Escarole and Bean Soup

This is my grandmother's Escarole and Bean Soup, and it is so simple and delicious with only 5 simple ingredients! It's a traditional New York Italian soup that my grandmother used to make for us in the winter.

Serve it alongside a Gruyere Grilled Cheese for the ultimate soup and sandwich combo!

If you're looking for more delicious, hearty Italian soups like this one, check outWhite Bean Lentil Soup, Classic Italian Minestrone, orZuppa Toscana.

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How to Pronounce Escarole

When you live in an Italian household, you hear some words a lot but never actually see the word spelled out. Escarole was one of those words. When I was in graduate school, I started calling my grandma more often to walk me through recipes, whether it was the escarole and beans soup, sauteed rapini with garlic, Italian Stuffed Artichokes,orItalian chicken cutlets.

When I asked her how to make the escarole and bean soup, she told me what I needed to get from the store. She said to get the cannellini beans, chicken broth, garlic, and the "shkadol." So, I went to the supermarket and couldn't find it anywhere. Finally, I went up to someone working in the produce section and asked, "where do you keep the "shkadole?" He looked at me like I was out of my mind. He then asked me to repeat myself 2 more times, until he finally realized, "oh, you mean escarole." So the correct pronunciation is eh-ska-role. Who knew?

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Cannellini Beans. These can be substituted with white northern beans, but cannellini beans will hold up better in a soup.
• Parmesan rind. Parmesan rind, although not a necessity, is a great addition of flavor to the soup. I add to a lot of my soups like, Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup with Sausageand Italian Wedding Soup, to add a salty and nutty flavor.
• Escarole. You want to get a broad-leafed escarole like shown above, not a curly endive.

*Please see the recipe card below for more information about ingredients.

How to Make Escarole and Bean Soup

The thing about my grandma was that she didn't have a recipe book. She wasn't pulling cards out for most of the things we made for dinner. It was all in her head. So, if you called on Wednesday, the recipe might look a little different than on Friday. But I think I got the gist of it.

Step 1: Start by slicing the garlic. Then wash the escarole and roughly chop it into 1-2 inch pieces.

Step 2: In a heavy-bottom pot, bring olive oil to medium heat. Once the olive oil is shimmering, add in the garlic and stir. After 1-2 minutes, the edges of the garlic should start to brown.

Step 3: Stir in all the escarole. Stir well and then cover the pot for 4-5 minutes. Let the escarole wilt down slightly.

Step 4: Add salt for taste and stir. Pour in the stock and the Parmesan rind. Bring the broth to a simmer and stir in the cannellini beans. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Step 5: Remove the escarole and bean soup from the heat and serve with some crusty Italian bread and grated parmesan. Or make it a whole meal and serve it with an Eggplant Parm Sandwich.

These classic Italian soups make for the best lunches on cold weekend afternoons. If you love this old-school one, try our Pasta e Ceci (Italian Pasta and Chickpea Soup) for something with a tomato base.

Pro-Tips

1. This is a soup, not traditional sauteed escarole and beans. If you're looking to make just sauteed escarole and beans, cut down the broth to ½ a cup.
2. Rinse escarole well before adding it to the pot to remove any debris in the leaves. People forget that lettuce grows from the dirt.
3. Slice the garlic thinly and evenly so that it all cooks at the same rate.

Recipe FAQs

Where do you find escarole?

Escarole will be in the leafy green sections of the supermarket. When you're looking, it is sometimes labeled endive. Just make sure you pick the endive with the flat leaves when you want escarole.

How to store and reheat escarole and bean soup?

Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container and then reheat in a small pot on the stove for best results.

How do you take the bitterness out of the escarole soup?

The longer you let it simmer, the less bitter it will be. Escarole will always have a slight bitterness, but the simmering can take the edge off.

Great Soups for the Cold Weather

• Barley Lentil Soup
• Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup with Sausage
• Italian Wedding Soup
• Chicken Farro Soup