This Italian classic is so healthy and comforting. Escarole and Beans (aka Scarola e Fagioli) is delicious paired with crusty bread or even pasta.
Ingredient Notes
Escarole- This dish certainly is not Escarole and Beans (Scarola e Fagioli) without the escarole, however, other green leafy vegetables could be swapped out, such as kale, swiss chard or spinach.
Garlic- A necessity in my book, but you could use onion in addition to or instead of garlic.
Beans- I generally use Cannellini Beans or Great Northern White Beans.
Bread- Any of your favorite, crusty breads should work. For that extra crisp texture on the outside of the bread, warm it in a 350F oven before serving.
Recipe Steps
This recipe could not be simpler. First, sauté garlic in olive oil. Add red pepper flakes, if you like. Then add the escarole and beans, and stir to combine.
Pour in your broth of choice and bring the soup to a simmer. Cook until the escarole is tender. Taste for seasoning and serve with bread.
Recipe Tips and FAQs
- If you can’t find escarole, substitute with kale, spinach or even swiss chard.
- Poach mini meatballs in the broth for added protein.
- Try this soup with onion instead of garlic for a slightly different take.
Escarole and bean soup can be frozen in tightly sealed, quart containers for up to 3 months.
Escarole and beans can be served as an appetizer or main course alongside bread for dunking. To make this dish more filling, you can boil pasta directly in the soup, such as ditalini. It’s delicious topped with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and parmesan cheese.
Related Recipes
- Italian Lentil Soup
- Creamy Green Pea Soup with Pancetta and Croutons
- Italian Broccoli Pasta
- Thai Red Curry Lentil Soup
- La Ribollita
- Ramp Pasta
- Pasta with Peas and Pancetta
- Pasta with Ricotta and Peas
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Escarole and Beans (Scarola e Fagioli)
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This Italian classic is so healthy and comforting. Escarole and Beans (aka Scarola e Fagioli) is delicious paired with crusty bread or even pasta.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed with press
- 1–2 pinches hot red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 head escarole, cleaned, trimmed, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1, 15oz can cannellini beans
- 6 cups (or as desired) chicken broth, vegetable broth or water
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Crusty bread, for serving
- Grated parmigiano reggiano (parmesan cheese), for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Sauté garlic. Add oil, garlic and red pepper to a large soup pot. Turn heat to medium. Allow garlic to sizzle for about 30-60 seconds.
- Add escarole. Add escarole to the pot. Sauté 1-2 minutes.
- Add beans and broth. Stir in beans and broth. Simmer 15-20 minutes or until escarole is tender.
- Serve. Serve soup with crusty bread for dunking. Top with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkling of grated parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
Substitute escarole for kale, spinach or Swiss chard, if desired.
Use Great Northern White beans or other white beans in place of cannellini beans, if desired.
Instead of canned beans, you can use jarred beans with their liquid, or of course, dried beans. Soak and cook the dried beans in advance to making the soup.
Add onion or use onion in place of garlic for a different variation.
If desired, add pasta. Sometimes I add 1 cup of dried ditalini pasta directly to the soup a few minutes before the escarole is fully cooked.
Use less broth if you prefer a thicker version of the soup.
To crisp up the bread for serving, preheat oven to 350F. Add entire loaf (make sure any exposed, cut ends of bread are covered with foil) directly onto rack of oven. Heat for 5-8 minutes, or until crispy on the outside.
Freeze in sealed quart containers for up to 3 months.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Saute, Boil
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ of soup
- Calories: 200
- Sugar: 3
- Sodium: 900mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 21g
- Fiber: 9g
- Protein: 12g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
This is by far the best greens and beans recipe we have tried! Thank you so much for sharing! It is so flavorful. My husband and I couldn’t believe the difference in recipes. We absolutely love this recipe. It’s delicious!!!
Thank you so much, Shannon! You have no idea how happy that makes me 🙂
Delicious! And so easy. Used less broth as suggested and added some leftover chopped up ziti. Will definitely be making again. Thanks for sharing!
That’s great!! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
This is a family favorite for us. So simple and delicious! I crave this once a week in the winter.
I agree 🙂
One of my very favorite comfort foods. In fact, I once cried in a North Carolina supermarket because there was no escarole. We moved back to Pennsylvania six months later.
I LOVE this story!! We live in So Fla and I’ve been making Escarole e Fagiole since my Italian grandmother taught me 50 years ago! We’re moving back to PA this year also. Not because of the lack of escarole, rather because of, well, Florida, haha! I add ditalini cooked pasta to each bowl, but not in the pot itself to avoid “swelling”.
What a funny coincidence between you and Angela! My parents might move to Florida from PA next year, so I should probably warn them that there won’t be any escarole lol.