Average: 3.5 (4 votes)
Active time
30 minutes
Total time
1.5 hours
8 servings

1 pound (2½ cups) dried white beans (cannellini or navy beans), soaked overnight and drained

3-4 carrots, diced

1 large onion, diced

3 stalks of celery, diced

2 cloves of garlic

1 14.5-ounce can tomato, diced

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon paprika (hot or sweet)

salt and pepper to taste



  1. If cooking on a stovetop, you must ﬁrst soak the beans. Rinse the beans and pour into a large bowl. Cover with 2” of water, 1 tablespoon of salt and let soak on the counter for 4 hours -12 hours.
  2. In a large pot, starting with a cold pan, sauté the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
  3. When the vegetables are aromatic, add paprika.
  4. After 2 minutes, add the diced tomato and sauté for 1 minute.
  5. Add the soaked beans and cover with enough water to cover the beans by 1 inch.
  6. Season generously with salt.
  7. Simmer until the beans are tender (30-40 minutes).
  8. Add ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil and cook for a few more minutes. The olive oil will make the soup thick and creamy.

Slow Cooker

  1. Rinse the beans.
  2. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic to the pot. If you can, sauté them ﬁrst, but you don’t have to.
  3. Add the diced tomatoes and paprika.
  4. Add beans and enough water to cover by 1 inch.
  5. Add ½ cup of olive oil.
  6. Season generously with salt.
  7. Cook on high for 6 hours.
  8. Using a spoon, smash some of the beans to thicken the soup.

 Instant Pot

  1. Rinse the beans.
  2. Press the sauté button. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic.
  3. After 2 minutes, add the paprika.
  4. After 1 minute, add the diced tomato and sauté for 1 minute.
  5. Add the beans and enough water to cover by 1 inch.
  6. Press the cancel button to turn oﬀ the sauté mode.
  7. Press manual for 40 minutes. Make sure the pot is sealed.
  8. When done cooking, natural pressure release for 10 minutes or until the pressure pin drops.
  9. Open the pot and add ½ cup of olive oil. Stir.
  10. Put the machine back into sauté mode and let the soup simmer for 5 minutes.

To serve

Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper.

Serve in bowls with crusty peasant bread, olives, and feta cheese!

Enjoy and stay warm!

This soup, like many soups and stews, tastes even better the next day. 

Recipe courtesy of North American Olive Oil Association; a Shutterstock photo


Calories: 340
Total Fat: 14g
Saturated Fat: 2g
Sodium: 45mg
Carbohydrate: 43g
Fiber: 16g
Protein: 13g

Yield: 8 servings

How'd it Taste?

Francis Arsenault
A 1/2 cup of oil is ridiculous even coming from an oil association . You know that olive oil should not be heated to high temperatures too. Beans and veggies are perfect foods that can be sauted with water or broth cooked to the recipe and finished off with a tablespoon of oil if desired . This is how I will prepare it when I make it . What's important is not the taste but how healthy is the soup . Just my opinion ! Thanks for reading .
Hi Francis, we appreciate your feedback. In the landmark PREDIMED study, people who were randomly assigned to a Mediterranean diet with 1/4 cup olive oil per day had significantly lower rates of heart disease and stroke than their low-fat counterparts. That sounds like a lot in today's fat phobic environment, but communities in which olive oil is the principle fat, and who use it often, are actually quite a healthy bunch. Additionally, there is evidence that cooking vegetables in olive oil, even at high heats, can help improve the antioxidant capacity. At Oldways we believe that good taste and good health do go hand in hand!
I agree with you Kelly-Oldways. The amount of oil is fine . I am from Mediterranea and still cooking that way. What I do I add half the amount of the oil along with all the ingredients and the rest at the end of cooking. Oh what nice flavor and aroma!!!
Lauren H.
Not bad! It definitely needed some salt for my taste. It felt like it was missing something. If I make this again, I might add some fresh citrus to it.
Another great hit from your Web-Site. I followed the instant pot version, but added a bit of salt prior to cooking, increased the paprika slightly, and added some shredded grilled chicken and kale that I already had on-hand (from the freezer). Definitely a keeper!

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