A cozy cream spinach artichoke white bean soup that is packed with nutrition, but feels like you are enjoying your favorite savory dip in soup form.
Why You’ll Love This Spinach Artichoke White Bean Soup
- Meal prep ahead of time. Makes a large batch that can be portioned and even frozen for easy go to meals.
- High in fiber. Both the beans and artichokes help add a significant amount of fiber to this soup. Each portion provides about 10g of fiber.
- Cozy and nutritious comfort. This soup is loaded with a lot of plant diversity, which helps you get in a lot of nutrients like iron, folate, and calcium.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Beans: I went with cannellini beans, but you can do chickpeas, butter beans, or green lentils (cooked).
- Artichokes: I used jarred marinated artichokes, but you can also use canned. If using canned, do note you should season with salt as you cook them.
- Leeks: Can be subbed for 3 shallots or more yellow onion.
- Nutritional Yeast: This will help add some “cheesy” umami flavor. If you opt out, I would recommend using some more miso paste to taste or add about 1/4 cup freshly shredded vegan parmesan instead (I like Violife).
- Cashews: Raw cashews are ideal. For a nut-free option, try this with raw sunflower seeds or pepitas (pumpkin seeds).
- Miso paste: I recommend white or yellow miso paste. If using red miso paste, use half what is recommended as it is more robust in flavor.
- Spinach: You can also do some baby kale if preferred.
- Vegetable broth: A good quality broth makes a big difference. I recommend a reconstituted broth brand like the vegetable based Better Than Bouillon.
How to Make Spinach Artichoke White Bean Soup
Roast the garlic: Cut the top of the bulb of garlic off to expose the cloves. Place over foil and drizzle with 2 tsp oil and a sprinkle of salt. Wrap tightly and roast for 40-45 minutes at 400F, then let cool. This can be done in advance.
Prep your ingredients: Slice the leeks lengthwise, rinse to remove dirt, and thinly slice. Dice the onion. Soak the cashews in boiling water for 10 minutes, then drain. Blanch spinach in boiling water for 2 minutes, then rinse under cold water and squeeze out excess moisture and set aside.
Sear the artichokes: In a large Dutch oven, health oil over medium-low heat. Add artichokes in an even layer and sear 5-6 minutes undisturbed, until browned. Transfer to a bowl.
Sauté the aromatics: Add leeks and a pinch of salt to the pot. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and slightly golden. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes more.
Season: Stir in nutritional yeast, coriander, and red pepper flakes. Cook 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
Simmer: Add beans and vegetable broth. Stir well, then add bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook 20 minutes.
Make the cashew spinach cream: In a blender, combine the soaked cashews, squeeze out the roasted garlic, miso paste, and 1 cup water. Blend until smooth. Add spinach and blend again until mostly pureed.
Finish and serve: Discard the bay leaves and thyme. Stir in the cashew spinach cream and seared artichokes into the soup. Mix until well combined, then remove from heat. Season with salt to taste. Serve with some toasted sourdough and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Expert Tips
- Ways to save time. Use a jar of grilled and quartered artichoke hearts to save a step from having to cut and sear them yourself. Alternatively, you can skip roasting the garlic and instead sauté 6-8 cloves of minced garlic (garlic press can help here) along with the leeks and onions. You can also use frozen spinach. I would use 1 cup frozen, thaw it according to package instructions, squeeze out excess liquid then blend in the cashew cream sauce.
- Prep ahead items to make the soup faster. Roast one or more bulbs of garlic in advance. You can store the roasted garlic in the fridge for up to 4 days. Make the spinach cashew sauce in advance and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Make sure to clean your leeks. Leeks are often packed with a lot of dirt between its layers. After cutting them in half, rinse between each layer of the leeks to remove any dirt before using. Make sure to pat dry before cooking with them.
- Adjust the creaminess. This soup is rich and creamy. If you want to thin out your soup, just add some extra water and adjust seasonings as needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Instead of cashews, consider using sunflower seeds or pepitas. Just make sure to soak them the same way you would the cashews.
Allow soup to cool then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Yes! To make it easy to reheat, I usually will store the soup in small individually portioned containers in the fridge for up to 2 months. When ready to eat, just take the amount out that you wish to enjoy and reheat in the microwave or on the stove top until warmed through. For even more ease in storing, I like to portion the soup out into souper cubes when freezing. This generally helps portion around 2 cups of soup that I can then I can store the frozen bricks in freezer safe bags without having to use up all my storage containers.
Make It Balanced
This soup is great served with a slice of sourdough bread to help mop up all the creamy sauce, but you can also serve this with some rice if you need a gluten-free alternative.
This soup contains about 15g of protein per serving. If you’d like more protein, consider serving with a slice of sourdough bread to bring this up to 20 grams of protein. You can also blend in some soft tofu into the base if you want an alternative to cashews. or serve your favorite tofu on the side with your soup.
More Good Soup Recipes to Heal the Soul
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Description
A cozy cream spinach artichoke white bean soup that is packed with nutrition, but feels like you are enjoying your favorite savory dip in soup form.
- 1 bulb garlic
- Avocado oil for roasting and cooking
- 2 leeks, green tops removed
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 5 oz fresh spinach (or frozen, see notes below)
- 1, 15 oz jar quartered marinated artichoke hearts, drained
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast or 1/4 cup shredded vegan parmesan
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1, 15oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 10 sprigs of thyme
- 1 tsp yellow miso paste
- Kosher salt, as needed
- Toasted sourdough bread, for serving
- Extra virgin olive oil, for serving (optional)
- Preheat your oven to 400F. Slice 1/4 inch off the top of the bulb of garlic to expose the cloves. Place the bulb on a piece of foil then drizzle the top with 2 tsp of oil and a generous pinch of salt. Wrap the bulb in the foil then place in the oven for about 40-45 minutes or until nice and soft. Allow to cool.
- While the garlic is roasting, prep your ingredients. Slice each leek lengthwise. Rinse off any dirt between the layers under running water. Pat dry then thinly slice the leek and dice your onion. Add the cashews to a large heat safe measuring cup or bowl and cover with boiling water for at least 10 minutes, then drain. Add the spinach to the same cup or bowl and cover with boiling water for 2 minutes or until the leaves turn bright green and become wilted. Drain the spinach and run under cold water until completely cooled. Squeeze out the excess water from the spinach then set aside.
- Add 2 tbsp of oil to a large dutch oven over medium-low heat. Pat the artichoke hearts dry with a clean kitchen towel, then add to the pot. Spread the pieces out to cover the bottom of the pan and allow to sear undisturbed for about 5-6 minutes or until the bottoms start to brown. Transfer the artichokes to a bowl.
- Add the leeks with a pinch of salt and stir well to combine. Allow the leeks to cook down, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes or until slightly golden in color. Add the onion, sautéing again for 5 minutes until softened.
- Stir in the nutritional yeast, coriander, and red pepper flakes, continuing to sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the beans and vegetable broth then give the pot a good stir. Drop in the bay leaf and thyme sprigs, then bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover with a lid and allow to cook for 20 minutes.
- Transfer the cashews to a blender cup then squeeze in the roasted garlic, add the miso paste, and 1 cup of water. Blend on high until completely smooth. Add the spinach and blend again until the spinach is mostly minced.
- Discard the bay leaves and thyme from the white bean soup. Add the cooked artichoke hearts to the pot along with the spinach cashew cream and stir well until fully mixed. Remove from heat, then serve in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and a piece of toasted bread.
Notes
Ways to save time. Use a jar of grilled and quartered artichoke hearts to save a step from having to cut and sear them yourself. Alternatively, you can skip roasting the garlic and instead sauté 6-8 cloves of minced garlic (garlic press can help here) along with the leeks and onions. You can also use frozen spinach. I would use 1 cup frozen, thaw it according to package instructions, squeeze out excess liquid then blend in the cashew cream sauce.
Prep ahead items to make the soup faster. Roast one or more bulbs of garlic in advance. You can store the roasted garlic in the fridge for up to 4 days. Make the spinach cashew sauce in advance and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Make sure to clean your leeks. Leeks are often packed with a lot of dirt between its layers. After cutting them in half, rinse between each layer of the leeks to remove any dirt before using. Make sure to pat dry before cooking with them.
Adjust the creaminess. This soup is rich and creamy. If you want to thin out your soup, just add some extra water and adjust seasonings as needed.
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