This escarole and beans recipe is the perfect comforting soup. Leafy escarole is cooked down in olive oil and garlic, and simmered with cannellini beans. The result is a hearty dish that pairs well with crusty bread.
This escarole and bean soup is a dish that I grew up with. My nonna made it often in Italy, and my mom continued that tradition in our Italian kitchen.
This quick escarole recipe is traditional of Neapolitan cuisine, so it makes sense that my nonna made it in her hometown of Sperlonga (Sperlonga's cuisine is heavily influenced by Naples).
Escarole
Since escarole isn't a common vegetable here in North America, I wanted to describe it quickly.
It's a dark, leafy green that is part of the chicory family, which means it's related to greens like radicchio and endive, but its appearance resembles a head of romaine lettuce.
It does have a slight bitter taste to it, but it's not as bitter as its other endive family members like radicchio or belgian endive. Boiling or cooking the escarole down will lessen the bitter taste.
Boiling escarole to remove the bitterness is a technique I use often. Check it out in my escarole with raisins and pine nuts (it's another nonna/classic Neapolitan recipe).
In my opinion, this dish is great served as the first course, with a nice steak pizzaiola as the second course!
How to make it
Top tips
- Cannellini beans are the traditional bean to use, but in the end, I say use whatever you have on hand! Any type of bean will do
- This recipe uses whole garlic cloves, then removes them when they have flavored the dish. This is a common way of using garlic in Italian cooking - it's not meant to overpower the other flavors in the dish. If you prefer a stronger garlic flavor, you can mince the garlic before adding it in
- You'll notice that as the escarole cooks down in the first step, it will continue to release water. It will never truly dry up. This is because escarole has a high water content.
Storing and reheating
This soup can be store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To reheat, simply place in a saucepan over medium heat and warm up until warmed through.
Recipe
4-Ingredient Escarole and Beans
Ingredients
- 8-9 cups escarole, chopped about 2 heads escarole
- 3 tablespoon olive oil, plus more to garnish
- 2 cloves garlic whole
- 1 can cannellini beans canned
- salt and pepper to taste
- (optional) chili flakes
Instructions
- Cut and wash the escarole: Cut the head of escarole in half lengthwise, and remove the core from each half. Cut the escarole into pieces, and wash (no need to dry)
- In a large pot, heat up olive oil over medium heat. Add in the whole garlic cloves and sauté until fragrant. Add chili flakes if using.
- Add in the escarole. Cook the escarole down for about 15 minutes, until wilted and soft. Remove the garlic cloves. Season with salt and pepper.
- Drain the beans but reserve the liquid from the can. Measure about ¼ cup.
- Add the beans, the ¼ cup of liquid from the beans, and about 400mL of water. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium, low and simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper if needed. Plate, and drizzle with olive oil, and serve with crusty bread. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Don't skip out on the liquid from the canned beans. It adds so much flavor to the dish.
AnnMarie Burgess says
I grew up in a Northern Italian household, my mom and dad always made escarole and beans....we sautéed the escarole with extra virgin olive oil and garlic, then we added the beans with the liquid from the can and maybe one or 2 cups of chicken broth. Absolutely delicious .
Pina says
Thank you AnnMarie!! I absolutely love this recipe. I got this recipe from my nonna in Italy (she lives in Lazio)
Shari Olas says
Great recipe, do you ever add sausage to make a full meal?
Pina says
Awesome, thanks Shari! No, I've never actually added sausage, but it's a great idea!
I do however add sausage to my rapini sometimes to make it a full meal. There's actually a recipe for it on my site: https://pinabresciani.com/italian-sausage-rapini/
Erica says
Pepperoni and pancetta are great!
Daisy Sunshine says
Why isn’t it a full meal now? Why not add some nice bread to make it a “full meal”. Why do some people need meat at every single meal?
Maryann Borrelli Dickinson says
This recipe is a PERFECT "10"!
Love your blog!
Keep the recipes coming!
Pina says
Thanks so much Maryann! This means a lot. Thanks again.
Pina says
Thanks so much Maryann! This means a lot. Thanks again.
Rosalie says
This recipe brings back memories of my mom making this for us! She made it without the beans, but since we're scaling back on meat, the beans add protein to make it a proper meal with macaroni. Thank you!
Pina says
Yay so glad you liked it Rosalie! I just made it the other night too - a staple in our household for sure 🙂
Grace says
Making this tonight for the first time. Planning to make it as a side - any suggestions for main course pairings?
Thanks.
Pina says
Awesome! Let me know how it turns out! I like serving it with steak or any type of veal - like a saltimbocca or piccata. Or oven roasted chicken would go well with it too!
Ann says
I don’t know. You said to cook the beans 5 -7 minutes and then again for another 5 with the escarole. However... beans get mushy and your photo does not show that creamy texture you mention in your recipe. Beans look intact. Please comment.
Pina says
Hi Ann! The beans will break down a bit during the cooking, but not completely. They will remain mostly intact like you see in the photo, Hope that helps!
Michael Lagana says
My mom made it more like a soup,have you ever known of it this way
Pina says
Hi Michael! Yes! I have seen lots of people that make it like this. So they would add chicken stock. I grew up eating it as a side dish instead of a soup! It's cool to see the different variations.
Virginia says
Outstanding! Love it, as a reminder of my two nonnas, one Napolitana, the other Siciliana. Make it often!
Pina says
Thank you so much Virgina! It's a classic!
Jackie C. says
I make this recipe with one major difference. I get the stock, beans and herbs simmering while I cut up the escarole into bite sized pieces and then add to to the broth and allow the greens to cook down til soft and tender. I have used spinach and romaine as alternate greens when escarole is not available. All work great. My pan is a 12" sautè pan and one head is plenty for one person. If I double it, I also double the beans. It was eaten as a soup in my family.
David says
Great recipe. Very similar to mom's. We would reserve the blanching liquid from the escarole and add a bean can of this liquid. It increases the escarole flavor and makes it more soup like. We also use (2) 1/8" slices of pancetta diced into 1/4" squares and sauté a few minutes then add the garlic. It gives a really rich mouth feel.
Sharon says
Only thing we
Do different is use a little anchovy paste .
Pina Bresciani says
Sounds delicious Sharon!