A quicker Fasolada (Greek Bean Soup) makes for a delicious and satisfying weeknight dinner. You'll love the bold Greek flavors in this vegan and gluten free white bean soup with garlic, onions, celery and a generous drizzle of good Greek extra virgin olive oil. This Fasolada recipe takes a bit of a modern approach--a little shortcut makes all the difference!
Fasolada
Fasolada is a popular Greek bean soup, occasionally referred to as the national food of the Greeks!
The star ingredients in this simple bean soup are: white beans, celery, and extra virgin olive oil--in fact, a healthy amount of quality extra virgin olive oil makes all the difference.
Some variations of Fasolada include carrots and tomatoes. And if you want to stick with tradition, you'll want to start with dry white beans, soaked overnight.
But this recipe is simplified and takes a more modern, quick-n-dirty approach!
The key difference in this Fasolada recipe is in using canned beans in place of dry white beans. Needless to say, this small change shaved off a few hours of soaking time, immediately transforming Fasolada into a weeknight recipe.
Yes, we take a shortcut here, but we don't give up flavor. Absolutely not!
At the outset, I use a combination of onions, garlic, celery and bay leaf. Warm spices are stirred in to continue adding aroma and depth. Finally, a splash of zesty lemon juice and fresh parsley add brightness.
What to serve with Greek Bean Soup (Fasolada)?
When we eat fasolada for dinner, my family typically starts with a bright salad like this traditional Greek salad, or maybe even fattoush salad. No need for too many sides, just add some Greek olives and your favorite rustic bread.
If you love beans are are looking for more creations to try, don't miss this Greek baked beans recipe, and be sure to check out our Best Bean Recipes roundup. 35 recipes for every occasion!
More recipes you may like:
Ribollita (Tuscan White Bean Soup)
Avgolemono: Greek Chicken and Lemon Soup
Kidney Bean Salad with Cilantro and Dijon Vinaigrette
Visit our collection of Mediterranean recipes and our top Mediterranean diet recipes.
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Easy Greek Bean Soup (Fasolada)
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: serves up to 6
Description
A quicker Fasolada (Greek Bean Soup) makes for a delicious and satisfying weeknight dinner!
Ingredients
- Early Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 celery ribs, chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 4 ½ cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- 3 15-oz cans cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp sweet paprika
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- In a heavy pot like this one, heat 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the chopped onion, salt and pepper. Cook for about 4 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring regularly. Now add the garlic, celery, bay leaf, and oregano. Cook 5 more minutes, stirring regularly.
- Add broth, cannelini beans, cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper. Raise the heat and bring to a rolling boil for 3 minutes or so. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Ladle 2 cups of the soup into the bowl of a small food processor or blender. Blend, then return to the cooking pot. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Off heat, stir in about ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice and parsley. Transfer to serving bowls and top each bowl with another drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, if desired. Serve with your favorite rustic bread.
Notes
- Recommended for this Recipe: Our Early Harvest extra virgin olive oil.
- Visit our store to browse our all-natural and organic spices, olive oils and bundles!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Greek
I made this recipe and the soup was fabulous. Didn't have vegetable broth so chopped up two onions instead of one, added 2 chopped carrots, 8 cups of water, and a little more of the spices. Also used tarragon instead of parsley. What made it extra good was the lemon juice, zest and olive oil. I will definitely make this throughout the winter.
Thanks so much for sharing, Jane! Glad you enjoyed it
Made this last night. Forgot to buy a lemon so I used 1/4 t zest and 1/2 t lemon extract. Lovely. Somehow both light and hearty.
Love hearing this, Pat! Thanks so much for giving it a try!
This soup is amazing. The flavors are exquisite. Comforting, spicy, bright - so interesting are the flavors that we couldn't stop eating it! I added carrots just because I had them and a splash of wine because I was short on the chicken broth - all delicious! Thank you for this recipe.
Jane, thanks so much for sharing your variation! So glad you enjoyed it.
This nutrition information cannot be correct.....894 cal/serving with 45.7 grams of fat per serving????
Katherine, thanks for sharing. We ran the info again through the nutrition calculator. It must have been some odd glitch; this is a best estimate still.
Loved this soup! Was looking for something light (no pasta!) with lots of flavor. This was the perfect choice! Pretty much followed recipe except I didn't have fresh parsley on hand so used dried and my lemon was pretty close to not being used so zest not possible but juice was good. Quick, flavorful, filling but light on calories. Keeper for sure! Thanks for posting.
Debbie, so glad to hear this! Thanks so much for giving it a try
Everyone loved this recipe! Excellent!
Great to hear it!
I just found this and it’s great! I love soup and its so easy. I am diabetic with high cholesterol and am working on the Mediterranean way of eating to help with those issues and this type recipie is so helpful- there are so many different foods I’m not familiar with and it keeps it interesting
So glad to hear this worked out for you, Mary!
Made it exactly like the recipe....Delicious! The brightness of the lemon and the heat of the cayenne is a perfect balance. Will definitely make again and again. Thank you for this keeper.
Just finished making this. It is delish! I am always amazed at what a squeeze of lemon does to soups! I hope it gets more tasty as it sits. I made it to take for work lunches. Happy New Year!!
I made this recipe yesterday and it turned out perfectly. There is a lot of flavor in this soup, and it was so easy to make! This will be a recipe I'll make again and again.
Wonderful Sheila! So glad to hear it!
The best! Makes me all warm inside!!
Good for chapped lips (olive oil)
Glad you liked it, James! This one is definitely a warm-your-heart type meal.
Wow Tastes yummy
Yay! Thanks for giving it a try!
Tasted really nice. Not meaty enough for my friends who like meat but I made some on the side for them to add. Yummy!
Wonderful, Rose! Thank you for giving it a try
This is absolutely delicious, my family loves it.
Awesome Colleen! Thank you so much for sharing!
This is my new favorite soup. I have become vegan and this fits right into my plant based diet.
I tried a tomato based version but I love lemon and this one is delicious.
Using canned beans makes it a good quick meal. I will make sure to always have cannellini beans on hand.
I tried white kidney beans and they are not as creamy.
Meryle, so glad to hear you enjoyed this! Hope you'll find more vegan recipes here to try!
Excellent! I change things just a bit...2 cans of beans, but I add a little pasta (Cavatappi...curly, substantial pasta). I also increase the spices just a bit (except for the cayanne), and add either spinach or kale instead of parsely, and maybe an extra cup or two of broth since the pasta soaks up some of the broth. It has become my favorite soup....and I am a true soup lover! Thank you for providing the your excellent recipe as a starting point!
So glad to hear it, Scott! Thanks for sharing your version of this recipe too. I might give that a try some time!
Hello!
I just made this soup and am really enjoying it! My
3 year old son, however, says it’s too spicy for him. How can I change it next time?? No cayenne pepper??
Wonderful, Sarah! Yes, I would eliminate the cayenne for the little one, and maybe just add it to your own bowl if you like the heat.
I puree soup in the blender and put it in a kid size coffee mug, it is so much fun for them to eat it like that and its pretty darn cute!