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Home » Soups and Stews

"No Cream" Creamy White Bean Soup

Published: Sep 4, 2020 · Last Modified: Aug 21, 2022 by Anecia

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This quick and easy, "No-Cream" Creamy White Bean soup is absolutely delicious and super easy to make!

The ingredients are simple, but the flavor is quite interesting!

I like to serve this white winter soup with warm bread and and a steamed artichoke!

Creamy White Bean Soup drizzled with olive oil in green bowl

I'm always on the lookout for quick and relatively healthy meals, so when I came across this quick and easy creamy white bean soup recipe in Cook's Illustrated, I took notice.

Why this recipe works:

I slightly adapted their recipe by using less chicken broth and replacing fresh herbs with dried.

Of course, you can use fresh herbs in this recipe, just keep in mind that dried herbs are stronger than fresh.

If you use fresh herbs, you'll want to use three times the amount of dried herbs and add them at the end.

Also note, this "cream" soup contains no cream.

The creaminess of the soup is not a dairy product, but pureed canned Great Northern beans. "What?" you say?

Canned beans? Yuck! Well, I thought the same thing until I made this.

Jump to:
  • Why this recipe works:
  • You'll love this recipe!
  • Recipe overview
  • Here's what you'll need:
  • How to make it:
  • What's the difference between Cannellini and Great White Northern Beans?
  • How to make the soup extra creamy
  • How to thicken no cream white bean soup:
  • Variations:
  • Related recipes:
  • 📋 Recipe

You'll love this recipe!

  • Quick and easy - use canned beans; ready in 25-minutes!
  • Healthy - contains no cream
  • Hearty and filling - full of vitamins, nutrients and fiber

The only dairy in this recipe is Parmesan cheese. If you want a "dairy-free" white bean soup, eliminate the Parmesan cheese or use a vegan substitute.

Recipe overview

Saute onion and celery: cook the beans with their liquid, then puree them into a smooth, silky consistency.  Add herbs and seasonings and top with roasted capers, parsley, basil and a drizzle of lemon and olive oil!

The lemon and capers offer a distinct flavor to this soup, as does the olive oil - you use the same oil you cooked the capers in--so the flavor profile is savory, yet a bit tangy, and the pinch of cayenne pepper really rounds out the flavor!

I strongly encourage you not to eliminate these ingredients--they really add the "wow" factor to this soup, however, if you hate capers just leave them out.

Creamy White Bean Soup in a green bowl drizzled with olive oil.

Here's what you'll need:

Sometimes, the simple things in life are best, like the ingredients for this recipe! Here's what you need:

  • 2 - 15 oz. cans of organic Great Northern White Beans
  • 1 ½ cups of chicken broth, capers, olive oil
  • Butter, Parmesan cheese
  • Onion, celery, fresh garlic, dried thyme, dried parsley, dried basil and a lemon
  • Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper

*Vegan version: substitute chicken broth with vegetable broth; eliminate butter and Parmesan cheese

How to make it:

There's very little prep for this bowl of deliciousness! First, microwave the capers in a high quality extra virgin olive oil for 2-4 minutes. (Be sure to read the Recipe Notes about cooking the capers!)

Drain capers on paper towel; reserve oil; set aside

(If you don't like capers, just skip this step.)

Chopped onion, celery and garlic on cutting board.

Chop onion, celery and garlic

Onion, celery, garlic and oil in stockpot.

Sauté vegetables in olive oil

White beans, broth and vegetables in stockpot with wooden spoon.

Add beans and their liquid; cook 8 minutes; transfer mixture to food processor

Bean mixture in food processo.r

If your food processor is small, work in batches; pulse until smooth

Butter, broth, parmesan cheese in measuring spoons on counter.

Add butter and Parmesan to food processor; pulse and return soup to stockpot; add chicken broth

Soup in green bowl garnished with oil and thyme.

Pour soup into bowl and garnish with toasted capers, lemon, basil, parsley and a drizzle of olive oil

What's the difference between Cannellini and Great White Northern Beans?

While both varieties of legumes share similar nutritional profiles, their differences lie primarily in texture and flavor.

Cannellini, also known as white kidney beans or Italian beans, are larger, softer and have an inherent nutty flavor.

Great Northern beans are smaller with a grainy texture, and their flavor depends upon what other ingredients they're cooked in...much like mushrooms and tofu.

These two white bean varieties are often used interchangeably and yes, you can use Cannellini beans in this recipe!

How to make the soup extra creamy

There are two things you must do to ensure an extra creamy texture for this white bean soup. First, soften the beans by cooking them on the stovetop for about 8 minutes.

Then, transfer them to a blender or food processor using a slotted ladle or strainer for further refining.

If your blender or food processor is small, you may have to work in batches.

Unfortunately, a hand held emulsifier doesn't work as well as the two combined-methods above.

How to thicken no cream white bean soup:

If you prefer a thicker version, use a cornstarch slurry.

Get a one-cup measuring cup and put 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in it. Then, fill it up with water to the 1-cup mark; combine well

Turn the heat up on the soup and drizzle in the slurry, stirring constantly; once soup begins to boil, stir for about 30-seconds, then remove the pan from the heat.

The soup will continue to thicken upon resting about 5-minutes prior to serving.

Variations:

Great Northern White beans are the perfect "blank canvas" for a variety of flavorful toppings!

This version uses toasted capers, lemon, parsley and basil, but feel free to experiment with toppings on your homemade white bean soup!

  • Sauteed leeks and fried sage
  • Chopped tomatoes and bacon
  • Rosemary, pesto and pine nuts

Related recipes:

  • Texas Chili
  • Lentil Soup
  • Wisconsin Beer Cheese Soup
  • How to Fix Over Salted Soups and Stews
  • Skillet Cornbread
  • Black Bean Soup
  • Roasted Hatch Chile Chicken Soup

If you make this soup, please leave a comment and rating below! I love to hear from you!

📋 Recipe

Creamy White Bean Soup drizzled with olive oil in green bowl

"No-Cream" Creamy White Bean Soup

Savory, silky white bean soup with accents of onion, celery, cayenne, lemon and capers
5 from 5 votes
Print Rate
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American, International
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Total Yield: 5 cups
Author: Anecia Hero
Prevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

  • Blender or food processor
  • Strainer, colander or slotted spoon

Ingredients 

Topping Ingredients

  • 3.5 ounces capers drained; (this is one little jar of capers; a little over ¼ cup)
  • ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

Soup

  • 30 ounces Great Northern White Beans, canned do not discard liquid
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter , salted or unsalted
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1½ cups chicken broth or stock
  • ½ cup yellow onion chopped
  • 1 stalk celery chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic small to medium cloves; minced
  • lemon juice , fresh; See Recipe Notes
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley garnish
  • ½ tablespoon dried basil garnish
  • salt and pepper to taste , for best results, use white ground vs black ground pepper

Instructions 

Make the Topping

  • In a microwave bowl, add ⅓ cup olive oil and ¼ cup drained capers; cook on high for 2-4 minutes; use a slotted spoon and remove cooked capers; drain capers onto paper towel; reserve oil and set aside
    See Recipe Notes
    ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, 3.5 ounces capers

Make the Soup

  • In a large stockpot on medium heat, add 2 tablespoons oil; add chopped onion and celery; saute for 5 minutes
    2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, ½ cup yellow onion, 1 stalk celery
  • Add garlic, thyme and cayenne pepper to onion mixture; combine well
    2 cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, 1 pinch cayenne pepper
  • Add canned beans and their liquid to stockpot; cook on medium heat until beans begin to break up (about 8-10 minutes)
    30 ounces Great Northern White Beans, canned
  • Using a slotted spoon, ladle bean mixture into food processor; pulse on high for 2 minutes: (See Recipe Notes: Food Processor)
  • Add butter and parmesan to food processor; pulse on high for 2 minutes
    2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
  • Add 1 cup of chicken broth to food processor; pulse on high for 2 minutes
    1½ cups chicken broth or stock
  • Pour contents from the food processor back into large stockpot
  • Add remaining ½ cup of chicken broth and one teaspoon of lemon juice; stir and cook on medium until hot; taste for salt and pepper
    salt and pepper to taste, lemon juice
  • Pour soup into bowls; drizzle each bowl with a few drops of fresh lemon juice and the reserved olive oil from the microwaved capers
  • Sprinkle chopped parsley, basil and capers over top of soup and serve
    ½ tablespoon dried basil, 1 tablespoon dried parsley

Notes

Capers taste similar to olives; if you don't like capers, leave them out
Microwaving the capers in oil:
Each microwave is different. Mine is 1200W and I cooked them for 4 minutes the first time and they burned.
Second time, I cooked them 2 ½ minutes and they were perfect.
The minute you smell them, they're done!
Lemon juice
I used a little lemon in the soup and as a finishing acid. One large lemon is probably all you need, but you can add more to your liking.
 
Food Processor vs Immersion Blender:
If you have a small food processor, you may have to work in batches. Use a slotted spoon to ladle the bean mixture in the processor, or, use a colander and drain the bean mixture, reserving the liquid 
If you don't have a food processor, at this point, remove the bean mixture from the heat and use an immersion blender. Once blended, continue with recipe.
I've found the immersion blender is more difficult to use because of the low level of bean mixture - a food processor works best.
Vegetarian Option:
Substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth; eliminate Parmesan cheese and butter
Want it thicker?
In a one-cup measuring cup, add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and fill cup with water; combine well and drizzle into hot soup; bring to boil for 1 minute, remove from heat and allow soup to rest 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Estimate

Serving: 1cupCalories: 437kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 14gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 570mgPotassium: 858mgFiber: 9gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 205IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 175mgIron: 6mg
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Richelle Bloomquist says

    December 28, 2022 at 7:12 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely excellent. I usually don’t enjoy soups but this is a game changer!

    Reply
  2. Laura says

    January 30, 2021 at 10:34 pm

    This is a great recipe!

    I add steamed chopped kale to the final product and it's great.

    Reply
    • Anecia says

      January 31, 2021 at 9:29 am

      Hey Laura,
      That's a great idea! I'm glad you enjoyed the White Bean Soup! Thank you!

      Reply
  3. Debi says

    September 08, 2020 at 7:44 am

    5 stars
    Wow! This soup sounds amazing! I never thought of adding capers, but I can't wait to try it.

    Reply

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Anecia Hero, Food Blogger

About SmartyPantsKitchen

I'm Anecia, a native Texan, author, cook and photographer for SmartyPantsKitchen where I'm sharing Traditional and Contemporary Southern recipes for cooks of all levels. There's nothing fancy or gourmet about my recipes-just easy, simple, delicious and memorable! Take a tour and check out delicious recipes! 

Learn more about me →

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