Sicilian Creamy White Bean Soup (The Best Soup You’ll Ever Make!)
Buckle up, buttercup, because you’re about to make the best soup of your life! My Sicilian Creamy White Bean Soup is made with Italian sausage, cannellini beans, sweet carrots, cherry tomatoes, Chardonnay, Pecorino Romano, and fresh basil, all simmered together in the most unbelievably flavorful, creamy broth. And here’s the best part: there’s no heavy cream! I’ve had soups reach 20 million views, including my lasagna soup, Sicilian sausage and ditalini soup, mini meatball soup, and pasta fagioli, and I’m telling you right now, this one might be better than all of them. I’m not kidding. I developed what I believe is the perfect combination of flavors, and if you follow this recipe to a T, you’re going to understand exactly why I’m freaking out!
Honestly, I should have called this Marry Me Soup. Forget every other Marry Me recipe you’ve seen. You want to get married? Make this soup! Get your husband, get your family, get everybody around the table, because this soup is unbelievable. And don’t forget the crusty bread, because you’re going to want to soak up every last drop.
Why You’ll Love This Sicilian Creamy White Bean Soup
- Unbelievably flavorful: Italian sausage, Chardonnay, tomato paste, dried basil, and Pecorino Romano create the most delicious combination.
- Creamy without heavy cream: Partially mashing the cannellini beans gives this soup a beautiful, rich, rustic consistency.
- The perfect combination of textures: You get creamy mashed beans, whole cannellini beans, tender vegetables, and delicious Italian sausage in every bite.
- One pot: Everything comes together in your favorite soup pot!
- Even better with crusty bread: Trust me, you’re going to want something to dip into this soup.
Click Here for my pot!
This is my go to Dutch Oven Cast Iron Pot I use for ALL of my soup recipes!^^^^
Drizzle in good-quality extra virgin olive oil (I love La Espanola)! Add your carrots first. I like to slice them into little coins. Season with salt and cracked black pepper and sauté.
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Add your diced sweet onion, celery, and minced garlic directly to the pot with the carrots.
Now add dried basil and ground mustard powder. Sauté everything together until the vegetables are fragrant and the onions are translucent.
Add bulk Italian sausage directly to the pot with the vegetables. Using a wooden spoon, break up the sausage into smaller pieces as it cooks.
Brown tomato paste and stir it into the sausage and vegetables.
Sprinkle flour evenly over the mixture. Stir everything together until the flour is fully incorporated.
Drain the cannellini beans and add it directly to the pot.
Now grab your old-school potato masher! Mash the beans right into the sausage and vegetable mixture.
Here’s the trick: You are NOT trying to pulverize these beans. I want some beans mashed, some chunky, and some broken down just enough to create that beautiful, rustic texture.
Pour in the Chardonnay and stir everything together. Let the wine cook with the sausage, beans, and vegetables. Melissa Jo’s Wine Tip: Because I cook so often, I always keep those little mini bottles of Chardonnay in my pantry. They’re so convenient when you want to add a little wine to a recipe.
Grab your cherry tomatoes, I like using the Mutti Cherry Tomatoes!
Using your potato masher again, gently press down on some of the tomatoes to burst them. You don’t want to completely pulverize them. Just break some open so their juices mix into the soup.
Take low-sodium chicken stock and pour a little of it into the empty tomato can. Swirl it around to get every last bit of those delicious tomatoes and their juices, then pour that into your soup. Add the remaining chicken stock.
Now add your second can of cannellini beans, drained. Leave these beans whole! We already mashed the first can to give our soup that beautiful creamy body. The second can adds texture.
Add 1 bay leaf and another little sprinkle of salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Stir everything together and bring the soup to a boil.
Once the soup comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low so it’s at a very gentle simmer. Place the lid on the pot, leaving it slightly ajar.
Once your soup has simmered and developed that gorgeous consistency, stir in grated Pecorino Romano cheese. Add your fresh basil, roughly torn or chopped.
I also tried adding a little Calabrian chili paste from Carbone, and it was absolutely delicious. A little chili crisp is fantastic, too.
Serve with plenty of crusty bread. Dip that bread right into the soup, take a bite, and tell me this isn’t one of the best soups you’ve ever had!
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Click here for my top I am wearing size small! Click here for my Large Checkered Cutting Board I love!
More Delicious Soup Recipes!
Melissa’s Tips!
- Follow my seasoning measurements exactly. I worked on developing this soup until I had the perfect combination of flavors. Use 1 teaspoon of dried basil and ½ teaspoon of ground mustard powder. The only seasonings you need to adjust to your personal taste are salt and pepper.
- Season with salt and pepper in layers. Don’t wait until the end to season your soup. Add a little to the carrots, another little sprinkle with the onions, celery, and garlic, and more after adding the stock. Then taste again after the Pecorino Romano and fresh basil go in.
- Don’t skip mashing the first can of beans. This is one of the most important steps! Mashing the beans directly into the sausage and vegetables creates a naturally creamy soup without using heavy cream.
- Keep the second can of beans whole. This gives you the perfect balance of creamy texture and hearty whole beans.
- Use good-quality ingredients. I love La Española extra virgin olive oil, Mutti cherry tomatoes, and good Pecorino Romano. When a recipe is this simple, good ingredients make a difference.
- Don’t skip the Chardonnay. The wine adds another layer of flavor that works beautifully with the Italian sausage, tomatoes, and beans.
- Simmer gently. Once the soup reaches a boil, lower the heat and let everything cook together gently. This gives the flavors time to develop while the soup naturally thickens.
🤔 Common Questions
You can replace the Chardonnay with additional low-sodium chicken stock if you prefer not to cook with wine. The flavor will be slightly different, but the soup will still be delicious.
Use your favorite bulk Italian sausage. Sweet or mild Italian sausage is a great choice, while hot Italian sausage will give the soup a little extra kick.
No! That’s one of my favorite things about this recipe. We mash the first can of cannellini beans directly into the soup. Along with the flour and slow simmer, this gives the broth a naturally creamy consistency without adding heavy cream.
Sicilian Creamy White Bean Soup (The Best Soup You’ll Ever Make!)
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add sliced carrots, season with salt and pepper, and sauté 5–7 minutes.
- Add onion, celery, garlic, dried basil, ground mustard, and more salt and pepper. Sauté another 5–7 minutes until fragrant and slightly golden.
- Add Italian sausage, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon. Cook until browned and cooked through.
- Stir in tomato paste and cook for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle in flour and stir until incorporated.
- Add the first drained and rinsed can of cannellini beans. Use a potato masher to partially mash the beans directly into the pot, leaving a rustic, chunky texture.
- Pour in Chardonnay and cook for 3–4 minutes.
- Add Mutti cherry tomatoes and gently burst some with the potato masher.
- Pour a little chicken stock into the empty tomato can, swirl, and add to the pot. Pour in the remaining stock.
- Add the second drained and rinsed can of cannellini beans, leaving them whole. Add bay leaf and more salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil, reduce to a gentle simmer, and cover with the lid slightly ajar. Simmer 20–30 minutes.
- Stir in Pecorino Romano and fresh basil. Simmer another 5–10 minutes.
- Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Remove bay leaf. Serve with extra Pecorino, olive oil, and crusty bread.
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Nutrition
Notes
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Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days.
This soup freezes well because its creamy consistency comes from cannellini beans rather than heavy cream. Let it cool completely, transfer to freezer-safe containers, and freeze for up to 3 months for best quality. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat gently. The beans may soften a little after freezing.
