Next Post
Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
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
Just made this recipe and OMG……SO good….the flavor is incredible….definitely on my repeat list!
I used mild Italian sausage, no carrots(ugh!) and half ‘n half….basically using up things I had on hand….
Hey Kathy,
Awesome! Thanks for making this recipe and your feedback, love to hear it was a hit!
Happy New Year!🥂🎆
I used spicy Italian sausage ground up, and I’m allergic to beans so I replaced with chopped cauliflower and it’s AMAZING
Hey Melissa,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it turned out nicely for you!
Have a great holiday!🎄🎁
I’ve been making this soup a lot over the past year. Everyone raves about it! It’s just so flavorful and hearty. Thank you!
Hi Sindy,
Yay! Love to hear this recipe always turns out nicely for you, I appreciate you making it so often! Happy Holidays!
This is a stunning recipe. No Itaian chicken sausages in the UK, so I used some spicy pork bangers. Daughter wanted to know where I’d brought it from, as she helped herself to a second bowlfull. Flipping cheek!
Hi there,
Fantastic! I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment! So glad it was enjoyed:)
Happy Holidays!
What size Dutch oven do you recommend?
Hi Hayden,
I like to use a 7 quart dutch oven. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
This soup was incredibly good! It took quite some time as I like to really get the most depth of flavor when cooking. I made one modification… instead of diced tomatoes I used tomato sauce. The soup was less of a cream soup color as a result. I drained the beans but did not rinse them and I used light cream not milk. I highly recommend making this soup!!!
Hi Stacie,
Happy Monday! Big thanks for making this recipe and sharing back. So glad it hit the spot!
This was so hearty and delicious! I used mild Italian sausage as that’s all I could find and the flavours were perfect. I blend up lactose free cottage cheese in place of cream and turned out amazing. Thank you for this one!
Hey Jessica,
So kind of you to try this recipe and leave feedback—glad it was a hit!
Can I use Greek Yogurt instead of Cream or milk?
Hi Beck,
Sure, I don’t see why not! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try!
This recipe sounds delicious. Can I make it in a crockpot? If so please advise on length to simmer in crockpot and any other recipe adjustments. Thanks so much!
Hi Suzanne,
I have not tried this recipe in the crockpot. If you wanted to, I would complete step 2 in a skillet and then transfer everything to the crockpot. Simmer on low for 4-6 hours. I hope you love this recipe!
I just made this soup and subbed spicy impossible sausage for meat. The flavor is great and just what I was hoping for but the cream won’t blend in to the soup. Is there a trick for this?
Hi Whitney,
Thanks so much for making this soup, I’m so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Was your cream room temp before adding it? It also helps to turn your heat down a bit. I hope this helps!
Very good, but I tried to find out if the beans were supposed to be drained, or drained and rinsed, and couldn’t find that info. I just drained them.
Hi Liz,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear it turned out well for you! I just drain mine:)
Can you freeze the soup?
Hey Karen,
You bet, that will work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try!
I love spicy chicken sausage, but making for my granddaughters who don’t like super spicy. Would reg chicken sausage still have enough flavor for the soup? Also, what do you think of adding gnocchi at the end … or putting the soup over cooked gnocchi?
Hi Cindy,
Regular chicken sausage is perfectly okay to use here! I think adding gnocchi at the end sounds like a great idea! I hope you love this recipe!
Looks amazing! Do you use cream or whole milk? What is your preference?
Hi Lisa,
I like to use cream:) Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it!
Can I replace the cream with coconut milk or coconut cream?
Hey Evan,
Totally, either of those will work nicely for you. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
This soup is amazing!! New fall weather favorite!
Hi Erica,
Big thanks for making this and sharing back. So glad it hit the spot!