This creamy white bean and fennel soup is so thick, rich, and satisfying – and the fennel flavor is divine! If you need an easy winter warm-up meal, try this soup tonight.
Soup is my favorite food group. And I LOVE when I find a new soup that’s both quick and easy to make and delicious to eat.
I currently have a good rotation of about 10 different soups that I never get tired of, and I tend to make over and over. It’s perfect because we only have about 10 weeks of cool to chilly weather where I live, and I usually make a pot of soup each week.
And this one just made the list!
Here’s why this creamy white bean and fennel soup made my soup rotation:
- I love the flavor of fennel. It’s also the star of the show in one of my other favorites – chunky Italian turkey fennel soup
- It’s packed with beans, and they’re so good for you! All that cholesterol-lowering fiber. They’re also an easy way to get a rich, thick, and creamy soup without a drop of cream.
- This soup only takes about 30 minutes to make. That’s so nice when you forget to make a plan for dinner, right?
- With the exception of a fresh fennel bulb (which is easy to pick up ahead of time), it’s the kind of recipe where you always have the ingredients on hand.
I wish I could take credit for coming up with it, but I got this recipe from the 177 Milk Street website. Of course, I had to make a few tweaks to make it my own, but it’s really quite close to the original.
If you’re vegan or vegetarian, it’s perfectly OK to skip the bacon in this recipe. But if you’re not, it’s really just a minimal amount and it adds a nice crispy garnish
And, if you happen to have any freshly baked sourdough bread on hand, NOW is the time to use it. Break it into chunks and scoop up the rich, thick soup with it. SO good!
You can blend this soup in a high-speed blender, but I think it’s so much easier to use an immersion blender. I couldn’t live without mine. You just stick it in the pot and blend. It’s nearly as effective as a blender, but no need to transfer hot soup, and so much easier to clean.
Creamy White Bean and Fennel Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium onions chopped
- 1 medium fennel bulb trimmed and chopped
- 5 medium garlic cloves minced
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 3 15-ounce cans white cannellini beans (divided) drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds ground or finely crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- sea salt to taste
- 6 slices cooked bacon for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a stock pot over medium high heat. Add the onions and fennel and cook for about 6 minutes until they are softened and starting to turn golden. Add the garlic and saute for another minute.
- Add the chicken stock, about half of the rinsed beans, the fennel seeds, thyme, and rosemary sprig. Turn the heat up to high and bring the soup to a boil. Then, cover it and reduce the heat to medium-low. Let the soup simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Remove the rosemary sprig.
- Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until it's fairly smooth and creamy. Add the remaining beans, and salt to taste. Cook the soup for another 5 minutes or until it's heated through.
- While the soup is finishing, crisp the bacon in the microwave and crumble it if using it for a garnish.
Nutrition
How often do you make a pot of soup?
Eat well!
This soup looks delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I think I will try this at the weekend.
Thanks so much for visiting Elizabeth! I hope you enjoy it 🙂