Last updated on March 25th, 2023 at 10:02 am
Dive into a warming butter bean soup infused with umami-rich miso and zesty lemon. This simple but completely delicious bowl comes together in around 35-minutes and is perfect for chilly nights. Serve it with crusty spelt bread for a wonderfully healthful vegan dinner.
Why You'll Love This Butter Bean Soup
Inspired by Alison Roman's Dilly Bean Stew (which if you haven't tried, you seriously should), this butter bean soup uses flavours close to my old heart; miso and lemon. Together they create a full-bodied, comforting bowl that is both rich but also zesty.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Butter beans. No surprises here but you can use dried butter beans (you'll need to cook them first - see the recipe card notes for instructions) or canned. I like the larger size and surface area of butter beans but you can use any white bean really.
Garlic. Because it's delicious.
Miso paste. White miso works best for this soup. You can go for a heavier red variety but I like the subtleness of the white and it isn't too salty. The miso isn't strong here, it just adds depth to the soup.
Bay leaf. This soup is really simple so we are using a bay leaf and garlic to create a more complex flavour.
Lemon. Just the juice here.
Wombok cabbage / Napa cabbage. Wombok (Napa) cooks really quickly and adds a good amount of body to the soup. Besides it is a good source of fibre. You can use other cabbage varieties, you'll just need to cook them longer. Kale will work too - again you'll need to adjust your cook time.
How to Make Butter Bean Soup
You'll find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step 1. Begin by heating vegan butter and olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until soft and beginning to colour. If the onions are cooking too quickly in sections, turn the heat down and cook for longer.
Step 2. Add the garlic and cook for another minute before stirring in the miso
Step 3. Go ahead and add the beans and, using a large spoon or spatula, smash some of them into the pot. Breaking them will release their starchy centre and this will help thicken the soup. When I say I “some" - squash a little over a third of the beans - we are looking for whole, tender beans doing backstroke in a creamy broth.
Step 4. Now add the stock and bay leaf and bring the mixture up to a simmer. Continue to simmer - stirring every once in a while - until the texture thickens to your liking, 15–20 minutes or so.
Step 4. Add the Wombok/Napa cabbage and lemon juice and stir until the cabbage wilts. Simmer for another 5-7 minutes or until all the flavours have infused and are working tother. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the parsley to serve.
FAQs
You can use any white bean but I like butter beans because they hold their shape and provide texture.
Yes indeedy. If you are using dried beans (you'll need around 350g) soak them in plenty of cold water and a teaspoon of baking soda overnight. Drain the beans and put them in a saucepan and cover with fresh cold water. Bring to a steady boil (don’t salt the water as this makes the beans tough), skimming off sediment as it rises to the surface. Cover and cook for 45mins - 1½ hrs until tender, then drain. The time will depend on how old your dried bean are. No judgment - I have jars of dried beans in my pantry that might be older than my daughter.
Want more soup? I got you.
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Comforting Butter Bean Soup
Equipment
- Medium pot
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter
- 1 large onion halved and sliced
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 1½ tablespoon white miso paste
- 720 g butter beans cooked (3 x 400g (14oz) cans, drained)
- 4 cups / 1L vegetable stock
- 1 bay leaf
- juice of a lemon more to taste
- 3 cups Wombok cabbage Napa cabbage, core removed and the leaves roughly chopped
- salt to taste
- cracked pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley chopped
Instructions
- Heat vegan butter and olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until soft and beginning to colour. If the onions are cooking too quickly in sections, turn the heat down and cook for longer.
- Add the garlic and cook for another minute before stirring in the miso
- Add the beans and, using a large spoon or spatula, smash some of the beans into the pot. Breaking them will release their starchy centre and this will thicken When I say I “some" - squash a little over a third of the beans - we want whole, tender beans doing backstroke in a creamy broth.
- Go ahead and add the stock and bay leaf and bring the mixture up to a simmer. Continue to simmer - stirring every once in a while - until the texture thickens to your liking, 15–20 minutes or so.
- Add the Wombok/Napa cabbage and lemon juice and stir until the cabbage wilts. Simmer for another 5-7 minutes or until all the flavours have infused and are working tother. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the parsley to serve.
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