White bean soup

White bean soup with tomato paste and paprika is the orange winter soup of Israeli homes, with roots in the Balkans, Turkey and Romania. The beans cook until creamy inside and whole outside, and their starch thickens the sauce.

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Updated

White bean soupIllustration
Time2 h 15 minCook 1 h 40 min · + Soak 12 h
Pot8 bowls3.2 litres
Per bowl292 kcal16 g protein · a 400 ml bowl
Cost of the pot₪22for the pot, about ₪2.8 a bowl

The story of White bean soup

In the Balkans and Turkey white bean soup is everyday food. In Greece it is fasolada; in Bulgaria, bob chorba, with dried mint and savory; in Turkey, white beans in tomato and onion sauce are among the best known home dishes; and in Romania a sour bean soup is cooked. Jews from all these places brought the soup to Israel, above all immigrants from Bulgaria and Greece.

In Israeli homes the soup took its own shape: white beans, tomato paste, paprika, carrot and celery, and sometimes cubes of beef or turkey necks cooked slowly with them for hours. It is a soup for a wintry week, better on the second day, served with fresh bread to wipe up the sauce.

What makes White bean soup itself

Unlike most soups, the tomato goes in late here. The acid in the paste slows the softening of the beans, so the beans cook first until almost tender, and only then come the vegetables, paste and paprika fried in olive oil. The result is creamy beans in a deep tomato sauce, not hard beans in a sour soup.

White bean soup for any number of people

Change the number of people and the bowl size, and every ingredient updates in grams, with the cost, calories and protein per bowl.

Bowl size
Units
3.2litres in the pot
4Pot to use, litres
₪22Cost of the pot
₪2.8per bowl
292kcal per bowl
16.0g protein per bowl
IngredientAmountCost
The beans
Dried white beans500 g₪10.0
Water for cooking2.5 l
Bay leaves1 g · 2 pcs₪0.4
The vegetables
Large onion200 g · 1 pcs₪1.2
Carrots200 g · 2 pcs₪1.0
Celery stalks150 g · 3 pcs₪3.0
Garlic15 g · 4 pcs₪0.5
Sauce and seasoning
Olive oil40 ml₪2.1
Tomato paste70 g₪2.5
Sweet paprika8 g₪0.7
Salt15 g₪0.0
Black pepper2 g₪0.3
Chopped parsley15 g₪0.7
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Shelf prices at a large Israeli chain and specialty shops, October 2026. Nutrition from the ingredients in grams, before cooking.

How many calories in White bean soup? Nutrition facts and calorie calculator

Change the amount of any ingredient, drop one, or pick a lighter version, and the numbers per serving update at once: calories, fat, carbs, protein, sodium and fibre.

White bean soup has 73 calories per 100 ml. A 400 ml bowl made with our recipe has 292 calories: 16 g protein, 5.6 g fat and 35.4 g carbohydrates. A 250 ml cup has 182 calories.

Lighter

Ingredients, for the whole recipe

  • 500 g208 kcal per serving
  • 2 pcs0 kcal per serving
  • 1 pcs10 kcal per serving
  • 2 pcs10 kcal per serving
  • 3 pcs3 kcal per serving
  • 4 pcs3 kcal per serving
  • 40 ml41 kcal per serving
  • 70 g12 kcal per serving
  • 8 g3 kcal per serving
  • 15 g0 kcal per serving
  • 2 g1 kcal per serving
  • 15 g1 kcal per serving

What each add-on adds to White bean soup

Values for the amount in the row, from the national food database.

Add-onCaloriesProtein, gFat, g
A tablespoon of oil122013.8
A slice of white bread792.50.5
A slice of challah12641.1

How to make White bean soup

In cook mode the screen stays on, tap a step when it is done, and the timers run next to each step.
  1. Soak the beans for 8 to 12 hours in plenty of cold water, with a tablespoon of salt for every 2 litres.
  2. Drain, rinse and put them in a pot with 2.5 litres of cold water and the bay leaves. Bring to the boil and skim the foam.
  3. Simmer gently with the lid ajar for 45 to 60 minutes, until the beans are almost tender with just a small bite left in the centre.
  4. Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a pan and soften the onion for 8 minutes. Add the diced carrot and celery for 5 minutes, then the garlic for a minute.
  5. Add the tomato paste and paprika to the pan and stir for 2 minutes, until the paste darkens slightly. Do not let the paprika burn.
  6. Tip the pan into the pot with the salt and cook for another 30 to 40 minutes, until the beans are creamy and the liquid thickens.
  7. For a thicker soup, mash a ladle of beans against the side of the pot and stir it back in.
  8. Taste, adjust the salt and pepper, add the parsley, and let the soup rest for 15 minutes before serving.

The science of White bean soup

Kitchen science

Why beans are soaked

Dried beans absorb roughly their own weight in water while soaking and double in weight. Once the bean is evenly hydrated, the outside and inside cook at the same pace, and the skin does not burst before the centre softens. Soaking also cuts an hour or more off the cooking.

Kitchen science

The sugars behind the gas

Beans contain complex sugars, raffinose and stachyose, that the body does not break down in the small intestine. They reach the large intestine, where bacteria ferment them and release gas. Some of these sugars pass into the soaking water, which is why it is poured away and the beans cook in fresh water.

Kitchen science

Salt does not harden beans

Old wisdom says to salt only at the end, but the chemistry says otherwise. In salted soaking water, sodium ions replace some of the calcium and magnesium in the pectin of the skin, making it softer and more pliable. The beans burst less and cook more evenly.

Kitchen science

Acid and hard water do harden them

Acid from tomato paste or lemon stabilises the pectin and hemicellulose in the cell walls, and the beans stay firm. Calcium and magnesium in hard water, common in much of Israel, also form bridges between pectin chains. So the paste goes in only when the beans are nearly soft, and in very hard water a pinch of baking soda helps.

Kitchen science

Old beans

Beans stored for a long time in heat and humidity undergo changes in their cell walls and skins and stop absorbing water properly. Neither a long soak nor hours of cooking will help them; they stay grainy and hard.

White bean soup in every kitchen

With beef

600 g of stewing beef or shank in cubes, browned in the pot and cooked with the beans for about two hours before the paste goes in. A meat version.

With turkey necks

A kilo of turkey necks simmered alone for an hour, then the beans join them. The necks give the sauce gelatin and body.

Moroccan loubia

White beans in tomato sauce with cumin, paprika, lots of garlic and coriander. Thicker than a soup, and also served with rice.

Bulgarian bob chorba

Onion, carrot and red pepper, paprika, and dried mint and savory at the end. In Bulgaria it is a fasting-day soup, without meat.

Greek fasolada

Plenty of olive oil, carrot, celery, onion and tomatoes, no paprika. A simple, rich soup served with olives and bread.

Without tomatoes

Beans, root vegetables and olive oil, with a squeeze of lemon at the end. A golden, clearer soup for homes that skip tomato paste.

Common White bean soup problems and how to fix them

Beans did not soften

Usually old beans, hard water, or tomato paste added too early. Soak overnight, cook the beans on their own until almost tender, and only then add the paste. In hard water add a pinch of baking soda, no more, or the soup tastes soapy.

Beans turned to mush

A hard boil, overcooking or too much baking soda. Simmer gently, and start checking a few beans after 45 minutes.

Bean skins peeling and curling

Soaking in unsalted water, or a hard boil that tumbles the beans. Soak in salted water and cook at a gentle simmer.

Bean soup too sour

The paste was not fried, or there was too much of it. Fry the paste in oil before adding it, and if the soup is already sour, add a pinch of sugar and cook for 10 minutes more.

Watery bean soup

Too much water or too little time. Mash a ladle of beans and stir them in, and cook uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes more.

Storing, freezing and reheating

4 days

In the fridge

3 months

In the freezer

2+4

To cool

Bring it from 60 to 21 °C within two hours and down to 5 °C within four more. Split a big pot into shallow boxes.

75 °C

Reheating

Reheat over low heat with a little water, because the beans keep absorbing liquid in the fridge. Stir from the bottom.

Nutrition of White bean soup

From our recipe, per bowl and per 100 g, next to the national food database.

ServingkcalProtein, gFat, gCarbs, gFibre, g
Our recipe, a 400 ml bowl29216.05.635.411.8
Our recipe, 100 ml734.01.48.83.0
Typical White bean soup, 100 g1064.33.512.32.8
Typical White bean soup, 100 g (2)823.72.98.62.7
Typical White bean soup, 100 g (3)864.42.39.73.2

What the ingredients of White bean soup cost

What each ingredient costs in one pot, and where to buy it.

IngredientPriceIn this potWhere to buy
Dried white beans₪20 per kg₪9.9Supermarket
Celery stalks₪6.9 each₪3Greengrocer
Tomato paste₪35 per kg₪2.5Supermarket
Olive oil₪53 per litre₪2.1Supermarket
Large onion₪5.9 per kg₪1.2Greengrocer
Carrots₪4.9 per kg₪1Greengrocer
Chopped parsley₪4.9 each₪0.7Greengrocer
Sweet paprika₪86 per kg₪0.7Supermarket
Garlic₪34 per kg₪0.5Greengrocer
Bay leaves₪360 per kg₪0.4Supermarket
Black pepper₪139 per kg₪0.3Supermarket
Salt₪2.1 per kg₪0Supermarket

Shelf prices at a large Israeli chain and specialty shops, October 2026, VAT included. Vegetable prices change with the season.

Make White bean soup a meal

Shabbat

Ready Shabbat food

Soup, hamin, mains and sides, with a quantity calculator and prices.

Plan Shabbat
Hosting

Hosting trays

9 trays to go with the soup, with a planner by number of guests.

Tray planner
Events

Catering

A whole menu in grams per guest, with a reheating table.

Menus

What to serve with White bean soup

With country bread or challah for wiping the bowl, and spring onion or a hot pepper on the side. In the meatless version, add a spoon of yoghurt to the bowl, as in the Balkans.

White bean soup in large quantities: events, offices and communities

How much of everything by number of guests, at a 400 ml bowl. For institutional pots, catering and community kitchens.

GuestsLitres30 l potsCost of ingredients
25101₪70
50201₪139
100402₪278
200803₪556
5002008₪1,391

Every ingredient for any number of guests is in the calculator above: type the number of people.

Order White bean soup

A ready pot for Shabbat, an event or the office, ordered ahead.

  • Cooked to order, for Shabbat, an event or the office.
  • Tell us how many people and when, and we send a quote.
  • Delivery in Tel Aviv from ₪35, free over ₪750.
Ask for a quote for White bean soup

Order White bean soup for a large event

Large orders in Israel and abroad: events, offices, synagogues, communities and institutions.

  • In Israel: cooked in Tel Aviv and delivered to events in the area, and to large events anywhere in the country on a quote.
  • Abroad: for communities, events and restaurants. Tell us where, how many and when, and we come back with a quote and options.
  • Institutional quantities and a shopping list for any number of guests, in the calculator above.
Ask for a large-order quote

Frequently asked questions

Do you need to soak white beans for soup?

Yes, for 8 to 12 hours in cold water. Without soaking the cooking stretches to two hours or more and the beans cook unevenly.

How long does white bean soup take to cook?

After soaking, about an hour and a half in total. Old beans can need another half hour.

Can you make bean soup with canned beans?

Yes. Add 4 to 5 cans of drained beans after frying the vegetables and paste, with about 1.5 litres of water, and cook for 20 minutes. The soup is less thick, so mash some of the beans.

When do you salt bean soup?

Already in the soaking water and at the start of cooking. Salt does not harden beans and even softens their skins. What hardens them is acid, so the paste goes in late.

How do you make bean soup with beef?

Brown 600 g of stewing beef or shank in cubes, cook it with the beans for about two hours, then continue as usual with the vegetables and paste.

How do you make bean soup less gassy?

Soak overnight, pour away the soaking water, cook in fresh water and cook until the beans are completely soft. Some of the sugars behind the gas leave with the discarded water.

How do you make white bean soup without tomatoes?

Leave out the paste and paprika, cook the beans with root vegetables and olive oil, and finish with a squeeze of lemon and parsley.

How many calories are in White bean soup?

A 400 ml bowl of White bean soup made with our recipe has about 292 calories and 16 g of protein. Per 100 ml: 73 calories.

How much does it cost to make White bean soup at home?

A pot of 8 bowls costs about ₪22 at Israeli shelf prices in October 2026, about ₪2.8 a bowl. The calculator above works it out for any number of people.

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