Ingredients
- Pasta & Bean Soup
- By EatingWell.com
- 1 Comment Share
- Using basic canned goods and a few other staples, you can make this comforting soup in just minutes. The trick to achieving a full-bodied homemade flavor from canned chicken broth is to freshen it up with a handful of herbs, some garlic cloves and crushed
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Ready in: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings, 1 cup each
- Ease of Prep: Easy
- Recipe Ingredients
- 4 14-ounce cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 6 cloves garlic , crushed and peeled
- 4 4-inch sprigs fresh rosemary or 1 tablespoon dried
- 1/8-1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 15-1/2-ounce or 19-ounce can cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed, divided
- 1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup medium pasta shells or orecchiette
- 2 cups individually quick-frozen spinach (6 ounces) (see Ingredient note)
- 6 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil (optional)
- 6 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Recipe Directions
- Combine broth, garlic, rosemary and crushed red pepper in a 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven or soup pot; bring to a simmer. Partially cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes to intensify flavor. Meanwhile, mash 1 cup beans in a small bowl.
- Scoop garlic cloves and rosemary from the broth with a slotted spoon (or pass the soup through a strainer and return to the pot). Add mashed and whole beans to the broth, along with tomatoes; return to a simmer. Stir in pasta, cover and cook over medium h
- Stir in spinach, cover and cook just until the spinach has thawed, 2 to 3 minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each serving with a drizzle of oil, if desired, and a sprinkling of Parmesan. Variation: Substitute chickpeas (garbanzo beans) for the
- Ingredient Note: Individually quick-frozen (IQF) spinach is sold in convenient plastic bags. If you have a 10-ounce box of spinach on hand, use just over half of it and cook according to package directions before adding to the soup in Step 3.