Tuscan White Bean and Roasted Garlic Soup (Crock Pot Recipe)

Creamy white bean soup, with roasted garlic and a touch of sage. So simple and inexpensive to make, and so so good. Leftovers can be frozen.

This started out as an experiment, and ended as a soup. I never know what to expect when I throw something in the slow cooker, I wanted to see if I can cook white beans in the crock pot without soaking them first. The answer is yes you can; it took about 3-4 hours on high. But they basically looked like cooked beans in water, not like a thick pot of beans that I imagined so I quickly fixed that and turned this into a great tasting soup.

As a kid, I remember my Mom pureeing all my soups to make me eat them. As an adult, I tend to still like my beans pureed in my soup. You can leave some beans whole as I did to give it some texture, or blend the whole thing, up to you.

My method for roasting garlic is a little unconventional, I peel my cloves before roasting because I prefer not to have to do it after. Completely up to you how you roast your garlic, the end result is the same. If you are pressed for time, and wish to skip the roasted garlic, it will still taste wonderful. I personally think adding them makes it go from good to great.

Note: if you want to make this vegetarian, substitute the chicken bouillon for vegetable.

Tuscan White Bean and Roasted Garlic Soup (Crock Pot Recipe)
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 7 • Size: little over 1 cup • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 6 pts
Calories: 241 • Fat: 3 g • Carb: 41 g • Fiber: 6 g • Protein: 15 g • Sugar: 0 g
Sodium: 322 mg (without added salt)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb dry Cannellini beans, rinsed
• 1 head garlic, peeled
• 8 cups water
• 4 sage leaves, plus more for garnish
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp chicken Better Than Bouillon, or cube (vegs us vegetable bouillon)
• kosher salt and white pepper to taste

Directions:

Place beans, 3 cloves of the garlic, water and a few sage leaves in the crock pot; cover and set to HIGH 4 hours, or until beans are soft. Don't add salt.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°. Place remaining garlic cloves in the center of a 7x7 inch square of aluminum foil (photo above is showing half of the cloves, use the whole thing). Cover garlic with olive oil and a little salt. Seal aluminum tightly and place in the oven 25-30 minutes, until garlic is soft and golden. Remove from oven and set aside until the beans are done.

When the beans are soft, add the bouillon and mix well until dissolved, then carefully some of the beans and liquid along with the roasted garlic to the blender. Blend until smooth and pour it back into the crock pot. Repeat with the remaining beans until you get the texture you desire. You can also use an immersion blender if you have one. Taste for salt and adjust as needed.

Serve with fresh sage and white pepper on top and if you wish, some whole roasted garlic cloves on top. (I reserved a few)

Makes about 7 3/4 cups.

Source : http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/12/tuscan-white-bean-and-roasted-garlic.html

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