Ribollita Soup–a Tuscan-inspired soup with beans, kale, tomatoes, and toasted bread, easily made in the Instant Pot for quick preparation or the slow cooker for a hands-off meal.
Ribollita Soup
“Ribollita” is an Italian word that means “reboiled.” It originates from Tuscany and was traditionally made by reheating leftover vegetable soup and adding stale bread to thicken it. It’s a classic example of nothing going to waste and humble ingredients being transformed into something filling and delicious.
My version is made in the Instant Pot or the slow cooker. I blended half of the beans to create a somewhat creamy consistency. Without meat it’s surprisingly filling. I also loved this one for lunch the next day.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Olive oil–or vegetable, canola
- Yellow onion
- Celery
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon chicken base
- Carrot
- Garlic cloves
- Black pepper
- Kosher salt
- Red pepper flakes
- Dried thyme
- Bay leaf
- Crushed tomatoes
- Kale–I buy a big bag of chopped kale and put it in my freezer. It comes in handy for soups.
- Toasted bread
- Great northern beans–or white cannellini beans
- Parmesan cheese
Steps
Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the oil and swirl around. Add in the onion and celery and saute for 4 minutes.
Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
Add in the carrot, garlic, pepper, salt, red pepper, thyme, bay leaf, tomatoes and kale.
Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the SOUP button to 4 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
Discard the bay leaf. Add a cup of the soup into a blender and add half of the beans into the blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into the Instant Pot.
Add the remaining beans into pot along with the bread. Turn Instant Pot to saute setting (less) and simmer for 5 minutes.
Turn off Instant Pot. Stir in the parmesan cheese.
Ladle into bowls and serve.
Notes/Tips
- Serve this soup alongside a green salad, some crusty bread for extra dipping or a grilled cheese sandwich.
- Want to make the soup heartier? Try adding in a cup of chopped rotisserie chicken or some slices of smoked sausage or cubed ham (lessen the amount of salt if you add in smoked sausage or ham).
- To make this gluten free leave out the bread or use a gluten free bread.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with kale are Kale Soup and Two Thumbs Up Casserole.
- Recipe adapted from Ribollita on Three Hungry Boys.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Ribollita Soup
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
A Tuscan-inspired soup with beans, kale, tomatoes, and toasted bread, easily made in the Instant Pot for quick preparation or the slow cooker for a hands-off meal.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 rib of celery, diced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- Dash of red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 (15 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups chopped kale
- 1 slice of toasted bread, cut into cubes
- 1 (15.5 oz) can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the oil and swirl around. Add in the onion and celery and saute for 4 minutes.
- Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Add in the carrot, garlic, pepper, salt, red pepper, thyme, bay leaf, tomatoes and kale.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the SOUP button to 4 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Discard the bay leaf. Add a cup of the soup into a blender and add half of the beans into the blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into the Instant Pot.
- Add the remaining beans into pot along with the bread. Turn Instant Pot to saute setting (less) and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Turn off Instant Pot. Stir in the parmesan cheese. Ladle into bowls and serve.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- In a skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil. Sauté the onion and celery for about 4 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Transfer the onion, celery, and garlic mixture to the slow cooker. Add the chicken broth, carrot, black pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, thyme, bay leaf, crushed tomatoes, and kale.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours, until the vegetables are tender.
- Before serving, remove the bay leaf. Scoop out 1 cup of the soup along with half of the beans and blend until smooth. Pour the blended mixture back into the slow cooker to thicken the soup.
- Stir in the remaining beans and toasted bread cubes. Let the soup sit for 5-10 minutes to allow the bread to soften.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese and ladle into bowls.
- Category: Soup
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
More tuscan inspired recipes…
Instant Pot Creamy Tuscan Chicken
Creamy chicken and sauce with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, Parmesan cheese and garlic.
Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Curly pasta is enveloped in a creamy parmesan, basil and cream cheese sauce with bites of sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and tender chunks of chicken.
Instant Pot Tuscan Gnocchi
Pillowy bites of gnocchi with a cream cheese sauce, tomatoes, spinach and a bread crumb topping.
Instant Pot Tuscan Parmesan Chicken
A creamy, tomato, garlic and parmesan sauce served over tender pieces of chicken. Make it in the pressure cooker or the slow cooker.
Instant Pot Tuscan Tortellini Soup
Instant Pot Tuscan Tortellini Soup is a creamy tomato based soup with white beans, tortellini, spinach and tender bites of chicken. Take one bite of this soup and you’ll quickly agree that this soup rocks the house.
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
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