Creamy Bean & Greens High-Protein Soup (30g Per Serving!)

Are you searching for a meal that is deeply comforting and satisfying, yet leaves you feeling light and energized? It’s a common challenge to find dishes that are both truly wholesome and genuinely crave-worthy. Many people believe that creamy soups require dairy, or that it’s difficult to get enough protein from a plant-based meal. This recipe is here to deliciously shatter both of those myths.

This Creamy Beans & Greens Soup is a nutritional powerhouse, designed to nourish your body and delight your taste buds. It’s a velvety, vibrant green soup packed with tender white beans, hearty greens, and a burst of fresh basil and lemon. The best part? This incredible, vegan high-protein soup delivers around 30 grams of protein per serving and comes together in just 30 minutes, making it the perfect answer for a healthy and satisfying weeknight dinner.

What You’ll Need: Ingredients

This soup uses a blend of fresh produce and pantry staples to create a remarkably flavourful and nutrient-dense meal. The creaminess comes from a clever, dairy-free source!

this now & bake later ❤️

Timing

This vibrant and satisfying soup comes together in a flash, making it an ideal choice for a busy weeknight.

• Preparation Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes

Step-by-Step Instructions

Follow these simple steps to create a beautifully creamy and flavour-packed soup.

Step 1: Prepare Your Aromatics

Begin by prepping your flavour base. Chop your onion and slice your scallions. For the garlic, here’s a great health tip: mince the garlic about 10 minutes before you plan to cook it. This allows time for its beneficial, health-promoting compounds to fully develop. If you’re using a jalapeño for a little kick, remove the seeds and ribs and mince it now as well.

Step 2: Sauté the Onions, Scallions, and Garlic

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the 2 tablespoons of vegetable broth, water, or olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion, sliced scallions, and minced jalapeño (if using). Sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened and turned translucent. Add the minced garlic and sauté for one minute more until it’s fragrant.

Step 3: Wilt the Greens and Simmer the Beans

Stir in the collard greens or kale, the 5 cups of vegetable broth, and the drained and rinsed white beans. If you’re looking for that extra protein boost, add the thawed shelled edamame now. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let it cook for about 10 minutes, or until the greens are tender and have wilted down into the broth.

Step 4: Add the Finishing Flavors

This is where the magic happens! Remove the saucepan from the heat. Now, stir in the ingredients that will make this soup incredibly creamy and flavourful: the hemp hearts (or soaked cashews/sunflower seeds), fresh basil leaves, white miso, dried marjoram or thyme, mustard powder, pepper, and the lemon zest and juice.

Step 5: Blend to Creamy Perfection (Optional)

For that signature velvety texture, it’s time to blend. You can carefully transfer the soup to a high-speed blender and blend until it’s completely smooth, or use an immersion blender directly in the pot to blend it to your preferred consistency. You can make it silky smooth or leave it slightly chunky—it’s up to you! After blending, do a final taste test and adjust the seasoning with salt, more pepper, or another squeeze of lemon juice if needed.

Step 6: Serve and Garnish

Ladle the hot, creamy soup into bowls. It’s absolutely delicious as is, but for an extra touch of flair, you can top it with a drizzle of vegan sour cream or yogurt and a sprinkle of a simple parsley-caper-hemp heart mix.

A Truly Healthy and High-Protein Soup

This soup isn’t just delicious; it’s a nutritional powerhouse. Here is an estimated nutritional breakdown per serving, assuming the recipe makes 4 servings and includes the edamame.

• Calories: ~480 kcal
• Protein: ~30 g
• Carbohydrates: 55 g (Fiber: 18 g)
• Fat: 18 g (Saturated Fat: 2 g)

Packed with plant-based protein and an incredible 18 grams of fiber, this soup is designed to keep you feeling full, satisfied, and energized for hours.

Customization and Alternatives

This recipe is already incredibly healthy and versatile, but here are a few ways to customize it:

• Creaminess Factor: For the absolute creamiest, most luxurious texture, use raw cashews that have been soaked in hot water for at least 30 minutes. For a nut-free option, hemp hearts or raw sunflower seeds work beautifully.
• Switch Up Your Greens: While collard greens and kale are fantastic, you could also use Swiss chard or even spinach. Just note that spinach will only need a couple of minutes to wilt down.
• Bean Variations: This soup is wonderful with any white bean, like cannellini or Great Northern beans, but it would also be delicious with chickpeas.

Serving Suggestions

This hearty soup is a complete meal in a bowl, but it also pairs wonderfully with a few simple accompaniments.

• With Crusty Bread: A thick slice of warm, crusty whole-grain bread or sourdough is the perfect vehicle for sopping up every last drop of this delicious soup.
• Add a Topping: Elevate your bowl with some crunchy toppings. Try a sprinkle of toasted pumpkin seeds, a few homemade croutons, or a dash of nutritional yeast for a cheesy, savory flavour.
• As a Starter: Serve smaller portions of this soup as an elegant and impressive starter for a dinner party.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Follow these simple tips to ensure your bean and greens soup is perfect every time.

• Bitter or Tough Greens: The tough, fibrous central stems of kale and collard greens can be unpleasant to eat.
  • Solution: Always take a moment to de-stem your greens. You can easily do this by holding the bottom of the stem with one hand and stripping the leaves off with the other.
• A Dull-Colored Soup: Fresh basil is what gives this soup its beautiful, vibrant green hue and fresh taste. If you add it too early in the cooking process, it will turn brown and lose its flavour.
  • Solution: Always add the fresh basil at the very end, right before blending. This preserves its color and bright, herbaceous notes.
• Forgetting to Soak Cashews: If you choose to use raw cashews for creaminess and don’t have a high-powered blender, they may not break down completely, resulting in a grainy texture.
  • Solution: If using cashews, a quick soak in very hot water for 30 minutes will soften them up and ensure they blend into a silky-smooth cream.

Storing and Reheating Tips

This soup is a fantastic recipe for meal prep, as its flavour only gets better the next day!

• Storing: Store any leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
• Freezing: This soup freezes beautifully. Let it cool completely, then transfer it to freezer-safe containers or bags and freeze for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
• Reheating: Reheat the soup gently in a saucepan on the stove over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until it’s warmed through.

Conclusion

This Creamy Beans & Greens Soup is a true testament to the power of plant-based cooking. It’s a dish that proves you don’t need meat or dairy to create a meal that is incredibly satisfying, packed with protein, and bursting with complex flavour. It’s a quick, easy, and deeply nourishing soup that is perfect for anyone looking to add more healthy and delicious meals to their routine.

We are so excited for you to experience this vibrant and energizing high-protein soup. Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments below! We love hearing from you. Don’t forget to rate the recipe and subscribe for more healthy and delicious plant-based ideas.

FAQs

Q1. Can I make this soup if I don’t have a blender?

Absolutely! If you don’t have a standard or immersion blender, you can simply skip the blending step. The result will be a delicious and chunky, brothy-style bean and vegetable soup rather than a creamy one.

Q2. What is white miso, and is there a substitute?

Mellow white miso is a fermented soybean paste that adds a wonderfully savory, salty, and complex “umami” flavour to the soup. If you can’t find it, you can substitute it with 1-2 teaspoons of soy sauce or tamari, though the flavour will be slightly different.

Q3. Where does all the protein in this soup come from?

This soup gets its incredible protein content from a combination of powerful plant-based sources! The primary contributors are the white beans, the hemp hearts (or cashews/sunflower seeds), the collard greens/kale, and the optional edamame.

Creamy Bean & Greens High-Protein Soup (30g Per Serving!)

---

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

• Author: Evelyn Marcella Rivera
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

What You’ll Need: Ingredients. A nutrient-dense, dairy-free creamy soup powered by white beans, greens, hemp hearts, and fresh basil—finished with bright lemon. Optional edamame boosts protein to ~30 g per serving.

---

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Base & Vegetables

• 2 Tbsp vegetable broth, water, or olive oil (for sautéing aromatics)
• 1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
• 6 scallions, sliced (green and white parts)
• 4 cloves large fresh garlic, minced (mince 10 minutes before cooking)
• 1 medium jalapeño, minced (optional) (seeded for less heat)
• 5 cups collard greens or kale, stems removed (packed)

Liquids & Beans

• 5 cups vegetable broth or water
• 4 1/2 cups cooked white beans (cannellini or Great Northern) (or 3 (15-oz) cans, drained & rinsed)

Creaminess & Seasoning

• 2/3 cup hemp hearts (or soaked raw cashews/sunflower seeds)
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves (packed; divided if you want some for garnish)
• 2 Tbsp mellow white miso
• 1 1/2 tsp dried marjoram or thyme
• 3/4 tsp mustard powder
• 3/4 tsp long pepper or black pepper
• ~2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
• salt (to taste)

Optional Protein Boost

• 1 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Prep aromatics: Chop onion and slice scallions. Mince garlic 10 minutes before cooking to develop beneficial compounds. Seed and mince jalapeño if using.
2. Sauté base: In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat 2 Tbsp broth/water or olive oil over medium-high. Add onion, scallions, and jalapeño; sauté ~5 minutes until translucent. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute until fragrant.
3. Wilt greens & simmer: Add collard greens/kale, 5 cups broth, and white beans (plus edamame if using). Bring to a simmer and cook ~10 minutes until greens are tender.
4. Off heat, season & enrich: Remove from heat. Stir in hemp hearts (or soaked cashews/sunflower seeds), basil, white miso, marjoram/thyme, mustard powder, pepper, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
5. Blend to creamy: Carefully blend with an immersion or high-speed blender until silky (or to desired texture). Taste and adjust salt, pepper, or lemon.
6. Serve: Ladle into bowls. Optional garnish: swirl of vegan yogurt and sprinkle of parsley–caper–hemp heart mix.

Notes

Protein-packed & dairy-free: Hemp hearts add creaminess and complete proteins; blending with beans yields a velvety texture without cream. For meal prep, this soup thickens as it chills—thin with a splash of broth when reheating.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Category: Main Course, Soup
• Cuisine: American, Plant-Based

Nutrition

• Calories: 480
• Fat: 18
• Saturated Fat: 2
• Carbohydrates: 55
• Fiber: 18
• Protein: 30