Hearty Chicken and White Bean Soup

You’re going to love this comforting Chicken and White Bean Soup. It’s flavorful, quick, and super easy. Make a batch of this protein and nutrient-packed soup once to enjoy all week! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and ready in 40 minutes.

This delicious soup is made with a bright blend of vegetables, creamy white beans, and chicken.

A soup recipe is not often simple enough to make after work, but this chicken soup can be prepared on a weeknight.

I love making a big batch on Sundays to have it for lunch or dinner throughout the week. There’s nothing better than quickly warming up a bowl of homemade chicken and bean soup on a cold day!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s delicious! This hearty soup is sweet with a bit of spicy and savory notes.
• This is an easy low glycemic soup to throw together in under 40 minutes.
• It’s perfect for lunch or dinner with a light salad and slice of crusty bread.
• You can use leftover chicken to save time.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Ready to warm up with a bowl of chicken and white bean soup? Here’s what you’ll need:

• Olive Oil: You’ll need olive oil to coat the bottom of the pot to prevent sticking. You can also use avocado oil or another high-heat cooking oil.
• Onion & Carrot: The first layer of flavor comes from lightly caramelized onions and carrots. If you think cooking carrots and onions makes your house smell amazing, wait until you add the rest of the ingredients.
• Zucchini: As it cooks, it breaks down a bit, thickening the broth.
• Red & Green Bell Pepper: Add bell pepper for pops of color and sweet flavor. Feel free to use orange and yellow bell pepper as well.
• Chicken Stock: To cut back on the salt, use low-sodium chicken stock.
• Canned Diced Tomatoes: Use low-sodium or no-salt-added canned tomatoes.
• Skinless, Boneless Chicken Thighs: See RECIPE TIPS for how to cook the chicken thighs. If you have any leftover breast or rotisserie chicken, that works too.
• Canned White Kidney Beans: You’ll most likely see those labeled as “cannellini beans.” They’re soft, sweet, and creamy. You can also use navy beans, great northern beans, or butter beans.
• Paprika, Garlic & Cayenne: This trio of spices brings sweet and smokey heat to the soup. Use more or less to your liking.
• Salt: Add to taste. Salt enhances the natural flavors.
• Frozen Green Peas: I love the bursts of sweet and earthy flavor green peas add to each bite.

How To Make Chicken and White Bean Soup

1. Saute the aromatics: In a large soup pot, over medium heat, heat the olive oil until hot but not smoking. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally until soft and translucent (2 to 4 minutes). Add the carrot and cook until soft, and the carrot and onion begin to brown and caramelize (about 4 minutes).
2. Add the veggies: Add the zucchini and bell peppers to the pot. Stir and cook until they begin to soften (about 2 to 3 minutes).
3. Simmer the ingredients together: Next, add the chicken stock, diced tomatoes, shredded chicken, beans, spices, and salt. Stir everything together and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and simmer for 20 more minutes.
4. Finish and serve: Last but not least, add the green peas and simmer for an additional minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Recipe Tips

This is an excellent recipe for repurposing cooked chicken. I used cooked chicken thighs. You can also use chopped chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken.

If you do not have cooked chicken prepared, that’s okay. You can cook it while chopping the veggies. To quickly cook chicken, submerge it in a pot of boiling water or broth and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until cooked. Let cool for a bit before chopping.

Store-bought broth and canned foods are typically high in sodium. To reduce the sodium content as much as possible, use low sodium stock or homemade, fresh-diced tomatoes and white beans cooked from dried.

Recipe Variations

• Bacon – A reader mentioned adding bacon for the extra calories, which sounds insanely good. Bowls of chicken and bean soup garnished with crispy chopped bacon? YUM!
• Corn – Add it along with the frozen peas.
• Ground Sausage – Brown your ground sausage in the pot first and then set it aside while you follow along with the recipe. Add the sausage back to the pot with the broth, etc., and simmer together.
• Kale/Spinach – Stir in a couple of handfuls of chopped kale or spinach leaves when adding the green peas at the end.
• Lemon Juice/Lemon Zest – Add a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkle of lemon zest to the pot before serving.
• Parmesan – Ladle your soup into bowls and finish with freshly grated parmesan or your favorite plant-based parmesan alternative.
• Pasta – If you’d like to add pasta, I recommend cooking it separately and adding it to individual servings. Otherwise, the pasta will absorb the broth and turn to mush.
• Fresh Herbs – Add chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, dill, cilantro, chives, etc., to the pot or sprinkle on individual servings.

Storing & Freezing

There’s no need to make dinner in a rush with a batch of chicken and white bean soup stored in your fridge. I usually cook a batch to have plenty of leftovers throughout the week.

• Storing: Let your soup cool completely to room temperature and refrigerate in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. To reheat, microwave for a few minutes or warm over medium-high heat.
• Freezing: Pour cooled soup into a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months—Thaw in the fridge before reheating.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are white beans the same as cannellini?

Cannellini beans are a type of white bean. They’re also known as fazolia beans, white kidney beans, and Italian kidney beans.

What can I substitute for white beans in soup?

White beans have a creamy and smooth texture, similar to navy beans. In addition to navy beans, you can swap red kidney beans, great northern beans, navy beans, butter beans, and garbanzo beans for white beans in soups. A variety of beans in this soup would be great!

Can you put dried beans directly in chicken and bean soup?

This recipe calls for canned beans because they are cooked before being canned. To add dried beans directly to your soup instead of canned, they need to be simmered longer, and you’ll need more liquid. That said, it’s much easier to make soup with canned beans.

Soup Swap

Have you ever participated in a soup swap?

This is a great way to incorporate various new foods and flavors into your diet.

It’s simple. You prepare big batches of your favorite soup recipes and exchange them with your friends!

It works well for groups of people with similar dietary lifestyles. How fun is that? This chicken and white bean soup and the recipes below will surely be a hit!

More Healthy Soup Recipes

• Hearty Vegetable Soup with Bulgur
• Chicken No Noodle Soup
• Barley Vegetable Soup
• Hearty Ground Turkey Soup
• Canned Black Bean Soup

Hearty Chicken and White Beans Soup

4.62 from 13 votes

This Hearty Chicken and White Bean Soup is really easy to prepare, healthy, filling and comforting. Make a big batch and you are set for the whole week.

Author: Maria Ushakova

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 40 minutes mins

Servings: 6 portions

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Equipment

• Cutting Board
• Kitchen Knife

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark.

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 Tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 1 onion (chopped)
• ▢ 1 medium carrot (grated)
• ▢ 1 zucchini (chopped)
• ▢ 1 red bell pepper (julienned)
• ▢ 1 yellow bell pepper (julienned)
• ▢ 4 cups chicken broth
• ▢ 1 can (796 ml/28 oz) diced tomatoes (low sodium or no salt added)
• ▢ 4 skinless boneless skinless chicken thighs (cooked and cut into small pieces. See the notes.)
• ▢ 1 can (19 oz/540 ml) white kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
• ▢ ½ Tbsp red paprika
• ▢ ½ Tbsp garlic powder
• ▢ ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ▢ salt to taste
• ▢ 2 cups frozen green peas

Instructions

• In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is translucent for about 2 to 4 minutes. Add the carrot and cook until the vegetables start to caramelize, for about 4 more minutes.
  2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 onion, 1 medium carrot
• Add the zucchini and red and yellow bell pepper. Stir and saute the vegetables until they start to soften for about 2 to 3 minutes.
  1 zucchini, 1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper
• Add the chicken stock, diced tomatoes, chicken, beans, red paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 20 more minutes.
  4 cups chicken broth, 1 can (796 ml/28 oz) diced tomatoes, 4 skinless boneless skinless chicken thighs, 1 can (19 oz/540 ml) white kidney beans, ½ Tbsp red paprika, ½ Tbsp garlic powder, ½ tsp cayenne pepper, salt to taste
• Add the green peas. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 more minute.
  2 cups frozen green peas

Recipe Notes

• If you don't have ready-cooked chicken, cook raw chicken meat in water or chicken broth. It takes about 15 minutes. You can cook it while prepping the veggies.

Nutrition Facts

Hearty Chicken and White Beans Soup

Serving Size

 

1 /6 of recipe

Amount per Serving

Calories

291.2

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

8.7

g

13

%

Saturated Fat

 

1.6

g

10

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

7.1

g

Cholesterol

 

61.4

mg

20

%

Sodium

 

635.4

mg

28

%

Carbohydrates

 

31.5

g

11

%

Fiber

 

8.7

g

36

%

Sugar

 

10.2

g

11

%

Protein

 

23.1

g

46

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

The nutrition facts are an estimate. Variations in ingredient brands, portion sizes, or substitutions can affect the final nutritional values. For the most accurate information, please use a nutrition calculator or consult with a healthcare provider. Always ensure that each of the ingredients is allowed in your diet.

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

Meet Maria

Maria Ushakova is a holistic nutritionist and food blogger. She focuses on developing easy recipes using real food ingredients. She believes that healthy food is delicious and anyone can learn how to cook it. Maria’s work has appeared on numerous popular websites as well as in print.