Crockpot creamy tuscan white bean soup, with roasted garlic and a touch of sage. So simple and inexpensive to make, and so so good. Leftovers can be frozen.
Crock-Pot Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup
I love coming back home to a hot slow cooked meal, a few other crock pot favorites are Brown Sugar Baked Beans, Chickpea Sweet Potato Stew, and Navy Bean Bacon and Spinach Soup.
This started out as an experiment, and ended as a soup. I never know what to expect when I throw something in the slow cooker, I wanted to see if I can cook white beans in the crock pot without soaking them first. The answer is yes you can; it took about 3-4 hours on high. But they basically looked like cooked beans in water, not like a thick pot of beans that I imagined. The quick solve was turning this into a great tasting soup.
As a kid, I remember my Mom pureeing all my soups to make me eat them. As an adult, I tend to still like my beans pureed in my soup. You can leave some beans whole as I did to give it some texture, or blend the whole thing, up to you.
My method for roasting garlic is a little unconventional, I peel my cloves before roasting because I prefer not to have to do it after. Completely up to you how you roast your garlic, the end result is the same. If you are pressed for time, and wish to skip the roasted garlic, it will still taste wonderful. I personally think adding them makes it go from good to great.
Note: if you want to make this vegetarian, substitute the chicken bouillon for vegetable.
Slow Cooker White Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry Cannellini beans, rinsed
- 1 head garlic, peeled
- 8 cups water
- 4 sage leaves, plus more for garnish
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chicken Better Than Bouillon, or cube (use vegetable bouillon to make it vegetarian)
- Kosher salt and white pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the beans, 3 cloves of garlic, water, and a few sage leaves in the crock pot; cover and set to cook on HIGH for 4 hours, or until the beans are soft. Don't add salt.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Place the remaining garlic cloves in the center of a 7x7-inch square of aluminum foil. Cover the garlic with olive oil and a little salt. Seal the aluminum tightly and place it in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the garlic is soft and golden.
- Remove from the oven and set aside until the beans are done.
- When the beans are soft, add the bouillon and mix well until dissolved, then carefully transfer some of the beans and liquid along with the roasted garlic to the blender.
- Blend until smooth and pour it back into the crock pot. Repeat with the remaining beans until you get the texture you desire. You can also use an immersion blender if you have one.
- Taste for salt and adjust as needed. Serve with fresh sage and white pepper on top, and, if you wish, some whole roasted garlic cloves on top. (I reserved a few)