Marcella Hazan’s Quick 15-Minute Soup: The Ultimate Weeknight Dinner Hack!

During my early days as a budding recipe creator at the Food52 test kitchen, I was assigned to prepare Marcella Hazan’s White Bean Soup with Garlic and Parsley from her book Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking for a photo session. Equipped with the zeal of a fresh culinary school graduate eager to shine, I donned my apron and tackled the recipe. In a mere 15 minutes, I was finished. Really, that’s all? Did I skip something?

Indeed, I hadn’t missed a step. The recipe only required five ingredients: olive oil, garlic, beans, broth, and parsley, and it only needed to simmer for 10 minutes. Surprisingly simple, yet the flavor surpasses many more complicated and ingredient-heavy bean soups.

This soup has become one of my staple recipes, discovered on the job and cherished ever since.

Preparing Marcella Hazan’s White Bean Soup

Begin by heating half a cup of olive oil (don’t skimp!) and minced garlic in a medium saucepan until the garlic turns fragrant and golden, about a minute. This crucial step infuses the oil with rich flavor, allowing the soup to cook quickly while still tasting more developed than many longer recipes.

Marcella suggests a teaspoon of chopped garlic, but as evident in the image below, I’m a big fan of garlic—I add about a tablespoon (three large cloves) that I finely grate using a Microplane.

Mix in three 16-ounce cans of drained and rinsed white beans, such as cannellini, Great Northern, or Navy beans. While freshly cooked beans might taste superior, using canned beans adds a level of convenience and spontaneity that’s hard to beat.

When using canned beans, I usually omit salt, but for homemade beans, a pinch of salt and a few cracks of black pepper are perfect.

Reduce the heat, cover the pot, and let it simmer for about five minutes, allowing the beans to soak up the garlicky oil.

Add a cup of chicken or beef broth, then use an immersion blender for three quick pulses directly in the pot (ensure the blade is submerged to avoid splashes). This creates a delightful mix of smooth and chunky textures in the soup. Alternatively, follow Marcella’s method of transferring half a cup of beans to a food mill or blender with the broth.

After simmering for an additional five minutes, finish by topping with freshly chopped parsley and adjusting the seasoning with more salt and pepper if needed. In less than 15 minutes, you’ve created a hearty, flavorful soup that’s both comforting and satisfying.

Marcella once remarked, “If you truly love beans, all you really need in a bean soup is the beans. Why complicate it with anything else?” This recipe proves that sometimes, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication in cooking.

Honoring Marcella Hazan with a Namesake Bean

Although Marcella Hazan passed away in 2013, her influence continues through her cookbooks and recipes—and a type of cannellini bean named in her honor: the Marcella Bean.

Steve Sando, the Founder and CEO of Rancho Gordo, cultivates these heirloom Italian beans as a tribute to her. Their origin story is quite moving and worth a read.

One holiday season, I gifted every bean aficionado I knew a pound of Marcella Beans. To this day, they remind me of how transformative that gift was, introducing some to the exceptional quality of truly fine beans for the first time.

BUY IT: Marcella Bean