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Easy Tuscan Ribollita Soup

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This easy Tuscan ribollita soup with potatoes, kale and vegetables is the perfect cold weather soup recipe! It’s topped with crusty bread and cheese for a hearty meal.

Two soup crocks filled with Tuscan ribollita soup. They're on top of a wooden surface. There's parmesan cheese sprinkled on the wood and chunks of crusty bread. There's a blue and white dish towel next to the bowls.

Who doesn’t love a hearty, cozy cold-weather soup recipe?

This ribollita soup is one of my favorite winter soups because it’s so hearty and nutrient-veggie packed.

It’s easy to make and keeps you full all day long.

Tuscan ribollita soup is made with potatoes, kale, butternut squash, and white beans.

The best part of this soup? It gets topped with chunks of crusty bread and shaved Parmesan cheese :).

The bread and melted cheese on top is the bread winner of the recipe (pun 100% intended).

But seriously, picture that perfectly golden bread that’s baked on top of French Onion soup and smothered in melty cheese…

Yeah, there’s some serious coziness-deliciousness-cheesiness going on in this soup recipe ;).

An overhead shot of two soup crocks with handles filled with ribollita soup. They're topped with chunks of bread and cheese. You can see the carrots and kale in the soup. Next to the soup there's a white kitchen towel with blue stripes and a black soup spoon sitting on top. In the background there's a wedge of parmesan cheese, chunks of toasted bread and fresh rosemary

What does ribollita mean in English?

Ribollita literally translates to “re-boiled”. 

Originating from Tuscany, the soup was usually made at the beginning of the week and reheated throughout the week for an easy and cheap dinner recipe.

The best part about this soup (aside from the delicious crusty bread) is that it gets better with flavor the longer it sits!

What are the ingredients in traditional Ribollita Soup?

  • crusty (or stale) chunks of bread
  • kale
  • Cannellini Beans (white beans)
  • cabbage
  • garden vegetables such as: carrots, onion, celery and potatoes

Ribollita soup can be made with really any vegetable you have on hand.

Try it with sweet potatoes, swiss chard or even fresh tomatoes.

That’s why this is one of my favorite winter soup recipes. It’s a great way for me to go through my refrigerator and use up any veggies I have.

Ribollita soup is traditionally vegetarian. If you want to make it vegan, simply omit the cheese on top or use a vegan version.

I prefer thinly shaved/sliced Parmesan cheese because it’s buttery and nutty.

If you want a really good melting cheese try Gruyere or Swiss.

An orange Dutch oven soup pot filled with white bean vegetable stew. There's a wooden spoon sticking into the soup. A wedge of parmesan cheese with cheese shavings is in the background, with a chunk of bread and fresh rosemary plan

How to make vegetarian ribollita soup?

  1. Toast the bread: preheat oven to 375 F. Spread bread chunks onto baking sheet. Drizzle generously with olive oil, toss and bake 10-15 minutes, stirring half way through, until the bread is golden. Remove from oven and set aside.
  2. Heat olive oil in Dutch oven or other soup pan. Add onions and cook until softened and translucent (about 5-7 minutes)
  3. Add in carrots, celery, garlic, squash and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper; cook until vegetables have softened, about 8-10 minutes.
  4. Add parmesan rind (optional), tomatoes, bay leaf, rosemary and thyme. Stir to combine.
  5. Add vegetable stock, bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, cover and cook 20 minutes. Stir in kale and cook until wilted (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in the beans. Discard bay leaf and cheese rinds.
  6. Turn top broiler on to 400-425 degrees. Ladle about 1-2 cups of soup in soup crocks or oven safe bowls. Top with a couple of bread pieces and cheese, and broil until bread is golden and crusty and cheese is melted.

Tips for Ribollita Soup

  • If you don’t have soup crocks or oven-safe bowls, simply ladle the soup into a serving bowl and top with cheese. Microwave for 20-30 seconds or until cheese is nice and melted. Top with chunks of bread.
  • I like to use either ciabatta, French baguette, sourdough or any other type of crusty or stale bread.
  • I say “crusty” because you want the outside of the bread to stay nice and crunchy while the rest of the bread gets soft from soaking up the soup’s broth.
  • I use Parmesan cheese rinds in the soup because they add amazing flavor. I usually get them at my local market, but if you don’t have any, you can simply substitute with regular grated cheese as mentioned in the recipe notes.
Two soup crocks filled with vegetable white bean soup. They're on top of a wooden surface. There's parmesan cheese sprinkled on the wood and chunks of crusty bread. There's a blue and white dish towel next to the bowls.

For more homemade soup recipes try:

Vegan pumpkin lentil soup
Roasted Vegetable Barley Soup
Winter Vegetable Lentil Soup
Pumpkin Coconut Curry Soup with Chickpeas

Two soup crocks filled with vegetable white bean soup. They're on top of a wooden surface. There's parmesan cheese sprinkled on the wood and chunks of crusty bread. There's a blue and white dish towel next to the bowls.

Easy Tuscan Ribollita Soup

Yield: 6
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

This easy Tuscan ribollita soup with potatoes, kale and vegetables is the perfect cold weather soup recipe! It's topped with crusty bread and cheese for a hearty meal.

Ingredients

For the bread and cheese topping:

  • 1 loaf crusty bread, cut into cubes (about 3-4 cups)
  • olive oil, for drizzling

For the soup:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 large Yellow Onion, diced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 2 celery stalks, sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 cup butternut squash, peeled and cubed
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed (see recipe notes)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2-3, 2" pieces of Parmesan cheese rind, optional
  • 1, 14.5 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes, with juices
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary (or 1 teaspoon fresh)
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 teaspoon fresh)
  • 32 ounces vegetable stock
  • 4 cups kale, thick stems removed and roughly chopped
  • 1, 15.5 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 4 ounces fresh Parmesan Cheese, thinly sliced or shredded (see recipe notes)

Instructions

  1. For the bread topping: Preheat oven to 375 F. Evenly spread bread cubes onto a baking sheet. Drizzle generously with olive oil, stir to coat. Bake for 10-15 minutes, stirring halfway in between, or until the bread is golden. Set aside while you make the soup.
  2. Heat olive oil over medium heat in large stock pan or Dutch oven. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
  3. Add in carrots, celery, garlic, squash and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper; cook until vegetables have softened, about 8-10 minutes.
  4. Add parmesan rind (optional), diced tomatoes, bay leaf, rosemary and thyme. Stir to combine.
  5. Stir in vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook 20 minutes.
  6. Remove cover. Stir in kale, cook until kale has wilted (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in the beans. Discard bay leaf and cheese rinds.
  7. Turn top broiler on to 400-425 degrees. Ladle about 1-2 cups of soup in soup crocks or oven safe bowls. Top with a couple of toasted bread pieces and sliced or shredded cheese. Place in oven and broil until bread is golden and crusty and cheese is melted (about 1-2 minutes).

Notes

*You can use any type of potato you'd like-I used red skinned in this version. If you prefer the skin off, you can peel it off.

*If you don't have Parmesan rind available, either omit or use 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

*If you don't have oven-safe bowls, simply place cheese over hot soup to melt (or microwave until it's melted), and top with the toasted bread.

*I like to use Parmesan cheese to top the soup with. For a more meltier cheese try Gruyere or Swiss.

*Leftovers can be stored in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 601Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 556mgCarbohydrates: 48gFiber: 15gSugar: 19gProtein: 30g

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© Wine a Little Cook A Lot
Cuisine: Italian / Category: Soups

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