Tuscan Bean and Butternut Squash Soup
A hearty and delicious soup filled with pancetta, butternut squash, beans, kale, and herbs. It is perfect served with crusty bread and a big salad for some extra vegetables. This soup is perfect for a cozy winter evening dinner!
Ahhhh soup season. You're finally here.
I pretended you were here a month ago, making pots of butternut squash soup and chili, but deep in my heart I knew it wasn't quite time. It was still warm enough to wear tank tops and sandals without thinking twice and it wasn't cold enough to turn on the heated floors in our bathroom. P.s. thank you previous owners for that genius addition to the bathroom.
But now it's chilly when I wake up in the morning, requiring slippers and a cozy robe, and stays cool enough all day to need a sweater outside, and best of all - it just feels right to come home and whip up a batch of soup to warm up to. Yep, soup season is here.
I feel like this Tuscan Bean and Butternut Squash Soup is the soup I've been meaning to make my entire life. It pretty much has TAYLOR written all over it with the beans, squash, kale, and pancetta (bacons Italian cousin). Add a hunk of bread on the side and I am done for the year.
The thing that really makes this the soup of my dreams is the creaminess factor, without adding any cream. I really wanted the base to be thicker than a broth-based soup, but not pureed. So I took two cups of the bean and squash mixture along with a little broth, and pureed it, and then added it back to the soup. It turned out to be the perfect combination of creamy and hearty.
This is also the kind of soup that just keeps on giving - there are leftovers for days! Like most good soups, it just got better with time and I didn't mind polishing off every single last drop of it.
Tuscan Bean and Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 oz pancetta diced
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic diced
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 medium butternut squash peeled, de-seeded and diced
- 2 cans cannellini beans
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups chopped kale
Instructions
- In large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.
- Add pancetta, onion, and carrots, cooking until pancetta is crispy and vegetables are slightly softened.
- Add garlic, thyme, basil, rosemary, and salt and cook one more minute.
- Add butternut squash, beans, and chicken broth.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.
- Simmer for 20-25 minutes, until butternut squash is tender.
- Remove 2 cups of soup mixture, making sure to include beans and squash, and transfer to a blender. Puree until smooth.
- Return puree to soup pot and stir to combine.
- Add kale and stir in until bright green and cooked, about 2-3 minutes.
- Season with additional salt, to taste.
- Serve with crusty bread and enjoy!
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- To make this soup vegan, omit the pancetta.
I actually just made a tuscan bean soup but it looks almost naked without the butternut! I am loving all things warm and comforting now that the weather is cooling down. I will definitely add butternut to my soup next time 🙂
Yay for soup season! Love that this soup is so creamy without there being any cream in it!
It's still really warm out for fall here, but that won't stop me from enjoying my soup or chili! This is my kind of soup, and I would gladly sweat it out a little for some of this!
This was so great. Only used 1 can of beans and added hot sauce. It’s a keeper
Glad you enjoyed it!