Greek

Serving

Greek Quick & easy

Fasolada (Greek White Bean Soup)

Name: Fasolada (Greek White Bean Soup)
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 1 lb dried white beans (cannellini or great northern), soaked overnight; 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (plus extra for drizzling); 1 large onion, chopped; 2 carrots, sliced; 2 stalks celery, sliced; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes; 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth; 1 bay leaf

Considered the national dish of Greece, this rustic and comforting white bean soup is simmered with vegetables in a tomato and olive oil broth.

20 minutes

Serves 4

Dinner/Lunch

9 min prep

15 min cook

Contains common allergens

celery

In the app, Listahan checks these against your household automatically.

Good to know

One-pot
Ready in under 30 minutes

Matched from this dish's own ingredients and timing. Browse more: one-pot dinners 30-minute meals

Instructions

5 steps

1
Cook Beans: Drain the soaked beans. Place them in a large pot with enough water to cover by 2 inches. Boil for 10 minutes, then drain.
2
Sauté Aromatics: In the same pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and sauté for 8-10 minutes until softened.
3
Simmer: Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the drained beans, diced tomatoes, broth, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours until the beans are completely creamy and tender.
4
Season: Season generously with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. The soup should be thick and stew-like.
5
Serve: Serve hot in bowls, finished with a generous drizzle of high-quality extra virgin olive oil and a slice of crusty bread.

Fasolada (Greek White Bean Soup) — plated and served — Serving moment. How Fasolada (Greek White Bean Soup) looks plated and ready to eat — a representative photo, not a step in the recipe.

Listahan Family Score™

72/100

Good fit for most families

Allergen-friendly 90

Kid-friendly 55

Weeknight-easy 86

Budget-friendly 86

Great leftovers 50

Pantry-friendly 29

Score reflects how well this recipe fits a typical busy household. In the app, your Family Score is personalized to your household's allergens, kids, and pantry.

Nutrition

per serving

475

Calories

17 g

Protein

41 g

Carbs

29 g

Fat

Estimated per serving. Actual values depend on the brands and portions you use.

Listahan cooking guide

Chef notes & practical guide

Technique notes, ingredient swaps, serve-alongside ideas, storage guidance, and equipment for this recipe.

Cultural context

Fasolada is often called Greece's national dish, a rustic bean soup built on the same olive-oil-forward technique found across Greek vegetable cooking known as lathera, where beans or vegetables simmer slowly in a tomato-and-oil broth until the dish thickens on its own rather than needing a separate thickener.

Listahan note

This version leans on a generous amount of olive oil cooked with the vegetables from the start, since that's what builds the broth's body, not the beans alone.

Technique cues

Boiling the soaked beans briefly and draining them before the main cook removes surface starches that would otherwise cloud the broth and shortens the beans' total cooking time.
Sauteing the onion, carrot, and celery in a generous amount of olive oil for 8 to 10 minutes before adding tomato builds a sweeter, rounder base than adding the vegetables directly to the liquid.
The soup needs a long simmer, an hour and a half to two hours, until the beans turn fully creamy and start to break down slightly at the edges, thickening the broth on their own.
A finishing drizzle of good olive oil added at the table, rather than during cooking, adds a fresh, grassy top note that oil cooked into the soup doesn't provide.

Kitchen flow

Parallel prep: Prep any side dishes while Fasolada (Greek White Bean Soup) finishes with the vegetable or chicken broth — the hands-off cook time is the window to use. Plan around the simmer; that's the slow part.
Make-ahead: Fasolada (Greek White Bean Soup) reheats well, so cooking it a day ahead and finishing it just before serving is a reasonable way to spread out the work. This one leans on the vegetable or chicken broth. The simmer step is what sets the pace here.
Leftover move: Leftover Fasolada (Greek White Bean Soup) reheats well covered on the stove or in the oven with a splash of liquid; avoid the microwave, which tends to toughen the vegetable or chicken broth on a fast reheat. The simmer step is what sets the pace here.
Cleanup rhythm: Deglaze the pan used for Fasolada (Greek White Bean Soup) with a splash of water or broth right after cooking — it lifts the browned bits before they dry on and saves scrubbing later. This one leans on the vegetable or chicken broth. Everything else is quick — the simmer is the one step that takes real time.

Ingredient brief

Role, handling, and swap guidance for each key ingredient.

1 lb dried white beans, soaked overnight

Main protein or body

Purpose: lb dried white beans, soaked overnight gives Fasolada (Greek White Bean Soup) its main substance and carries the seasoning.

Handling: Rinse, soak, whisk, or separate as the recipe requires so the texture stays clean.