Can you think of a better winter comfort food than a white bean soup? Especially when its all made from scratch and therefore very nutritious as well.

There are two traditional versions of Fasolatha (Greek White Bean Soup). The one is plainly cooked, flavored with lemon, like in this recipe, while the other version is made with tomato. Both are equally delicious and when it comes to deciding which one to make, I almost can never decide.

But, there is one thing that I love about this lemony version of white bean soup. It's so basic that you can add so many things to it. As it's only made with onion, garlic, cannellini beans (or any other small white beans), carrot, celery, lemon zest + juice, and olive oil. So you can add anything like bacon, sausage, or my real favorite, almost any type of greens. Like spinach, (you can add kale, we don't have it in Greece), or even wild greens.

→If you want to add bacon or sausage (go for Italian sausage), use about 200 grams /7 oz and add it when sauteing the onion and garlic.

→If you want to add greens like kale or spinach, use about 400 grams/ 14 oz and add them towards the last 5 minutes of cooking.

How To Make A White Bean Soup From Scratch

First things first, when making a bean soup using dried beans, you have to soak them in water overnight. And that's because this really helps to reduce the cooking time as well as improve the overall texture of the beans. Soaking beans though does not help with reducing gas (I'll tell you in a bit what helps with this situation).

So how do you soak beans overnight? Take a big cooking pot, add your beans and cover them with ⅔ of cold water. Stir in a pinch of kosher salt (helps to soften and break their skin) cover with the pot's lid, and leave as is, at room temperature until the next morning. Then drain the beans in a strainer and they are ready to be cooked.

Now as for the gas situation, let's start by understanding what causes it. There are mainly two reasons. The first one is, because beans, as well as other legumes, contain a type of sugar that's hard for the body to digest. This sugar is called oligosaccharide and in order for your body to digest it, it uses the bacteria in your large intestine to feed on it and break it down. But while they do so, they cause fermentation and production of gas. You can't do much about this, but you can do something to help with reason number two.

OTHER TRADITIONAL GREEK SOUPS YOU MAY LIKE ⬇

Cannellini Bean Soup — Greek Fasolada Soup

The second reason is that in order for the beans to last long inside the packages they're sold in (meaning they won't grow) they get sprayed with chemicals that can cause a lot of gassy-discomfort. If you ever wondered why this bean variety caused you a lot of discomfort while another one didn't, then that's the case. So the best thing you can do?

Buy organic beans. Or cook using plain ones, by bringing them to a boil and discarding the water they've boiled in. Then proceed with cooking them. This way you throw away most of these chemicals as well as some of their nutritional value but sadly it's a one-way road.

Make this soup even more flavorful using this easy + healthy Homemade Vegetable Stock.

How Long To Cook Dried White Beans

The million-dollar question! This really depends on how old the beans are, their variety, and the soaking. If you cook dried white beans on the stovetop, they may take from 2 hours to even 3 or 4. If you don't have that much time to spare though, you can use a pressure cooker. Cooking the beans for about 15-20 minutes in the pressure cooker will be more than enough to soften them. Slow cooking though gives a more thick and velvety texture to the soup.

Can You Use Other Beans To Make This Greek White Bean Soup Instead?

Yes, you can use any type of white beans, like navy beans, great northern, cannellini, or baby lima beans. Check this article on → The difference between these 4 types of white beans. You can even use black-eyed peas to make this soup.

SIMILAR RECIPE:

Fasolatha - White Bean And Tomato Soup

Very similar to this recipe, this version of Greek Fasolatha is flavored with tomato instead of lemon and is equally delicious!

Recipe

Greek White Bean Soup With Garlic & Lemon

4.11 from 504 votes

A very easy and nutritious white bean soup, with a nice and thick texture. All made from scratch with few basic ingredients.

Cook Time 2

Servings people

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Ingredients

250 grams / 8.8 oz cannellini beans (or other small white beans) soaked in water overnight
6 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
½ onion minced
3 garlic cloves chopped
1 carrot cut into very thin slices
1 stick of celery finely chopped
1 lemon zest + juice
kosher salt + freshly ground pepper
OPTIONAL: 500 ml vegetable stock

Instructions

Prepare The Beans:

Drain the beans from the water they've soaked in overnight.
Half fill a cooking pot with water and add the beans. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cook for 3-4 minutes and then drain beans in a strainer.

TO MAKE THIS SOUP ON THE STOVETOP:

In a medium-sized cooking pot add the olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened and golden in color.
Add the beans along with 1.5 liters of water (or 1 liter of water + 500 ml vegetable stock) and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium-low and with the lid on partly open on the side, simmer for about 2 hours or until beans are completely soft and tender (cooking time may depend of the variety and quality of the beans).
Add the celery and carrot and season with salt and pepper. Continue simmering, stirring occasionally until the soup gets nice and thick. Then add the lemon juice and zest and cook for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and serve with freshly ground pepper on top and an extra squeeze of fresh lemon if you like.

TO MAKE THIS SOUP USING AN INSTANT POT/PRESSURE COOKER:

Using the saute function, add the olive oil and cook the onion and garlic until softened and golden in color.
Add the remaining ingredients along with 1,5 liters of water (or 1 liter of water +500 ml vegetable stock) and close the lid. Cook on manual for 20 minutes. Let the pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then turn the valve to venting. Once it releases the steam open the lid. Finish off with the lemon juice + zest.

TO MAKE THIS SOUP USING A SLOW COOKER:

If using a slow cooker, take the time to separately saute the garlic and onion in olive oil until golden using a separate skillet as it will make a huge difference to flavor instead of adding everything in at once. Add the sauteed ingredients in your slow cooker along with the remaining ingredients except for the lemon juice + zest, and 1,5 liters of water (or 1 liter of water +500 ml vegetable stock) and cook either on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Add the lemon juice and zest and cook for 5 minutes more.

TO MAKE THIS SOUP USING THE SLOW COOK FUNCTION ON INSTANT POT:

Using the saute function, add the olive oil and cook the onion and garlic until softened and golden in color.
Add the remaining ingredients along with 1,5 liters of water (or 1 liter of water +500 ml vegetable stock) except for the lemon juice+ zest. Put the lead on and switching on the slow cooker function to normal, cook for 8 hours or for 4 hours on high. Finish with the lemon juice + zest.