Spinach and White Bean Soup

I was looking for a light healthy soup to make and I found this recipe on the Washington Post website. The use of spinach, garlic, and vegetables made this soup filling and absolutely delicious. The beans also provide a great source of fiber. The oregano, rosemary, salt and pepper added so much flavor and this soup turned out so warm and tasty it became one of my favorite soup recipes!

 

Recipe:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 medium cloves garlic, minced

1 large carrot, peeled and cut into small dice

1 rib celery, cut into small dice

1 tablespoon flour

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 14 ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, with juice

1 15 ounce can cannellini or other white beans, drained and rinsed

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon dried rosemary

2 cups washed, stemmed and coarsely chopped spinach leaves

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrot and celery; stir to coat, then cook for 6 minutes, stirring often to keep the ingredients from sticking to the bottom of the pan. The vegetables will have softened.
2. Add the flour and cook, stirring for 2 minutes, then add the broth, tomatoes with their juice, beans, oregano and rosemary; bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
3. Add the spinach and cook for 5 minutes, stirring to incorporate so the spinach wilts. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

A couple notes:

I omitted the can of diced tomatoes from this recipe because I didn't have any on-hand and I wanted to taste this recipe without the use of tomatoes.

I added 2 cans of cannellini or white beans to the soup. I used a fork to crush one can of beans to thicken the soup.

I added one bay leaf to the soup to add that little something extra.

I served this soup with Parmesan on top.

Enjoy!