This filling and tasty White Bean Soup is just 2 SmartPoints per portion on Weight Watchers Freestyle, Blue and Purple plans. It is 3 SmartPoints per bowl on the WW Green plan.
Please be aware that this post was written prior to Weight Watchers changing to the WW Personal Points Plan! You can discover exactly how many Personal Points this recipe will be for you by clicking on the blue ‘WW Personal Points’ button in the recipe card below.
I topped off the soup with a little chopped up bacon for an extra crunchy, salty interest but this soup is really tasty without (& less Points too)!
Now that the world has turned upside down and everything that I have known & taken for granted has altered, I, like so many people, have been finding it difficult to concentrate on my WW journey.
But the last couple of days I've had a bit of a mental shift and have started to plan & track again.
I've also started to write up some of the recipes that I had developed before the pandemic struck.
This White Bean Soup is filling and comforting - and heaven knows we need comfort at the moment.
I don't want to carry on 'comforting' myself with chocolate, cake, cookies, chips - all those foods that I used to eat prior to starting my WW journey.
I REALLY don't want to come out of this lock down pounds heavier than when I went in. I know that for me that won't do my mental health any good what so ever.
I feel happier, healthier and more in control when I stick to the WW plan. I know it and know that I am not alone in that.
So .... I am looking for some kind of compromise! Comforting foods that are low in SmartPoints.
This soup is one of them!
One bowl of this soup with a slice bread (take a look at this list of Low Point Breads) keeps me full and satisfied from lunch to dinner!
Oh, and did I say it's pretty easy to make too!
Tips for making this soup!
- Make sure that you cook the onions and celery on a low heat. There isn't a huge amount of oil in this recipe so to prevent the onion & celery sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning you need to soften it over a low heat.
- If it does start to stick you can add a tablespoon or so of water to loosen it and then turn down the heat.
- I used a medium cauliflower in this recipe. I removed the green leaves and chopped off the tough stalk. I cut up the head into smallish florets (see pic above).
- You can use any kind of white beans that you like - see below.
- I used a standard vegetable stock cube / bouillon cube to make the stock but you could use a low sodium one if you prefer.
- I topped this soup with a little chopped bacon medallions. As there is hardly any fat on a bacon medallion it is a little more difficult to make the bacon super crispy. However, I lightly fried it for about 7 minutes, turning it often, which seemed to work to make the medallion crispy. I
Which White Beans should I use?
I used a 15oz (400g) can of cannellini beans (also known as White Kidney Beans) in this recipe. Once drained and rinsed they weighed just over 8oz (230g).
You could also use navy (pea) beans, baby lima beans, haricot beans or even butter beans. Just make sure that you use a can that gives you about 80z (230g) once drained.
What Bacon can I use?
I used bacon medallions in this recipe. They worked out at 2 Points for 4 medallions.
If you are unable to find bacon medallions, you could use bacon bits. They work out at 2 Points for 2 tablespoons.
Other Weight Watchers Soup Recipes.
If you like soup you may like these Weight Watchers friendly soup recipes
SmartPoints in this soup!
Weight Watchers changed their program at the end of 2019 and it now includes 3 individual plans. This gives anyone following the WW program choice on how they use their SmartPoint allocation.
Using the official WW recipe builder I have worked out the SmartPoints for this White Bean Soup for each of the plans.
- Blue Plan / Freestyle Plan - 2 SmartPoints per serving
- Purple Plan - 2 SmartPoints per serving
- Green Plan - 3 SmartPoints per serving
White Bean Soup | Weight Watchers
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 sticks celery chopped
- 2 small onions chopped finely
- 1 medium cauliflower removed from stalk and roughly chopped
- 1 can white beans 1 x 15oz can / 425g
- 1 vegetable stock cube / bouillon cube made up with 2½ cups / 600ml with hot water
- 5 sprays of calorie controlled oil such as Pam or Frylight.
- 2 tbsp bacon bits or 4 no fat bacon medallions
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large saucepan heat the olive oil over a low heat.
- Add the chopped onions, celery and a pinch of salt.
- Give it a good mix and place the lid on the saucepan and let it cook for 15 minutes or so until the onions and celery have softened.
- You may need to give it a mix every so often to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan but really it shouldn't stick as it is cooking over a low heat.
- If you find that it does start to stick to the pan turn down the heat even further and add a little water and stir.
- Meanwhile cut the head of the cauliflower from the stalk and roughly chop up the florets. You can discard the hard stalk and green leaves.
- Once the onion and celery has softened, add the chopped cauliflower and the can of drained & rinsed beans to the pot and stir to combine.
- Cover with the saucepan lid and cook over a low heat for about 20 minutes until the cauliflower is tender. Stir every now and again.
- Whilst the cauliflower is cooking spray the bottom of a non stick skillet / frying pan with a couple of sprays of calorie controlled oil. Heat for minute and add the bacon medallions. Cook for 6 - 8 minutes turning them every so often. You want the bacon medallions to crisp up but you don't want them to burn! Remove from the heat and break them up /cut them up ready to sprinkle over your soup.
- Crumble a stock cube/bouillon cube into a jug and pour over 600ml of boiling water. Stir to dissolve.
- Add the stock to the saucepan of veg and stir.
- Remove from the heat and pass through a food blender until the soup is creamy and smooth.
- Place the soup back in the saucepan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Heat the soup through prior to serving with a sprinkling of bacon pieces.
- Enjoy.
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