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§03 · Dinner · white-bean-broccoli-soup

Revised Aug 2026 · 2 revisions

White Bean & Broccoli Soup

Half the pot blended for body, half left chunky, then lemon off the heat lifts the whole green bowl. On the table in under half an hour.

Illustration of White Bean & Broccoli Soup
Hands-on 12 min Total 25 min Serves4 Ingredients11 Cost / Serv.$1.22 Calories254 Contains Soy StatusStarter pick
Servings
4 servings
×1

Ingredients

Everything here is already in your pantry.

Ran low on something?

What swaps in
White Beans
Great northern beans interchangeable in practiceNavy beans smaller and softer, break down faster
Soy Milk
Fortified soy milk same milk with added calcium, D and B12 — the trade is a longer ingredient listDairy milk 1:1; the closest match for protein and bodyOat milk creamier and sweeter, about a third the proteinAlmond milk thinner, with almost no protein
Frozen Broccoli
Fresh florets 1:1 by weight; roasts better
Frozen Spinach
Fresh spinach roughly 4:1 by volume; a 1 lb bag wilts down to a 10 oz blockFrozen kale chewier, needs longer
Red Onion
Yellow onion milder cooked, none of the anthocyaninsWhite onion sharper raw, none of the anthocyaninsShallots sweeter and finer; about 3 small per onion
Garlic
Fresh cloves 1 tsp jarred = 1 clove
Better Than Bouillon
Any vegetable bouillon paste match to 1 tsp per cup of waterVegetable bouillon cubes usually 1 cube per 2 cupsVegetable bouillon powder check the jar; concentrations varyBoxed vegetable broth use in place of the water
Nutritional Yeast
Grated parmesan similar savory depth, saltier; none of the fortified B12, which is most of why this item is here
Bottled Lemon Juice
Fresh lemons 1 lemon ≈ 3 tbsp; brighter, but keeps days rather than months
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Butter 1:1 for cooking; browns at a lower temperature, and it sets solid once coldRefined olive oil higher smoke point, less flavorAvocado oil neutral, very high smoke point

No close substitute for Black Pepper.

What you'll need

Method

  1. Heat the 1 tbsp14 g olive oil in a pot. Cook the 1110 g diced onion until soft, then add the 3 tsp15 g garlic for 30 seconds.
  2. Add the 2 cans (15 oz)506 g white beans, drained and rinsed, 3 cups264 g frozen broccoli, 1 cup85 g frozen spinach, and the 1 tbsp17 g bouillon dissolved in 4 cups water. Simmer 15 minutes, until everything is very soft.
  3. Blend about half the pot (immersion blender, or carefully in a countertop blender) and stir it back in — this is what makes it creamy.
  4. Off the heat, stir in the ½ cup122 g soy milk, the 3 tbsp15 g nutritional yeast for a cheesy, savory backbone, and the 1 tbsp15 g lemon juice to brighten it — the milk goes in off the heat so it doesn’t split against the lemon. Finish with black pepper, to taste.

Kids: blend it fully smooth and go easy on the lemon — the broccoli disappears into a mild, cheesy green soup.

Dietary

  • Gluten free
  • Tree nut free
  • Peanut free
  • Soy contains
  • Sesame free

Nutrition

Per serving · makes 4
Calories254Protein16gCarbs39gFiber9.8gSugars3.4gFat4.7gSaturated Fat0.71gSodium835mg
Vitamins & minerals
Iron5.3mgCalcium168mgPotassium1083mgMagnesium98mgZinc1.9mgFolate293µgVitamin C64mgVitamin B125.6µgOmega-3 (ALA)0.02g
Estimated from pantry data, excluding Black Pepper (to taste).
Change log · 2 revisions
  1. 12 Aug 2026

    FoundBody came entirely from blending half the pot. That works, but it means the only route to a silkier bowl was blending more of it, which costs the chunky half that makes it interesting.

    ChangedHalf a cup of soy milk stirred in off the heat, alongside the nooch and lemon, so the bowl gets silkier without blending away its texture. It goes in off the heat deliberately — added to a boiling acidic pot it would split.

  2. 14 Jul 2026

    FoundThe top white bean soups partly blend for body — which ours already did — and finish off the heat with lemon and a handful of greens ours lacked.

    ChangedAdded a lemon squeeze off the heat and stirred a cup of spinach into the simmer, lifting the greens and brightness in an already-green, blend-half soup.

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Cooked it and something was off — too bland, too thick, timing wrong?

MVP field manual · white-bean-broccoli-soup