White Bean Soup with Quinoa, Spinach, and Shiitakes

This white bean soup focuses on a few simple flavors. It makes great leftovers.

White Bean Soup With Quinoa, Spinach, And Shiitakes Ingredients

• 1 pound dry cannellini beans

• 1 tablespoon canola oil

• 8 shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

• 1 tablespoon canola oil

• 1 large onion, sliced into thin rings

• cup dry white wine

• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary

• cup quinoa

• 1 (10 ounce) bag washed fresh spinach, chopped

• salt and pepper to taste

How to Make White Bean Soup With Quinoa, Spinach, And Shiitakes

1. Place the cannellini beans into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 8 hours to overnight. Or, bring the beans and water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Once boiling, turn off the heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour. Drain and rinse the beans before using.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the mushrooms, and cook until they soften and begin to give up their juices, about 4 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the pot, and set aside. Heat the remaining tablespoon of canola oil in the pot, and stir in the sliced onions. Cook and stir until the onions have caramelized to a dark brown, about 15 minutes.

3. Pour in the wine and rosemary, and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the drained beans, and enough water to cover the beans by 1 inch. Return to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Stir in the cooked mushrooms and quinoa; continue cooking until the beans and the quinoa are tender, about 20 minutes more. Remove from the heat, and stir in the spinach leaves until wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

White Bean Soup With Quinoa, Spinach, And Shiitakes Nutritions

• Calories: 390.7 calories

• Carbohydrate: 62.6 g

• Cholesterol:

• Fat: 6.6 g

• Fiber: 2.9 g

• Protein: 18.4 g

• SaturatedFat: 0.5 g

• ServingSize:

• Sodium: 48.3 mg

• Sugar: 1.7 g

• TransFat:

• UnsaturatedFat:

White Bean Soup With Quinoa, Spinach, And Shiitakes Reviews

• This is not a bad jumping off point, but from the start I could see it would be a little on the bland side. I substituted chicken stock for the water (vegetable stock would work just as well if you want to keep it vegetarian)added a good sized grind of fresh pepper (I use the peppercorn mix of black, red, pink and white), a generous clove of fresh garlic, a pinch of thyme, sea salt instead of table salt for seasoning, and it was nearly perfect. Since my husband and I are not vegetarians I added a tablespoon of chopped bacon to add a little rich smoky flavor and it was great. A scant 1/4 tsp of liquid smoke would work for vegetarians. Soups are all about layers of flavors to me, and while this recipe was a good base it needed some help to get to where I wanted it to be. P.S. this is my first experiment with quinoa, and I will definitely be using it again

• I found the recipe as written a little bland. I used half broth and half water, and I would definitely substitute broth for the full amount of water next time. I would probably add some garlic at the beginning as well.

• I agree w/ the other reviewers that this recipe as written is a bit bland. Garlic and fresh ground pepper really help, I also added some finely chopped celery and red bell pepper, and served with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. If I make this again, Ill cook it in vegetable broth instead of plain water.

• An interesting combination of vegetables in this one, but it was nice and creamy.

• I have to agree with other reviewers - this was a good "starter" recipe. I added 2 cloves of garlic to the onions, as well as the thyme, pepper and salt that was suggested. I used 3 cups of veggie broth and an extra splash of wine. I also put in about 1.5 tsp of Kitchen Bouquet to give it a bit more color/flavor. I paired with a salad and warm, fresh rye bread and we really enjoyed. Thanks so much for posting this.

• Very bland even after adding veggie broth, garlic, and vinegar. I love quinoa but just not in this recipe, sorry

• I used the foundation of the recipe, but since I was looking for a vehicle for my homemade chicken broth, and I like tweaking recipes, I have some additions: included 1 cup diced chorizo, 1/2 red pepper, diced and 2 celery stalks when it was time to add the onion. Also added 3 tbsp minced garlic half way though the onions cook time so it didnt burn.I also used 3 regular-sized cans cannelloni beans instead of using soaked beans. I added 1 cup chopped kale (to make it healthier) when adding the wine. And of course, the inspiration for this .... Instead of water, salt-free homemade chicken stock. Served with sprinkled parmesan on top.DELICIOUS. One of my new favorite soups.

• My boyfriend made this meal for us. He surprisingly enjoyed it He had a pretty big helping and finished it all. He said it wasnt as flavorful as he wished but that he liked it.

• Even after the addition of chicken broth, more mushrooms, and being pretty liberal with the seasonings, this was kind of flat.

• I used 2 cans rinsed beans instead of dry, sauted some chopped bell pepper w/onion, then added the mushrooms, then some garlic. Also used chicken stock. It was good, but I think it wouldve been just as good without the quinoa.

• Lots of good healthy ingredients, but the flavors dont mix well together in this recipe. Its also very bland. If you put the ingredients separately on a plate, it would be a good meal. I have made this twice (portobello mushrooms and chickpeas the second time)

• Great basic recipe I made several modifications:

• Was pretty good. I try and stay true to recipes but sometimes we have to alter a little. I was trying to use up leftover quinoa and a huge container of baby spinach from the fridge. I used canned cannellini, rinsed and drained. I used EVOO and added a red bell to the onion... and garlic because I add it to everything . I always have some sort of wine but sadly no rosemary so Herbes De Provence. Veg broth for any water to hopefully to make up for any lost flavor. The two college kids enjoyed the hardiness and the leftovers went well with me to work. Thank you.