This 3 C Bean soup is both hearty and delicious. Our Couscous Chickpea Cannellini Bean Soup is a bowl of delicious comfort.
This Couscous, Chickpea, and Cannellini Bean Soup is packed with vegetables, plant-based protein, and bold seasonings.
Easy to make and naturally vegetarian (with a vegan option), it’s the perfect cozy soup for lunch or dinner.
Couscous Chickpea Cannellini Bean Soup
Our Couscous, Chickpea, and Cannellini Soup is everything a cold-weather soup should be.
It’s warm, filling, and full of many good ingredients.
We start this soup by browning several strips of chopped thick-cut bacon, which is optional if you prefer a no-meat soup.
There’s the chicken stock base and loads of vegetables, such as onions, garlic, carrots, roasted red peppers, and chopped collard greens.
We’ve also added chickpeas and cannellini beans to make this intensely hearty soup that resembles a stew.
The star of this soup is the couscous; it adds body and makes for a visually stunning addition.
What You Will Need:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Thick-Cut Bacon. Two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil heated over medium-high heat is a great way to pan-fry chopped pieces of thick-cut bacon.
Onions, Garlic, and Shallots. This trio of aromatic ingredients adds a savoy flavor base to this rich, mostly vegetable soup.
Roasted Red Peppers, Collard Greens, and Carrots. The chopped roasted red peppers, collard greens, and carrots add vibrant colors and additional nutrition.
Low-Sodium Chicken or Vegetable Stock. Chicken stock, which has a greater depth of flavor than broth, adds rich flavor to this wholesome meal.
Couscous, Chickpeas, and Cannellini Beans are the ingredients in this soup, which gives it a lot of substance and a great deal of fiber and protein.
Garlic Herb Seasoning, Sea Salt, and Freshly Cracked Black Peppercorns. This soup is far from bland because we’ve added lots of seasonings to ensure that it tastes better than it looks—and it looks incredible!
Curly Parsley. Adding a bit of fresh chopped parsley gives this soup a little razzle-dazzle in presentation and brightens its flavor profile.
Recipe for Couscous Chickpea Cannellini Bean Soup
Servings: 8-10
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 3 strips thick-cut bacon, chopped [optional]
- 1 medium red onion, minced
- 2 medium shallots, minced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large fire-roasted red pepper, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups fennel bulb, thinly sliced and chopped
- 2 cups chopped collard greens or kale
- 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
- 1 cup couscous
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 6 cups of low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp granulated garlic
- 2 tbsps garlic herb seasoning
- kosher or sea salt to taste
- freshly cracked black peppercorns to taste
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)
Fennel adds a mild aniseed flavor to the pot, making it an enjoyable and slightly sweet addition.
Collard greens or kale will add a hearty, earthy flavor and a healthy boost of nutrition, providing plenty of fiber, vitamins, and minerals like vitamin K, vitamin C, and calcium.
Directions:
- Place a large five-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add two extra virgin olive oil tablespoons.
- When the oil is hot, add three strips of chopped thick-cut bacon, season with freshly ground black peppercorns, and cook until browned and crispy.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon pieces. Place bacon on a paper towel to absorb excess grease; set aside.
- Add the minced onion, shallots, and garlic to the hot grease and sauté until the onions are translucent, about five minutes.
- Add the chopped collard greens, roasted red pepper, fennel, and sliced carrots. Season with freshly ground black peppercorns and sea salt (adjust this based on your taste).
- Pour in the 6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock.
- Add the 1 tbsp of granulated garlic and 2 tbsp of garlic herb seasoning and stir the soup.
- Adjust the heat to medium and allow the soup to simmer until the collard greens and fennel are softened—about 30 minutes.
- Add the 1 cup of couscous and stir to disperse it evenly.
- Pour in 1 can of chickpeas and 1 can of cannellini beans and gently stir—cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the crispy bacon pieces and 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice.
- Taste the soup and season with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste. Simmer for a few more minutes if needed. Serve hot, garnished with chopped fresh parsley.
For a complete meal, serve with crusty bread or a fresh salad. Garnishing with fresh flat-leaf or curly parsley adds color and freshness, complementing the soup’s hearty, savory flavors.
Why add bacon to this soup recipe?
The thick-cut bacon adds a rich, smoky flavor. When rendered, the bacon fat can also help create a richer, smoother consistency in the chicken stock, deepening the soup’s overall flavor.
Can I make this a vegan soup?
For a vegetarian or vegan option, omit the bacon and use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock to make the soup fully vegetarian or vegan.
You can also use smoked paprika to replace the bacon’s smoky flavor.
Like the bacon, roasted red peppers in this soup add a bit of smokiness because they are cooked over an open flame—the result is charred peppers that have become softened with lots of caramelization and a hint of earthiness.
The roasted red peppers also add a bit of sweetness, which balances out the savory notes.
We picked up this jar from Trader Joe’s, but roasted red peppers are also available at most grocery stores.
The shallots and onions add a layer of complexity to the soup.
Their combined flavors balance with slight touches of savoriness and sweetness, making them perfect for this hearty soup.
The carrots add natural sweetness and color to the soup, which contrasts nicely with the savory components like the bacon and beans.
This hearty soup has layers of delicious flavor.
It is perfect for the fall and winter but also works whenever you crave a nutritious and comforting soup.
Give it a try; we think you’ll love it as much as we do.
The couscous will absorb a lot of the liquid in the soup, making it thicker as it sits.
If you prefer a more brothy soup, you might want to add a little extra stock to prevent it from becoming too dense.
How long can I keep this soup in the fridge?
You can store this soup in the fridge for 3-4 days, but if you’re planning to freeze it for a longer period, consider storing the couscous separately or adding extra broth before reheating. If stored together for too long, it can absorb liquid and become mushy.
Now that you have the recipe, gather all your ingredients and try this hearty and colorful Couscous Chickpea Cannellini Bean Soup!
Couscous Chickpea Cannellini Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 3 strips thick-cut bacon chopped [optional]
- 1 medium red onion minced
- 2 medium shallots minced
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large fire-roasted red pepper chopped
- 1 1/2 cups fennel bulb thinly sliced and chopped
- 2 cups chopped collard greens or kale
- 1 large carrot peeled and sliced
- 1 cup couscous
- 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 6 cups of low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp granulated garlic
- 2 tbsps garlic herb seasoning
- kosher or sea salt to taste
- freshly cracked black peppercorns to taste
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- fresh parsley chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
- Place a large five-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add two extra virgin olive oil tablespoons.
- When the oil is hot, add three strips of chopped thick-cut bacon, season with freshly ground black peppercorns, and cook until browned and crispy.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon pieces. Place bacon on a paper towel to absorb excess grease; set aside.
- Add the minced onion, shallots, and garlic to the hot grease and sauté until the onions are translucent, about five minutes.
- Add the chopped collard greens, roasted red pepper, fennel, and sliced carrots. Season with freshly ground black peppercorns and sea salt (adjust this based on your taste).
- Pour in the 6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock.
- Add the 1 tbsp of granulated garlic and 2 tbsp of garlic herb seasoning and stir the soup.
- Adjust the heat to medium and allow the soup to simmer until the collard greens and fennel are softened—about 30 minutes.
- Add the 1 cup of couscous and stir to disperse it evenly.
- Pour in 1 can of chickpeas and 1 can of cannellini beans and gently stir—cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the crispy bacon pieces and 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice.
- Taste the soup and season with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste. Simmer for a few more minutes if needed. Serve hot, garnished with chopped fresh parsley.
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