Tuscan Farro Soup with Beans

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A simple and delicious Tuscan Farro Soup made with hearty veggies, borlotti beans (cranberry beans), pancetta and garlic. It’s packed with flavour, super nutritious and perfect for keeping cosy during the colder months!

Tuscan farro soup in a bowl with a spoon and rosemary
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Farro is an ancient Italian wheat grain that’s very similar to spelt, it’s very popular in Italy and is so delicious added to soups, stews and salads.

This soup is one of my favourite ways to use it because it’s super simple but packed with incredible flavour. Made from sweet, hearty vegetables, smoked pancetta, beans and rosemary.

Serve it with plenty of crusty bread or homemade focaccia for dipping!

Ingredients – what you need

To make this farro soup you’ll need; farro (or spelt or barley), vegetables (carrot, celery & onion), garlic, rosemary, pancetta, vegetable stock, and borlotti beans (also known as cranberry beans).

See the photo below that shows all the ingredients you need!

An overhead shot of all the ingredients you need to make Tuscan farro soup

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First finely chop the carrot, celery and onion and saute gently on a low heat until soft. Add the pancetta and garlic and cook for a further 3 minutes, stirring occasionally (photo 1).

Rinse the canned borlotti beans and add them to the veg and pancetta with the vegetable stock (photo 2).

Step by step photos showing how to make Tuscan farro soup

Blitz the beans, veg and pancetta into a puree using a hand-held blender, don’t worry if it’s not completely smooth as long as the majority of the mixture has been pureed it’s fine (photos 3).

Place the liquid puree back over a medium heat and add the farro or spelt (make sure to rinse the farro thoroughly first).

Add the passata, 3 more cups of vegetable stock (750ml) and rosemary, stir the soup and cook covered for 30-40 minutes until the farro is cooked through. Serve in large bowls with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkling of pepper and some crusty bread (photo 4).

A close up of a spoonful of farro soup
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Recipe tips and FAQs

  • Prepping the farro – Make sure to rinse the farro under cold running water for a few seconds before starting.
  • Make it vegetarian – you can omit the pancetta for a meat-free version.
  • Texture – I like to blend the majority of the soup so it’s smooth before I add the farro which gives the soup both a creamy texture with chewy hearty farro. You can leave the whole soup chunky if you prefer.
What can I use instead of farro?

You can use barley or spelt instead of farro they work just as well!

Can I prep this soup in advance?

Yes, you can prepare the soup and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it. It tastes even better the next day!

How long does it last?

The soup will keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days or you can freeze the soup for up to 3 months in suitable containers. Thaw it completely before reheating until piping hot!

More soup recipes you might like

If you’ve tried this farro soup or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.

This post was first published on 9th November 2017 but has since been updated.

Step By Step Photos Above

Most of our recipes come with step by step photos, helpful tips and tricks to make it perfectly first time and even video!

Tuscan Farro Soup with Beans

4.80 from 10 votes

By Emily

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 50 minutes
Total: 1 hour
Servings: 6 people
A simple and delicious Tuscan Farro Soup made with hearty veggies, borlotti beans (cranberry beans), pancetta and garlic. It's packed with flavour, super nutritious and perfect for keeping cosy during the colder months!
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Ingredients

  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup smoked pancetta cubed, (100g)
  • 2 sprigs rosemary
  • 3 cups pre-cooked borlotti beans, (cranberry beans) 800g
  • 1 cup farro, can also use spelt or barley (180g)
  • 5 cups vegetable stock, (1250ml)
  • 2 tbsp passata (tomato puree), can also use tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper, to season

Instructions 

  • Add the olive oil (1 tbsp) and chopped carrot, celery and onion to large pot and saute gently on a medium/low heat until soft. Add the pancetta (1/2 cup/100g) and garlic (2 cloves) and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Rinse the canned borlotti beans (3 cups/800g) and add them to the vegetables and pancetta with 2 cups/500ml of vegetable stock.
  • Blitz the beans, veg and pancetta into a puree using a hand-held blender ( don’t worry if it’s not completely smooth as long as the majority of the mixture has been pureed)
  • Rinse the farro thoroughly under running cold water. Put the soup back over a medium heat and add the farro (1 cup/180g).
  • Add the passata (2 tbsp), 3 more cups of vegetable stock (750ml), a pinch of salt and pepper and rosemary sprigs, stir the soup and cook covered for 30-40 minutes until the farro is cooked through.
  • Serve in large bowls with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkling of pepper and some crusty bread.

Video

Notes

  • Prepping the farro – Make sure to rinse the farro under cold running water for a few seconds before starting.
  • Make it vegetarian – you can omit the pancetta for a meat-free version.
  • Texture – I like to blend the majority of the soup so it’s smooth before I add the farro which gives the soup both a creamy texture with chewy hearty farro. You can leave the whole soup chunky if you prefer.
  • Leftovers & freezing – leftovers will keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days or can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Helpful Info for All Recipes

  • I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
  • When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
  • All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
  • All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
  • Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
  • Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
  • You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.

Nutrition

Calories: 333kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 1404mg | Potassium: 568mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 2214IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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4.80 from 10 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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31 Comments

  1. Sandy Hodge says:

    Found this to be very bland. Will add some basil and maybe marjoramโ€ฆ.3 stars

    1. Emily says:

      Hi Sandy, that’s a shame you found it bland, maybe you need to add a little extra salt as there’s a lot of flavour in the soup. Marjoram would make a nice addition!

  2. Stuart McGeein says:

    I was wanting to make a bean soup of some kind, so obviously checked your recipes. Tried this for the first time, and it turned out perfect and was thoroughly delicious! Another winning recipe from you!5 stars

    1. Emily says:

      I’m so happy you enjoyed it, thanks so much for the review!

  3. Tammy D says:

    I made this today and loved it! I didnโ€™t have any pancetta so I used bacon; no borlotti beans so I used cannellini instead. Flavor was great and it paired well with the bread I baked today. Whew! Lots of cooking today! Now I am full and tired ๐Ÿ™‚5 stars

  4. Tatiana says:

    What is a good substitute for cranberry beans as we donโ€™t have those in the USA unless I just have never seen it?

    1. Emily says:

      You could use cannellini beans instead ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Vicki says:

    I am not familiar with borlotti beans, is there a substitute I could use?

    1. Emily says:

      Hi Vicki, you could use cannellini beans instead ๐Ÿ™‚

    2. BKG says:

      Borlotti beans are pinto beans

    3. BKG says:

      pinto beans or cranberry beans

      1. Emily says:

        Borlotti beans (aka cranberry beans) are slightly different from Pinto beans but you could use them in this recipe if you have them.

  6. Anne says:

    This recipe sounds very good. In reading through it I have a couple of questions:
    Of the 5 cups of vegetable broth, it says to add it (no amount mentioned) to the bean and veggie mixture then purรฉe. Then 3 more cups are to be added after that. So, should there have been just 2 of the 5 cups added for purรฉeing then the remaining 3 or are all 5 added for purรฉeing then 3 more next, totaling 8 cups?
    Also, is the 1 tablespoon of olive oil for serving or did I miss it earlier, such as for cooking the mirepoix? If not, should it say itโ€™s for serving?
    Or, did I read it wrong on both issues?
    Iโ€™ll take my best guess and see what happens!

    1. Emily says:

      Hi Anne, everything is detailed in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. The first instruction tells you to add the olive oil to the soffritto (carrot, celery, onion), step 2 tells you to add 2 cups of stock to the beans and step 5 tells you to add the remaining 3 cups (5 cups total). Hope this helps!