would you make this dairy free but still creamy ? Unsweetened coconut milk?
Hey Jillian,
You bet, that will work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe! xT
I’m giving this five stars even though I didn’t make it exactly per the recipe, because I can tell that it would be even better as written. I couldn’t get Italian chicken sausage so used regular Italian sausage that I just sliced up. I used celery seed because I was out of actual celery and I did not add the cream because my husband won’t eat anything “creamy”. Even still it came out really good and I can imagine with the cream added it would be fantastic.
Hey Cindy,
Thanks so much for making this recipe! Love to hear it turned out well for you:) Have the best week! xxT
This sounds like the perfect soup for this cold winter day. Going to try it today. Question – do you drain and rinse the white beans? Thanks!
Thanks so much, Michelle! Yes, you will want to drain and rinse the beans. I hope you love this recipe! Stay warm! xT
We loved this hearty soup! With 5″ of snow here in the Denver area today did not want to go to the grocery store so subbed the Italian sausage with the ground turkey in the fridge and added extra Italian spice and Aleppo pepper. Also, only had purple carrots instead of orange. They turned the soup a little purplish, but still quite tasty on this wintery day and we have plenty of leftovers for another meal or two. My husband commented how much he likes the soup. That is a real plus!
Oh, by the way, when I printed the recipe it does not give reference to your website or name. You might want to add that to make sure people can find you in the future if they’re just printing the recipe.
Thanks!
Thanks so much, Amy:) I appreciate you trying this soup and sharing your feedback! So glad to hear it was enjoyed! Stay warm!! xx
A delicious combination of ingredients, the lemon added the perfect touch. Super easy to make.
Hi Allison,
Awesome! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Have a nice Sunday:) xx
Great hardy recipe! I cut back on the beans and added some cheese tortellini to the soup as well. Super flavourful and will be making again!
Hi Vanessa,
Happy Friday!! I appreciate you giving this recipe a try and your comment, so glad to hear it turned out nicely for you! xxT
An excellent soup and easy to make. My family loved it. The lemon is a nice touch.
Hi Kathy,
Awesome! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, I appreciate you making it! xx
All 5 of our kids loved this (which is a rarity)! Such a cozy hearty soup on a cold winter night. Thank you!
I forgot to give a proper 5 star rating on my first comment!
Thanks again:)
Hi Katey,
Happy Friday!! I appreciate you giving this recipe a try and your comment, so glad to hear it turned out nicely for you! xxT
Wow! One of the best soups I have ever had! Filling, but not heavy! All of the flavors combine so well and the lemon adds the perfect hint of freshness at the end. I love how many nutrients are in this too!
I swapped out the spicy sausage for regular chicken sausage and cut it prior to cooking so it wouldn’t be too spicy for my toddler. The celery I bought was also bad in my grocery order so I had to leave that out. So glad I doubled it to freeze and have on another cold and snowy day!
Hi Allyson,
Love to hear this! Thanks a lot for making this recipe and your comment! Have a nice day:) xxT
This has to be one of if not my favorite soup receipes! Made this tonight on a freezing, snowy eve. It was the perfect bowl of comfort! Followed the recipe exact and it’s so flavorful, warm and delicious with just the right amount of spice. Think I’d add a bit more lemon next time just because I like it, but I would recommend this to anyone who wants something delicious and healthy!!
Thank you so much, Katie:) I am so glad you have been enjoying this recipe and appreciate you making it! Have the best week! xT
Hey Allyson! Maybe you don’t know this yet, but did it freeze well with the dairy in it?
Hello from cold London, UK! I made this a couple days ago and it is so damn good. Warming and filling without being too heavy and the flavour is incredible, I’ll be making this again for sure. Thank you 🙂
Hi Stella,
Thanks so much! So glad to hear you enjoyed this soup, I appreciate you making it! Stay warm! xT
This soup is packed with flavor! I will definitely make it again! Used half the sun dried tomatoes to please the family, and it didn’t feel like it was lacking at all. Perfect for a cold day!
Hi Catherine,
Love to hear this! Thanks a lot for making this recipe and your comment! Have a nice day:) xxT