This is my grandmother's Escarole and Bean Soup and it is so simple and delicious! 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 out White Bean Lentil Soup, Classic Italian Minestrone, or Zuppa Toscana.
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How to Pronounce Escarole
When you live in an Italian household, some words you hear 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, or Italian 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 Sausage and Italian Wedding Soup.
- Escarole. You wanted to get a broad-leafed escarole like shown above, not a curly endive
*Please see the recipe card below for more information about ingredients.
Step-by-Step Directions
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 broth and the parmesan rind. Bring the broth to a simmer and stir in the cannellini beans. Simmer for 20 minutes to an hour. 20 minutes will get the job done but an hour will get rid of any intense bitterness.
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.
Pro-Tips
- 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.
- Rinse escarole well before adding it to the pot to remove any debris in the leaves. People forget that lettuce grows from the dirt.
- Slice the garlic thin and evenly so that it all cooks at the same rate.
Recipe FAQs
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.
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container and then reheat in a small pot on the stove for best results.
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
Please leave a comment and star rating below in the recipe card! I love to hear what you think of our recipes. Feel free to tag us on Instagram @vindelgiudice.
📖 Recipe
Escarole and Bean Soup
Equipment
- 1 medium dutch oven
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 head escarole, chopped
- 1 can of cannellini beans, rinsed
- 4 cups chicken broth or vegetable stock
- 1-2 teaspoon salt
- 1 parmesan rind
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Add olive to a large pot and bring to medium heat.
- Add in sliced garlic and stir often. Once the garlic becomes fragrant and slightly brown, add in escarole and stir until the garlic is mixed thoroughly. Cover for 5 minutes to wilt the escarole. Stir in the salt.
- Pour in the 4 cups of stock or broth. Bring to a simmer. Add the parmesan rind and cannellini beans. Simmer for 20 minutes to an hour. Remove from the heat and serve with grated parmesan and lemon zest, if desired.
Notes
- This is a soup, not traditional sauteed escarole and beans.
- Rinse escarole well before adding it to the pot to remove any debris in the leaves.
Renee
As someone who has never added cheese rind, does it melt and become part of soup or stay solid and get tossed out layer?
Vincent DelGiudice
It gets melty, but it doesn't melt into the soup. You would remove it like you would remove a bay leaf.
Vinny
This is a delicious soup and it's my grandmother's recipe! Hope you enjoy!