Daring Assertion: Ribollita is one in every of my favourite meals on the planet. If in case you have by no means had a bowl of ribollita soup, then get able to fall in love! This traditional Tuscan recipe is a hearty minestra, or vegetable bean soup, that has been thickened or “reboiled” with stale bread. I fell in love with it greater than 25 years in the past once I lived in Florence, and I’m so excited to share my suggestions and tips for making genuine Italian Tuscan Ribollita at residence!

Why We Love This Recipe for Tuscan Ribollita
After I was in my junior 12 months of faculty, I spent 5 months within the Tuscan area of Italy. And whereas I used to be there to review Renaissance artwork and portray, it was the meals that captured my soul.
In each kitchen, enoteca, and trattoria, there was culinary artistry that I had by no means skilled earlier than. However for me, it was the soup that captivated me. And when you’ve been following alongside for some time now, you recognize soup is one in every of my favourite issues to prepare dinner. Possibly my love for these easy soul-satisfying dishes began all these years in the past once I was a younger 20-something experiencing the tradition of such a ravishing land and folks.
Whereas most are unhappy to see summer season go, I take pleasure in when soup season will get in full swing as I relish making hearty soups for my household. There’s something so satisfying about chopping, layering, and cooking in such a method as to maximise the flavors. And whereas we take pleasure in a scrumptious Pappa al Pomodoro, a country Minestrone, or a nourishing bowl of Italian Wedding ceremony Soup, Tuscan Ribollita is my absolute favourite.
Easy in preparation, with hearty veggies, beans, and kale and thickened with conventional unsalted Tuscan bread, this dish transforms primary substances right into a luscious, wealthy, velvety dish. It’s the essence of Italian cooking with widespread substances however elevating them right into a decadent presentation.
What Is Ribollita?
Ribollita is a traditional Tuscan soup that’s common all through the area, particularly in Florence. This dish is a method to make use of up stale Tuscan bread as genuine Tuscan bread is made with out salt; it stales rapidly. It’s made with a wide range of hearty veggies, creamy cannellini beans, and Tuscan kale.
The primary day it’s made, it’s extra of a brothy soup with beans and greens, referred to as minestra. When leftovers are reheated the following day, it turns into ribollita, which implies reboiled. And in our opinion, it tastes even higher on day two which is the place this recipe begins!
Facet notice: in enotecas (wine bars) you possibly can usually discover Ribollita Refritto which is the leftover ribollita, that’s so thick, it’s cooked like a pancake batter in olive oil.
Key Elements For This Recipe

Olive Oil
This is absolutely the key to the style and velvety mouthfeel of the ultimate dish which is why we used SO MUCH! It additionally will get completed with extra olive oil, so when you’ve got a very high-quality EVOO use that for ending the soup.
Stale Bread
Italian cooking makes use of any waste, and this recipe, like Panzanella, makes use of stale bread. Sometimes, Tuscan bread is unsalted, however you possibly can’t discover that outdoors of Tuscany. Search for a agency sourdough (or one other high-quality white rustic loaf) and let it get stale. You may put it within the fridge for just a few days to assist speed up the method whereas stopping it from getting moldy.
Odori
That is the bottom of the dish made from carrot, onion, celery, and garlic. Sometimes, the parsley could be used right here too, however I added it on the finish of the simmer to maintain it brisker.
Potatoes, Tuscan Kale and Cabbage
Ribollita may be made with all kinds of greens relying on what’s in season. In Italy, Tuscan Kale is called Cavolo Nero (Italian for black cabbage), right here within the US we name it Lacinato Kale or Dinosaur Kale. Along with the bread, the potatoes are key to creating the soup good and thick.
White Beans
Conventional minestra and Ribollita are made with dried beans which are soaked and simmered. We’ve taken a shortcut and used canned cannellini beans. In the event you do make your beans from scratch, you’ll want 3 cups cooked beans and save the cooking liquid and use it as a substitute of the water.
Canned Entire Tomatoes
We love the country texture of breaking apart canned tomatoes by hand. Search for actual Italian canned tomatoes similar to San Marzano.
Herbs
Recent herbs add one other aspect of strong taste and genuine Italian style. Thyme, rosemary, and parsley are added in in the direction of the top of the cooking course of to protect their risky olfactory compounds. The basil, nevertheless, is added when the dish is completed cooking as it’ll lose all scent if added in earlier than this.
Pecorino Cheese
Ideally, you’ll use Pecorino Toscano to high off your bowls; nevertheless, it’s laborious to search out within the US. If in case you have an Eataly or good Italian market in your space, search for Pecorino Toscano. It’s a sheep’s milk cheese made in Tuscany and is much less salty than Pecorino Romano. If you’re unable to find it, be at liberty to swap in Pecorino Romano or Parmesan. This dish will also be made vegan by omitting the cheese.
Extra Elements
- White Wine
- Vegetable Broth
- Kosher Salt
Step-By-Step Directions To Make Tuscan Ribollita

Step 1: Chop the Odori within the Meals Processor
To imitate chopping the “odori” utilizing a Messaluna, a curved knife used with a curved chopping board that’s utilized in conventional Italian cookery, match a meals processor with the metal blade attachment. With the motor working, drop garlic cloves by the feed tube and mince. Subsequent, drop within the carrot and celery and finely chop (see the feel in picture 1a.) Put aside.
Return the meals processor bowl to the machine and add the onion chunks. Shut the lid and pulse till the onion is roughly chopped into medium-small items (picture 2a). Don’t run the motor repeatedly or the onions will probably be too finely chopped and change into watery.

Step 2: Cook dinner Greens
Over a medium-high burner, warmth the olive oil in a big heavy soup pot. Add the chopped carrot combination, chopped onions, and salt and prepare dinner till greens and onions begin to barely brown and the soup pot varieties a golden-brown patina, 8 to 12 minutes.
Step 3: Add Wine And Simmer
Enhance warmth to excessive, add wine and convey to a simmer. Cut back the wine till it nearly evaporates, 1 to 2 minutes.

Step 4: Add Liquids, Tomatoes, Beans, Potatoes, Cabbage, And Kale
Pour in broth, water, and tomatoes. Stir in beans, potatoes, cabbage, kale, and convey to a simmer, stirring sometimes. Cut back warmth to medium-low and gently simmer till potatoes are fork-tender; roughly 50 to 70 minutes.
Step 5: Add Bread and Thicken
Stir in bread, parsley, thyme, and rosemary. Simmer for about quarter-hour, till the bread is nearly dissolved, and the soup may be very thick. TIP: Whereas it simmers, mash the potatoes and bread into the facet of the pot with a spoon.

Step 6: Stir In The Basil
Take away from warmth and add in basil.
Step 7: End With Pepper and Pecorino
Ladle ribollita into bowls and high with black pepper and Pecorino. Serve with a drizzle of high-quality extra-virgin olive on high.

FAQ And Skilled Suggestions
Retailer any leftover soup in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days.
When able to take pleasure in, place in a microwave secure bowl and warmth till warmed by.
Or place leftovers in a saucepan on the range, over medium warmth, stirring usually to make sure it doesn’t burn; till steaming sizzling.
A high-quality heavy enameled forged iron pot is right for making soup. The vast backside permits veggies to brown rapidly whereas stopping overcrowding and steaming. Additionally, the thick backside will stop the substances from burning.
Serve with crusty bread for a hearty, filling, merely scrumptious homey meal. In the event you’d desire a extra elaborate meal, serve this soup as the primary course with a facet backyard salad or caesar salad with selfmade whole-wheat bread.
Alternatively, this might be the primary course to a decadent Italian vegetarian meal of mushroom lasagna or spinach stuffed shells.
No, if you don’t drink or prepare dinner with alcohol, wine may be omitted fully with out effecting the style because the tomatoes will add loads of acidity. If omitting, skip forward to step 4.
In Tuscan Trattorias, Ribollita is usually cooked so lengthy that there are not any discernable chunks of bread which creates a luscious and velvety consistency.
In case your bread is in any respect recent or squishy, it may be dried out in a 300-degree oven. As soon as dried, tear the bread into chunks and pulse within the meals processor to make rustic bread crumbs. Doing this can end in a Ribollita that extra carefully resembles what’s present in a Trattoria.
Extra Italian Recipes To Strive
- Wholesome Hen Piccata is made with tart lemons, capers, white wine, and parsley. This scrumptious twist on the traditional Italian lemon hen is prepared in below half-hour and is loaded with wholesome protein. Serve with cauliflower rice for a lower-calorie meal or whole-wheat angel hair pasta for a extra conventional pairing.
- This Gradual Cooker Hen Cacciatore is gluten-free, paleo, and Whole30 authorised. Cook dinner low and gradual within the crockpot for six hours for melt-in-your-mouth hen with a young and savory vegetable sauce for one comforting and satisfying meal.
- Gradual Cooker Bolognese may be served any evening of the week for a wholesome meal that appears and tastes such as you took all day to organize. This dish freezes extremely effectively, making this good for meal-prepping. Plus, it may be made more healthy by swapping in floor turkey with out sacrificing any of that incredible cooked-all-day Bolognese taste.
- Simple 10-minutes Puttanesca Sauce made with anchovy, capers, and olives with garlic and tomato. Toss with spaghetti or serve over one in every of your favourite sorts of pasta for a simple pantry-friendly meal.
- Prompt Pot Minestrone Soup is fast and simple. This wholesome, low-calorie soup has genuine slow-simmered Italian flavors however is prepared in 35 minutes!
- 20-minute Cherry Tomato Panzanella is a warmed model of the traditional Tuscan bread salad. This easy and humble dish is ideal as a most important course or alongside hen, fish, or eggs.
- This Vegetarian Carbonara with Mushrooms is a decadent meatless pasta dish that even meat lovers will take pleasure in! Function a most important course or pair with Air-Fried Cauliflower or Roasted Brussels Sprouts for a whole hearty meatless meal!
- Creamy Brussels Sprouts Pasta Carbonara is peppered with tender shredded and sauteed Brussels sprouts and crisp, smoky bacon. This dish comes collectively in 20-minutes and makes a scrumptious and simple weeknight meal!
- This Basil Pesto is a traditional and genuine recipe made with recent basil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and is prepared in simply 5 minutes! This sauce freezes effectively too, so; double the batch, freeze one, and pull out when you’re searching for a fast and flavorful weeknight meal any time of the 12 months!
In the event you love Mediterranean-inspired dishes like this ribollita recipe, you’ll want to take a look at my assortment of those recipes that embody pasta dishes, selfmade soups, salads, facet dishes, and naturally, most important programs. These recipes are impressed by the delicacies of the area however are made easy for at this time’s busy residence prepare dinner!

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Description
Ribollita is a traditional velvety Tuscan winter soup stuffed with hearty veggies, creamy cannellini beans, Tuscan kale and, thickened with stale bread.
Scale
Elements
- 3 entire cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 massive carrots, trimmed, peeled and lower into 2-inch chunks
- 1 stalk celery, lower into 2-inch chunks
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving
- 1 candy onion, peeled, cored and lower into eighths
- 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt, or to style
- ¼ cup dry white wine, ideally Tuscan similar to Vernaccia di San Giminano
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 28-ounce can entire tomatoes, crushed by hand
- 2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 medium thin-skinned purple or gold potatoes, peeled and diced (about 1 pound)
- 3 cups savoy or inexperienced cabbage, chopped
- 3 cups chopped Tuscan Kale (lacinato kale or Cavolo Nero)
- 7 ounces stale agency white bread or sourdough, lower into cubes
- ½ cup chopped parsley
- 1 Tablespoon chopped recent thyme
- 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
- ¼ cup chopped basil
- Freshly floor pepper and Pecorino or Parmesan (elective) for serving
Directions
- Match meals processor with the metal blade attachment. With the motor working, drop garlic by the feed tube and permit it to mince. Drop in carrot and celery and permit to finely chop. Items must be the scale of a pea or smaller. Put aside. Return the meals processor bowl to the machine and add the onion chunks. Shut the lid and pulse solely till the onion is roughly chopped into medium-small items like a country cube.)
- Warmth ½ cup olive oil in a big heavy soup pot over medium- excessive warmth. Add the chopped carrot combination, chopped onions and salt and prepare dinner, stirring usually, till the greens and onions are beginning to tackle brown shade and the underside of the pot is forming a golden browned patina (fond), 8 to 12 minutes.
- Enhance warmth to excessive and add in wine and convey to a simmer. Cut back the wine till it nearly evaporates, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Pour in broth, water and tomatoes. Stir in cannellini beans, potatoes, cabbage and kale and convey to a simmer, stirring sometimes. Cut back warmth to medium-low and simmer gently till the potatoes are fork tender, 50 to 70 minutes.
- Stir the breadcrumbs into the soup together with the parsley, thyme and rosemary. Simmer once more, urgent the potatoes and bread into the facet of the soup pot to mash them with the spoon. Cook dinner till the bread has nearly dissolved, and the soup may be very thick, about quarter-hour.
- Take away the soup from the warmth. Stir in basil.
- Ladle ribollita into bowls and high with pepper and Pecorino. Serve with extra-virgin olive oil drizzled on high.
Notes
- If you don’t drink or prepare dinner with alcohol the wine may be omitted fully. Simply skip forward to step 4. The tomatoes add loads of acidity.
- Tip: In Tuscan Trattorias the Ribollita is usually cooked so lengthy that there are not any discernable chunks of bread which make the soup very luscious and velvety. In case your bread is in any respect squishy, you possibly can dry it out in 300° oven. You can too tear the bread into chunks and pulse it within the meals processor to make rustic bread cubes. This may end in Ribollita extra like that present in a Trattoria.
- Make Forward: This reheats superbly within the microwave. If heating on the range, stir usually in order that it doesn’t burn. It is going to be thick!
Vitamin
- Serving Measurement: 1 1/2 cups
- Energy: 440
- Sugar: 8 g
- Fats: 19 g
- Carbohydrates: 54 g
- Fiber: 9 g
- Protein: 13 g