Ribollita is a classic Tuscan vegetable soup made with cannellini beans, cavolo nero, crusty bread, potatoes and garlic. It’s nourishing, full of flavour and perfect for cold evenings.
This hearty, stew-like soup is traditionally served in winter across Tuscany. The name ribollita literally means “reboiled” because the soup is often made from leftover minestrone and reheated the next day, when the flavours deepen and the texture becomes even more satisfying.
Ribollita Origin
Ribollita grew from frugality and simplicity: reheating leftover vegetable soup or minestrone with added stale bread to make a filling meal. Variations abound, but the most common vegetables used include:
- cavolo nero
- savoy cabbage
- carrots
- onion
- celery
- potatoes
- tomatoes
How To Make Tuscan Vegetable Soup – Ribollita
Begin by soaking 250g (about 1 1/2 cups) dried cannellini beans in cold water for at least 12 hours, preferably 24. After soaking, drain the beans and place them in a pot with three peeled garlic cloves, two sprigs of rosemary and five sage leaves. Cover with about 1 litre (4 cups) of water, bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook on low heat.
Simmer the beans gently for around two hours. Remove the cooked beans with a slotted spoon into a bowl and discard the rosemary and sage. Reserve the bean cooking liquid; it becomes a flavourful base for your soup.
Tip: If you’re short on time, use canned cannellini beans and replace the reserved bean liquid with extra vegetable stock. Add the canned beans toward the end of cooking.
Next prepare the soffritto: finely chop one carrot, one white onion and one stalk of celery. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot and gently sauté the vegetables until soft. Add two peeled, cubed medium potatoes and one sliced leek, cooking until the leek softens.
Pour in the reserved bean cooking liquid (or extra vegetable stock), one litre of vegetable stock in total, and one cup (270g) canned chopped tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and simmer gently for about 40 minutes.
Stir in roughly chopped cavolo nero (about 500g / 1 lb) and the cooked cannellini beans. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Finally, add about 200g (7 oz) torn crusty bread to thicken the soup, simmer another 10 minutes, then serve hot.
If you try this ribollita, leave a rating and a comment to share how it turned out. I love hearing from readers about tweaks and results.
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Ribollita – Tuscan Vegetable Soup
By Emily
Ingredients
For the beans
- 1 1/2 cups 250g dried cannellini beans
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 5 sage leaves
- 3 cloves peeled garlic
For the soup
- 1 carrot
- 1 white onion
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 leek, sliced
- 1 lb (500g) cavolo nero
- 2 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 cup 270g canned chopped tomatoes
- 5 cups/ 1 litre vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 7 oz (200g) crusty bread
Instructions
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Soak the dried cannellini beans in cold water for at least 12 hours, ideally 24 hours.
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Drain the soaked beans, place them in a pot with the garlic, rosemary and sage. Cover with 1 litre water, bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook on low heat.
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Simmer for about 2 hours. Remove the beans with a slotted spoon into a bowl and discard the herbs. Reserve the cooking liquid to use as soup stock.
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Finely chop carrot, onion and celery and sauté in olive oil until soft. Add peeled, cubed potato and sliced leek and cook until the leek softens.
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Add the reserved bean liquid, vegetable stock and canned tomatoes with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Simmer gently for 40 minutes.
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Stir in the chopped cavolo nero and cooked cannellini beans, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Add torn crusty bread, simmer another 10 minutes, then serve.
Notes
- If you’re pressed for time, use canned cannellini beans and extra vegetable stock instead of cooking dried beans and reserving their liquid.
- Overall time excludes bean soaking time.
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I use extra virgin olive oil in my recipes unless stated otherwise.
- When using canned tomatoes I recommend high-quality brands for best flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless otherwise noted.
- All recipes are tested using a fan (convection) oven when applicable.
- Nutrition information is calculated automatically and should be treated as an approximation.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is approximate.