Ribollita
Updated March 05, 2020
Ribollita-A healthy, rustic, and delicious soup packed with all of my favorite Italian flavors! Ribollita is thickened with crusty bread and filled with tasty veggies and herbs. You will love this one pot meal!
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A hearty bowl of soup is one of life’s simplest pleasures. My family loves to ski, and I love having a warm pot of soup ready to warm them up after a day on the slopes. Right now, I am loving Ribollita, a classic Tuscan soup that’s thickened with crusty bread. If you’re mouth is watering, it should be! Everyone in my house is in love with this soup.
A classic Ribollita also has cannellini beans, leafy greens, and veggies like onions, carrots, celery, and tomatoes. Of course, there are all kinds of fresh herbs and flavors added in as well! My recipe honors the classic, rustic combination. If you’ve never tried Ribollita before, I hope you’ll give it a go! It is the perfect one pot meal for cold day!
What Bread to Use in Ribollita
This is a hearty, thick soup loaded with veggies, beans, and best of all, bread. I like to use a crusty loaf, either Italian, French, and sourdough are all great options. Day old or slightly stale bread is just right for ribollita! If I ever have a loaf that I don’t use right away, I start planning a soup night with this recipe.
If you don’t have have a slightly stale loaf, you can dry your bread out in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F and adjust rack to center position. Place the bread cubes on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil and toss. Bake until crisp and firm but not browned, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
Parmesan Rind
I am going to let you in on a little secret, add parmesan rind to soup and you will be blown away by the added flavor! I always save Parmesan rinds and keep them in the freezer for soups. If you don’t have any in the freezer, ask the cheese counter at your store, they sometimes sell them at a discount or will even give them to you.
Remove the Parmesan rind before serving, you don’t eat it, it just adds flavor to the soup while it simmers! It’s magic!
How to Make Ribollita
- Just like most soups, we’ll start with olive oil on medium high heat and get onion, carrots, and celery, since those will need the most time to soften. Stir in garlic and crushed red pepper for about 2 minutes!
- Now it’s time for tomatoes and herbs. I like San Marzano tomatoes for their flavor! Ribollita also has thyme, basil, rosemary, and a bay leaf.
- In this step you’ll also add broth. Add in a Parmesan rind and cannellini beans before simmering for 20 minutes. We want the veggies totally soft in this step!
- Stir in your leafy greens! I always use kale (Lacinato aka dinosaur kale is my favorite!) but spinach would also be good in this soup!
- Ribollita’s signature ingredient: bread! Add in your crusty bread and let it simmer for about 5 minutes, until the bread starts to dissolve. This is how the soup thickens!
- Pull out the in-edibles: thyme sprigs, bay leaf, and Parmesan rind. Discard those, have a little taste, and season with salt and pepper as you like.
- This is a very thick and hearty soup thanks to the bread. If you’d like the soup to be a little thinner, you can add more broth!
- Ladle the soup into bowls and top with Parmesan cheese, a few crusty bread cubes…and a little fresh basil! Mmmmmmm!
More Delicious Soup Recipes:
Here are a few more of our favorite soup recipes! Let me know which ones you try! They are all winners!
- Easy Minestrone
- Pasta Fagioli
- Baked Potato Soup
- Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Smoky Tomato Soup
- Tuscan Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Vegetable Soup
Ribollita Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 28 oz crushed San Marzano tomatoes
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 Parmesan rind, about 4-inch size
- 15 oz canned cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 small bunch Tuscan kale, ribs and stems removed, chopped
- 2 cups cubed crusty Italian bread, day old or stale
- Grated Parmesan cheese, extra bread cubes, and fresh basil, for serving, optional
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook for 5 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Stir in the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes, cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, broth, thyme, basil, rosemary, bay leaf, Parmesan rind, and beans. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Stir until combined.
- Simmer the soup with the lid slightly ajar for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are softened. Remove the lid and stir in the kale.
- Add the bread and simmer for 5 minutes or until the bread starts to dissolve into the soup and the soup thickens.
- Remove the thyme sprigs, bay leaf, and Parmesan rind. Discard. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and top with Parmesan cheese, extra bread cubes, and fresh basil, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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Wow how good it was! Ribollita every single day. It didn’t look so good to me, but I liked it.
I lose my patience for details, but the final taste won me over.
I will repeat it without caring for the extra kilos, for which I have a good solution! https://tinyurl.com/orgweb
It’s so cool, Maria. I love it
Is this good leftover ? Just wondering how the bread holds up for reheating .
Yes, we always enjoy leftovers. If it gets too thick, you can add a little more broth.
This soup is flavorful and delicious! It was a hit with my family last night!
I am so glad the Ribollita was a hit with your family! Thanks for letting us know!
Soooo delicious! I made this last night, because I had left over kale! Having it again for lunch, I’m addicted!
Oh good! So glad you loved it! I want another bowl:)
Hi,
I am a big fan of your blog. Whenever I tried any recipe. it always came out well.This soup also matched the same expectation. I got alll the ingredient including your recommendation for canned tomato and oh boy,it made so much difference in the flavor.It was hearty warm soup on a cold Saturday evening.
Your tip on bread was also helpful.My family enjoyed the soup.Thanks.
I am so glad you are enjoying our recipes. Thanks for letting us know!
Hi Maria, I’m wondering if this soup freezes well? Thank you!
Yes, you can freeze the soup. If it is too thick after defrosting, add a little more broth.
Made the soup as written and it was EXCEPTIONAL! The Parmesan rind does make a difference. I did add zucchini and it was a good add on. Continue to love your recipes!
Let’s cook it on the IP!
Delicious! I carmelized some tomato paste with the onions, garlic, veggies and herbs. Just for flavor. I also added green beans and more garlic than the recipe calls for. I’ve added this to the list of go-to recipes that we love!
Delicious! My wife made it for the first time tonight and we both loved it. She was a little apprehensive at first about using 5 cloves of garlic, but she decided to try it and then we would know whether the next time to use that many or less. It suited both of our palates. She also used spinach instead of the kale. Maybe the next time she’ll try the kale. It makes a very tasty body warming soup!
My family and I lived in Italy for 6 years and had Ribollita in Florence. I loved it and have been hoping to find a good recipe. This was so delicious and I cannot wait to eat the leftovers!!!
Excellent! Made exactly as written, except used spinach instead of kale as that’s what I had on hand. Will make again.
This was excellent – healthy and filling. Served with that no knead bread everyone is making these days.
I’ve tried many recipes for this delicious Tuscan soup but this has been the best. I made it for my husband and neighbors and got rave reviews. It was so flavorful and was easy to make. I am holding on to this recipe and do have a need to search any further.
I’ve tried many recipes for this delicious Tuscan soup but this has been the best. I made it for my husband and neighbors and got rave reviews. It was so flavorful and was easy to make. I am holding on to this recipe and do have a need to search any further.
This soup was the perfect meal for our first day of snowfall in Michigan! I have wanted to try making Ribollita for a very long time, as I fell in love with it on vacation in Florence, Italy. The recipe was easy and every bit as delicious as the Florence Trattoria’s! Thank you so much, Maria! I’ll be making this again very soon!
My daughter and I made this on Sunday. It is the best soup. Wonderful flavor! So glad you shared recipe.
I am glad you loved it!
Love this recipe but I leave out the bread and add a 1/2 tablespoon of fennel seeds. This is a hearty healthy soup and delicious for a cold day!
Oh my YuM! I’ve always wanted to try Ribollita and I’m so glad I found this recipe! Perfect for this snowy evening. So flavorful, hearty and DELICIOUS!
Yes, perfect for a cold and snowy evening!