This easy Fasolada (Greek White Bean Soup) is hearty, comforting and packed with simple Mediterranean flavors. White beans are simmered with onion, carrots, celery, tomato paste and herbs until the broth is rich and flavorful, then finished with lemon, parsley and a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Enjoy it on its own for lunch, as a starter with one of my Mediterranean Main Dishes, with some lovely Homemade Same-Day Focaccia or crusty bread.
Fasolada: Recipe at a Glance
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
60 mins
Servings
4 People
Calories*
291 kcal
Difficulty
Easy
Main Ingredients
Onion, carrot, celery, garlic, tomato paste, broth, canned white beans, oregano, bay leaf and lemon.
Technique
Sautéing vegetables, building a soup base, partially blending the beans and seasoning the soup.
*Calories are estimated
Table of Contents
Why My Recipe Works
- Easy to make: Using canned white beans means there’s no soaking or hours of cooking involved. Everything comes together in one pot with simple pantry ingredients.
- Perfect for cooler weather: This hearty Greek white bean soup is exactly the kind of cozy, nourishing meal I want on a crisp fall or cold winter day.
- Tested and Reliable: Groceries can be expensive! All my Mediterranean Soup Recipes are tested by me, my team or recipe testers before posting.
Ingredients
This is a very straightforward and simple recipe to make. There’s nothing here that’s overly fancy or expensive. I can almost guarantee you have these ingredients in your pantry and fridge right now. Here is what you will need:
- Tomato paste: Adds concentrated tomato flavor, color and richness without turning this into a heavily tomato-based soup. This isn’t meant to be a thick, puréed soup. The tomato paste flavors the broth, while partially blending the beans gives it just enough body. But if you’re looking for more of a thick soup, try my Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup.
- White Beans: Great Northern, white kidney, navy beans, butter beans or Cannellini beans all work well here. You could even use chickpeas. Canned beans make my version especially quick and convenient. The beans make this soup hearty and filling, but not heavy. Try my Tuscan White Bean and Kale Soup and Mediterranean White Chicken Chili, too, if you are a fan of beans.
- Vegetable Broth: I am using vegetable broth here, but you can totally use chicken broth if that’s what you prefer or what you have on hand. You can even use my Middle Eastern Style Chicken Broth.
- Fresh Herbs: I am using fresh parsley but you can totally use fresh dill here too.
Refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for a full list of ingredients and quantities.
How to Make this Fasolada Recipe
Step 1. Sauté the Vegetables. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion, carrots, celery stalks, salt and black pepper. Cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened but not browned. Stir in the minced garlic cloves and cook for another minute.
Step 2. Build the Flavor. Add the tomato paste and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Don’t rush this part. Cooking the tomato paste until it darkens slightly helps add depth to the soup. Stir in the oregano and bay leaves, along with the crushed red pepper flakes if you’re using them.
Step 3. Simmer. Add the drained and rinsed white beans along with the vegetable broth. Bring everything to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes. This gives the beans time to absorb all those flavors while the broth reduces slightly.
Step 4. Blend Lightly. Remove the bay leaves. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup for just a few seconds. Alternatively, mash about 1-2 cups of the beans against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. You aren’t trying to purée the soup. The goal is simply to break down enough beans to give the broth some body while leaving plenty of whole beans intact. If your soup becomes too thick, stir in some additional vegetable broth.
Step 5. Season and Serve. Taste the soup and adjust the salt and pepper as needed. Ladle the fasolada into bowls and finish each serving with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and chopped fresh parsley. Serve with additional lemon wedges at the table and optional grated Parmesan.
Pairing and Menu Ideas
This Greek bean soup is hearty enough to serve as a meal all on its own, especially with some good crusty bread for dipping into that flavorful broth.
For a more substantial Greek-style spread, serve it with a Traditional Greek Salad Recipe (Horiatiki Salata) and Citrus and Herb Marinated Feta and Olives.
Serve it as a starter before a more substantial Greek meal that includes Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes, Greek Chicken Souvlaki Skewers or keep it vegetarian with my Greek Spinach Pie (Spanakopita with Phyllo Dough).
Expert Tips
- Take your time with the aromatics. Onion, carrot and celery provide much of the flavor in such a simple soup, so give them 6-8 minutes to soften. Starting fasolada by sautéing the vegetables in olive oil also helps create a richer, more concentrated base.
- Cook the tomato paste. Adding tomato paste directly to the broth works, but frying it briefly with the vegetables concentrates its flavor and takes away some of its raw acidity.
- Keep extra broth nearby. Different brands and varieties of canned beans can behave a little differently. The soup also continues to thicken as it sits, so don’t be afraid to add another splash of broth until you get the consistency you want.
- Aim for hearty, not stodgy. Fasolada should have plenty of beans in every spoonful, but I still want it to feel like soup. If your spoon can practically stand upright in the pot, add some more broth.
- Don’t skip the lemon. The soup is rich and earthy, so a squeeze of lemon wakes everything up. Lemon and parsley are especially effective finishing ingredients for canned-bean fasolada. More lemony soups: One-Pot Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup and Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup.
- Make it your own. Fasolada is a humble home-style dish, and while it’s the national dish of Greece, there are plenty of variations. Some versions use dried beans, more tomato or different seasonings. This version intentionally uses canned beans for a quicker soup recipe that still delivers plenty of flavor.
- Optional garnish: crumbled feta cheese, a handful of spinach, sliced bell peppers and/or diced red onion.
Fasolada Recipe FAQs
Absolutely. In fact, this is an excellent make-ahead soup because the flavors continue to meld as it rests. Prepare the soup as directed, cool it and refrigerate it until you’re ready to serve. You may need to add a splash of vegetable broth or water when reheating because the beans will continue to absorb liquid.
Let the soup cool and transfer it to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave, adding a little broth if the soup has thickened.
Yes. Fasolada freezes quite well. Cool the soup completely, transfer it to freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat gently on the stovetop. The beans may absorb some of the broth during storage, so add a splash of vegetable broth or water as needed.
If you’re intentionally making a batch for the freezer, I recommend adding the fresh parsley, lemon and finishing drizzle of olive oil only after reheating.
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Fasolada (Greek White Bean Soup)
Ingredients
For the Soup
- 2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Carrots (diced or sliced thin)
- 2 Celery stalks (diced)
- 1 Onion (diced) – Yellow or white onion
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
- 4 Garlic cloves (minced)
- 4 tablespoon Tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Dried oregano
- 2 Bay leaves
- ¼ teaspoon Red pepper flakes – Optional
- 2 cans White beans (drained and rinsed) – Use 14 or 15 oz cans of white kidney, cannellini or great northern beans
- 4 cup Vegetable broth – You may need more, see note
For Finishing and Garnish
- Chopped parsley
- Lemon wedges
- Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
- Grated Parmesan – Optional
Instructions
- Sauté the Vegetables. Heat 2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Add 2 Carrots (diced or sliced thin), 2 Celery stalks (diced), 1 Onion (diced), 1 teaspoon Kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon Black pepper. Cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened but not browned. Stir in 4 Garlic cloves (minced) and cook for another minute.
- Build the Flavor. Add 4 tablespoon Tomato paste and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Don't rush this part. Cooking the tomato paste until it darkens slightly helps add depth to the soup. Stir in 1 teaspoon Dried oregano and 2 Bay leaves, along with ¼ teaspoon Red pepper flakes if you're using them.
- Simmer. Add 2 cans White beans (drained and rinsed) along with 4 cup Vegetable broth. Bring everything to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes. This gives the beans time to absorb all those flavors while the broth reduces slightly.
- Blend Lightly. Remove the bay leaves. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup for just a few seconds. Alternatively, mash about 1-2 cups of the beans against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. You aren't trying to purée the soup. The goal is simply to break down enough beans to give the broth some body while leaving plenty of whole beans intact. If your soup becomes too thick, stir in some additional vegetable broth.
- Season and Serve. Taste the soup and adjust the salt and pepper as needed. Ladle the fasolada into bowls and finish each serving with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and chopped fresh parsley. Serve with additional lemon wedges at the table and optional grated Parmesan.
Notes
- Tomato paste: Adds concentrated tomato flavor, color and richness without turning this into a heavily tomato-based soup. This soup should not be thick. It’s more of a tomato broth situation.
- White Beans: Great Northern, white kidney, navy beans, butter beans or Cannellini beans all work well here. You could even use chickpeas. Canned beans make my version especially quick and convenient. The beans make this soup hearty and filling, but not heavy.
- Vegetable Broth: I am using vegetable broth here, but you can totally use chicken broth if that’s what you prefer or what you have on hand.
- Take your time with the aromatics. Onion, carrot and celery provide much of the flavor in such a simple soup, so give them the full 8 minutes to soften. Starting fasolada by sautéing the vegetables in olive oil also helps create a richer, more concentrated base.
- Cook the tomato paste. Adding tomato paste directly to the broth works, but frying it briefly with the vegetables concentrates its flavor and takes away some of its raw acidity.
- Keep extra broth nearby. Different brands and varieties of canned beans can behave a little differently. The soup also continues to thicken as it sits, so don’t be afraid to add another splash of broth until you get the consistency you want.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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