I love making hearty, delicious soups during the cold winter months for several reasons. First, they are hot, filling, and generally easy to make. Second, you can make most soups ahead of time and then warm them up when dinner-time comes.

This is a boon for me, especially when I’m teaching a late spin class at the gym and I know that if I don’t have dinner ready our menu often quickly devolves to take-out!

This Tuscan White Bean Soup comes from The Scramble*. My husband and I LOVED this recipe, and both added red pepper flakes to our soup. The boys thought the soup was palatable, and we may have bribed them with the promise of desert if they ate all of their soup.

Quick, easy, pre-prepped– this meal was a win all around once again! Thanks to The Six O’clock Scramble and their AWESOME team who nail the dinner-time menu again and again!

XX, Megan

Ingredients

3 – 4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion (sweet onion such as Vidalia or Walla Walla), chopped
2 tsp. minced garlic, (about 4 cloves)
29 – 30 oz. canned cannellini or white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz. reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
2 Tbsp. sherry, or 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
10 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped, or 1/2 tsp. dried

Sides: Sourdough Bread, and Fresh Fruit Salad

Directions

In a large stockpot, heat 2 Tbsp. oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook. Stir occasionally, until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the beans and broth. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer it for 3 – 5 minutes until you are ready to puree it.

Add the basil (reserving some for garnish if desired). Puree it with a hand (immersion) blender, if you have one. If not, remove it in batches and puree it in a standing blender, and return it to the pot. Simmer the soup for about 5 more minutes. Stir in the sherry or vinegar.

Ladle the soup into bowls and top it with the basil, croutons and Parmesan cheese (optional). Alternatively, refrigerate the soup and store the croutons in a sealed bag for up to 2 days.

*The Scramble is a meal planning service to which you can subscribe here. For a fantastic price you will receive 8 weekly meals which means 8 recipes (main course plus a side dish), complete grocery list, the ability to tweak the number of people you are making for, and full nutrition facts.

PLUS tips as to how best to PREP your meal beforehand, add a punch of FLAVOR, and how to SLOW COOK almost every recipe if you’re especially slammed that night. This wonderful service really does live up to it’s name. You can come home at 6 p.m. and be sitting down to a DELICIOUS, HEALTHY, HOME COOKED meal by 6:30 p.m. most nights.