Fasolada Recipe: An Easy Recipe for the Greek Bean Soup

There are some amazing soups from Greece that use fresh, seasonal ingredients. These range from light and creamy soups to ones that are hearty and packed with flavour. If you prefer the latter, try our Fasolada recipe.

Fasolada is a Greek white bean soup you can make using beans and various vegetables. It is also possible to make it with meat, and ribs are a traditional option. However, our recipe for Fasolada is the traditional vegetarian version.

It is a simple soup to make and is also budget-friendly. The quickest way to make the soup is using canned white beans; although you can also use the dried variety, you will need additional time to soak the beans overnight.

Our Fasolada recipe includes useful information about the popular Greek soup, a full list of ingredients, step-by-step ingredients, and some additional tips for making the Greek white bean soup. Here is our Fasolada recipe for you to try.

Useful Information

Preparation time:	15 minutes (plus soaking time if you use dried beans)
Cooking time:	2 hours
Servings:	6-8
Vegetarian?	YES
Vegan?	YES
Dairy-free:	YES
Gluten-free:	YES

Ingredients for the Fasolada Recipe

• 2 tins of white beans (or 500g dried beans- see additional tips)
• 2 litres of vegetable stock
• 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
• 3 celery sticks, thickly sliced
• 1 large onion
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 tsp each dried oregano and rosemary
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 green apple, peeled but left whole
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

How to Make the Fasolada Recipe

1. Put a large pot over medium heat on the hob and add the olive oil.
2. Add the carrots, celery, and onions to the pan and saute for approximately 15 minutes.
3. Then, add the garlic and saute for another five minutes.
4. Next, add the tomato puree and stir into the vegetables.
5. Then, add the beans, bay leaves, rosemary, oregano, and apple to the pan.
6. Cover the ingredients with the vegetable stock, then cover the pot with a lid.
7. Simmer the soup for approximately one hour.
8. Remove the apple and bay leaves from the pan and season the remaining ingredients with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
9. Cook for a further ten minutes before serving with the toppings and accompaniments of your choice.

Additional Tips for Making the Greek White Bean Soup Recipe

• TOPPINGS: Customize your soup to suit your tastes by adding the topping of your choice. Some suggestions include crumbled feta, sliced olives, chilli flakes, or anchovies.
• ACCOMPANIMENTS: You can eat the soup without any accompaniments, but some excellent accompaniments to go with the soup are sliced white bread, bread rolls, flatbreads, or croutons.
• SIMILAR SOUPS: You might also like to try our recipes for Greek lentil soup and three-bean and chorizo soup. It is also similar to minestrone, a popular Italian soup with beans, vegetables, and pasta.
• COOKING THE SOUP: You can cook the soup in a soup maker or a catering soup kettle if you want.
• ADDING MEAT: Our version of the Fasolada recipe is vegetarian, but some recipes for Fasolada include meat. You can add leftover meat from a roast dinner or slow-cook ham or pork ribs, then add the shredded meat to the soup. You can use the stock from the cooking liquids instead of vegetable stock.
• USING DRIED BEANS: We use canned white beans in our Fasolada recipe for speed and convenience. However, you can use dried beans and soak them in advance. The easiest thing to do is to put the dried beans in a large pot of water with one teaspoon of salt the night before you want to make the Fasolada recipe, then soak them overnight.