Lemony Vegan White Bean Soup

Do you feel like having refreshing and warm comfort food? Then try this Vegan White Bean Soup. It is a roux-based veggie-packed soup with a zesty taste. The addition of freshly chopped parsley will complement the lemony flavor perfectly. No fancy ingredients or complicated steps to make this light, simple and comforting vegan soup.

Are you in love with soups? Me too. So does our whole family. We make lots of soups from light and refreshing ones to rich and filling ones. Try our Roasted Broccoli Sweet Potato Soup where we roast all ingredients in the oven then blend them into a creamy soup in one step. If you like veggie-packed soup recipes with beans, try our Vegan Minestrone Soup, which I call “empty-your-pantry” soup. For more soup recipes, visit our Vegan Soup Recipes gallery.

What does a lemony white bean soup taste like?

It is definitely not your usual “sautee onion, add veggie broth and cook until ready”-type of beans soup recipe. It is a creamy roux-based soup with white beans, veggies, and a zesty, lemony taste that makes this vegan white beans soup quite refreshing.

Don’t be afraid of making a roux-based soup. We will show you how laughingly simply it is. In short, you will caramelize root veggies in vegan butter or olive oil and then add flour and milk to make a creamy soup base. This way, all the sweetness from the carrots will leak into the soup even more compared to when they are just cooked in water. We take advantage of this cooking method when we make our Caramelized Carrot Pasta Sauce.

Best white beans for this soup

Did you know that there are several types of white beans? They have similarities as well as differences which makes them unique. They can usually be used interchangeably in vegan recipes, although we would like to highlight some characteristics that are worth taking into account when choosing one or the other. We recommend making this vegetable bean soup recipe with either cannellini beans or lima beans.

• Navy beans aka Pea beans – They are the smallest ones in size, which means they are quick to cook. It can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. Quick means you need to make sure not to over-cook it and turn them into mush. Quick can also mean that it is perfect to thicken soups and stews. However, it might not work in this recipe as they are too small and will be lost among all these other ingredients.
• Great Northern beans – They are slightly bigger in size and hold their shape better. They are also quite popular enough that you can easily find a canned version if you don’t want to cook them from scratch. If you have those in hand you can absolutely use them in this recipe.
• Cannellini beans aka White kidney beans – They are the most popular white beans and also the most commonly available both in canned and in dried form. They are quite neutral in taste, so we love to add them to soup, stew, and chili recipes. Or we use them as an extra protein boost in our Smoky Vegan Beet Burger recipe. Surprisingly they also make a delicious, rich, and creamy vegan white sauce that we use to make Vegan Eggplant Parmesan or Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip.
• Lima beans aka Butter beans – They are the largest white beans, which we used in this recipe (see below picture) Aren’t they look stunning in this white beans soup recipe? You can tell that they are the star of this vegan dish without a doubt. They have a buttery, almost potato-like soft texture and a neutral taste, which makes them a great addition to soups and stews.

Other ingredients to add

To make this fresh, lemony Vegan White Bean Soup you only need a handful of ingredients. This is a roux-based bean vegetable soup, which means we caramelize root veggies on vegan butter and then make a vegan and gluten-free roux to thicken the soup eventually. Then all other ingredients are cooked in veggie broth. So what do you need to make this vegetarian bean soup recipe? (You will find the exact amounts in the recipe card below.)

• potatoes
• carrots
• parsnip
• onion
• celery stalk
• fresh parsley
• white rice flour
• dairy-free milk
• vegetable broth
• freshly squeezed lemon juice
• vegan butter / olive oil

How to make a Vegan White Bean Soup?

Prepare ingredients

Wash, peel, and dice the potatoes. Wash, peel, and slice carrot, and parsnip. Wash and chop the celery stalk. We used canned white beans so nothing to be done there except to drain the liquid. Squeeze some lemon juice and chop fresh parsley. Peel onion. No need to chop it as it will be added whole.

Making vegan roux with caramelized root veggies

Have you heard about making a roux and got scared of the word? It sounds like a hard thing to do, but not at all. Roux in short is flour and fat cooked together and then used to thicken sauces and soups. It is also the basis of our easy Vegan Bechamel (aka Vegan White Sauce) recipe. Here is a couple of steps. Easy peasy you will see.

1. Heat your stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat and add vegan butter, and olive oil. When warm, add sliced carrots and parsnip. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper. Mix well and let it caramelize for a couple of minutes. They will not turn brown but will release some color and a sweet aroma.
2. Add freshly chopped parsley and ¼ cup (0,5 dl) water. Stir and cook for approx. 5 minutes until most of the water evaporates.
3. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp of white rice flour. Mix well and let it cook for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add dairy-free milk (unsweetened, unflavored) and stir until combined to a creamy thick sauce. Volia, your roux is ready!

1. When the roux is ready, add veggie broth and stir until combined.
2. Add chopped celery stalk and peeled onion in whole. Cook until root veggies are soft to the touch, but still hard if you bite on them.
3. Add chopped potatoes and cook for approx. 10 minutes.
4. When potatoes and carrots are tender and cooked, add canned white beans, lemon juice, and adjust seasoning by adding salt and black pepper if needed. Bring to boil and your lemony vegan white bean soup is ready to be served. Absolutely delicious!

Top tips to make this soup perfectly

• Chop vegetables evenly – Try to slice carrots and parsnip to the same size so that they are cooked and ready at the same time. The same goes for potatoes. Try to make them even as much as possible.
• Dried vs canned legumes – If you’d like to use dried beans, you should cook them separately and only add them to the soup once soft and ready to eat. When legumes are cooked they release things that can form a foam at the top of the cooking water. It does not look nice on the top of soups. It is applicable to all types of bean soup recipes.
• Why don’t we chop the onion? – We like adding whole peeled onions for 2 reasons: 1) the soup will be a creamy base plus veggies, so there will be no small pieces. My daughters sure love the soup like that. 2) If you leave it like that the cooked whole onion is absolutely sweet. We love eating it like that.

FAQs and Substitutions

What other veggies can you add?

The most commonly used veggies in these kinds of soups are potato, carrot, and celery. However, you can add veggies like mushrooms, other root vegetables (like turnip, kohlrabi, rutabaga, or celeriac), even spinach or kale. Other veggies (zucchini, asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, collard greens, sweet potato, or butternut squash) will change the texture and the taste of the soup too much.  

What other legumes can you add?

Whatever legumes you have basically. We made this soup with cannellini and butter beans as well. Any other white beans will also be fine like navy beans or Great Northern beans or the mix of them. It is a white bean soup, but if you really don’t have any white beans, we recommend using chickpeas then. To make things easier and quicker, we usually use canned beans. However, if you use dried beans, cook them separately before adding them to the soup.

Can you use other flour?

We used rice flour as that is quite neutral in taste and easy to work with. We don’t recommend using starches of any kind as you might end up with a pudding-like thickness. As an alternative to rice flour, you can use other gluten-free flours like oat, buckwheat, or millet. Check out the List of 90+ Gluten-free Flours. You can also use all-purpose wheat flour or whole wheat flour if you don’t need to eat gluten-free.

How to store it?

Store it in a fridge until 4-5 days. This soup is totally freezer-friendly. Bring it to boil after thawing before serving.

What to serve with a Vegan White Bean Soup?

It is a one-pot hearty soup, which already has potatoes and beans. However, it is so satisfying to dunk your bread or GFV cornbread or even a GFV garlic bread into this lovely soup. You can also add breadsticks (I like these Schar gluten-free breadsticks*), croutons, crackers, or even vegan bacon bits. If you like your soups a bit fiery, sprinkle it with some red pepper flakes. Let us know in the comments, which garnish was the perfect choice for you.

This White Bean Soup recipe is meat-free, dairy-free, and egg-free. It is also suitable for vegan, vegetarian, nut-free, gluten-free and soy-free diets. It is NOT WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) as it is not possible to make the roux exactly like this without any oil or fat.

More vegan soup recipes

You can browse through our Vegan Gluten-free Soup Recipes or check out

• Smoky Vegan Sweet Potato Soup
• Cream of Spinach Soup
• Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup
• Vegetarian Goulash
• Cozy Red Lentil Soup