The 4-Ingredient Soup I Make When I’m Short on Time and Need Comfort

Name: The 4-Ingredient Soup I Make When I’m Short on Time and Need Comfort
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil; 4 medium garlic cloves; 3 (15-ounce) cans cannellini or great Northern beans; 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 2 cups vegetable broth; 1 (5-ounce) package baby spinach; 2 tablespoons lemon juice, optional; Kosher salt, to taste; Crusty bread, for serving, optional

Overhead view of a white bowl of white bean and spinach soup with a spoon next to a plate of bread and bowl of lemon slices — Simply Recipes / Alexandra Shytsman

Why Make This

You can make this comforting soup in just 20 minutes with zero chopping.
All you need from your pantry and fridge are garlic, canned white beans, olive oil, and baby spinach.
The technique yields a soup that is creamy and hearty while staying light and fresh.

I’ll admit, when I first heard of Marcella Hazan's three-ingredient white bean soup, I was skeptical. Just garlic, olive oil, white beans, and broth can make a complete soup? Not even a bit of sautéed onion? No spices? It sounded too good to be true. But being a big fan of white beans and creamy soups, I had to at least try it. After all, with just three pantry ingredients, the stakes were low.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the simple technique did indeed yield a real soup! A creamy, super garlicky, soul-soothing soup that went right into my weeknight rotation.

15 Easy Dinners To Make With Canned Beans

My Spin on the Classic Soup

And then—because to me, dinner just isn’t complete without some sort of vegetable—I started brainstorming how I could build on this dish, and my mind eventually arrived at baby spinach. Quick-cooking? Check. Pretty color? Check. Won’t overpower the delicate flavor of white beans? Check!

This incredibly simple soup is thick, rich but not heavy, and feels way fancier than you’d expect from the minimal amount of work involved. I mean, there is literally zero chopping! This recipe is a true godsend for lazy weeknight cooks. (And aren’t we all sometimes?)

A quick note on seasoning: I like to wait until the very end to add any salt to this soup, as canned beans and store-bought broth can be plenty salty. I usually add about a quarter teaspoon of fine sea salt.

Angled view of a white bowl of white bean and spinach soup with a spoon next to a plate of bread and bowl of lemon slices — Simply Recipes / Alexandra Shytsman

Using a Blender or Food Processor

If you don’t own an immersion blender, you can purée the soup in a food processor or a regular upright blender. Be very careful when puréeing hot liquids in an upright blender. It is essential that steam has a way to escape while you purée, so remember to take out the removable center of the blender lid before blending and loosely drape a kitchen towel over the opening.

Creamy Spinach and White Bean Soup

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 20 mins

Servings 4 servings

Keep Screen Awake

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, grated or crushed
3 (15-ounce) cans cannellini or great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups vegetable broth
1 (5-ounce) package baby spinach
2 tablespoons lemon juice, optional
Kosher salt, to taste
Crusty bread, for serving, optional

Simmer the beans:

Add the oil and garlic to a medium pot over medium-low heat. Once the garlic starts to sizzle, cook it for 30 seconds; do not let it burn. Add the beans and pepper to the pot and stir to coat.

Cover the pot with a lid and cook for 5 minutes. Add the broth, bring it to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes more.
Add the spinach:

Add the spinach to the pot one handful at a time, stirring and allowing each addition to wilt before adding more. Once all the spinach is wilted, cook the soup for 1 minute more.
Blend and serve:

Remove the pot from the heat. Scoop out about half of the soup and set aside. Using an immersion blender, purée the soup still in the pot until the spinach is broken down and the mixture is creamy and speckled with green. Return the reserved soup to the pot, add the lemon juice (if using), and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with bread, if desired.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
406	Calories
14g	Fat
52g	Carbs
20g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories	406
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14g	18%
Saturated Fat 2g	11%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 375mg	16%
Total Carbohydrate 52g	19%
Dietary Fiber 13g	46%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 20g
Vitamin C 12mg	62%
Calcium 218mg	17%
Iron 8mg	46%
Potassium 1315mg	28%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.