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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!
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!
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Pin ItFirst 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).
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).
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.
You can use barley or spelt instead of farro they work just as well!
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!
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
- Ribollita – Tuscan Vegetable Soup
- Chickpea Soup
- Pappa al Pomodoro – Tomato bread soup
- Comforting zucchini potato soup
- Wild mushroom soup
- Cinnamon pumpkin soup
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
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I was pleasantly surprised at the wonderful flavor of this soup and the texture of the farro. I found dry cranberry beans and it took a long time to soften them even by soaking over night and simmering many hours. I think I’ll try canned beans next time. Delicious with Focaccia. I’m loving trying these Italian recipes!
Found this to be very bland. Will add some basil and maybe marjoram….
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!
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!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it, thanks so much for the review!
I made this today and loved it! I didn’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 🙂
What is a good substitute for cranberry beans as we don’t have those in the USA unless I just have never seen it?
You could use cannellini beans instead 🙂