
Transform Your Winter Nights With This Creamy Tuscan Bean Soup
Here in Kentucky and Indiana, the weather outside has been frightful in the early part of 2025. We had two winter storms in a week and the perfect anecdote to that is a hearty bowl of soup. Merritt Bates-Thomas of Instagram's Kitchen Transition has crafted a recipe for Tuscan Bean Soup that'll warm up your insides while Mother Nature is wreaking havoc outside.
Here's how to make it!
CREAMY TUSCAN BEAN SOUP
1 medium onion, chopped
2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
4 cups vegetable broth or stock
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 cups baby spinach, chopped
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 small Parmesan rind (optional)
Dash of salt (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Heat olive oil in a medium sized soup pot over medium heat. Add onions & garlic, sautéing until fragrant (about 2 to 3 minutes). Add carrots & celery and sauté for an additional 3 to 5 minutes until onions begin to soften and become translucent. Add Italian seasoning and stir to evenly coat vegetables. Add beans, tomato sauce, and broth to the mixture and stir together. Bring mixture to a boil and reduce heat to low. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and add the rind. Cover the pot to cook an additional 30 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until it wilts.

Merritt says the total prep and cook time is under an hour. I sampled the soup and it's delicious. Note- Merritt did not use the optional dash of salt. If salt's your thing, go for it. But, it doesn't need it. The soup is incredibly aromatic and tasty without it.
If you'd like more recipes from Merritt, you can catch her on What's Cookin'?. The popular cooking segment airs with Merritt the second Monday of every month at 8:10am on The Country Station, 92.5 WBKR.
Merritt also has recipes in the upcoming February issue of Kentucky Monthly magazine. She also shares a recipe monthly in The Hendersonian and The-Hendersonian.com.
If you're interested in attending one of Merritt's cooking classes, she's teaming up with Joe Bird (from WEHT's Eyewitness News) for a February 1st cooking class at Capers Emporium in New Harmony, Indiana.
The class will take place from 3pm to 5pm. If you're interested in attending, you can register by calling Caper's at 812-682-6112.
LOOK: Here's the signature side dish from each state
Gallery Credit: Stacker
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