This Ribollita is made with veggies, beans and gluten-free bread. The soup is hearty Tuscan bread soup that warms you from the inside out!
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Udi’s® Gluten Free. All comments and opinions are my own.
Have you tried bread soup before?
It has such a wonderful comforting feeling just after the first spoon! All the winter blues melt away and I feel instantly energized!
The soup takes very little effort and it’s a great way to use leftover veggies.
What is Ribollita?
Ribollita is a traditional Tuscan soup recipe which is made in the winter months. There are so many variations of it, but, they always have one thing in common.
All the Ribollita recipes include greens like kale, chards or spinach. The greens are a good way to add color and add some nutrition to the recipe.
The Ribollita recipes I have seen have always included cannellini beans and also navy beans. I absolutely love cannellini beans in soups like my Vegan Dumpling Soup because it adds so much texture to it.
For this Ribollita recipe, I used navy beans which are very close to cannellini beans. Last month, I made Navy Bean Soup and I realized that I need to use it more in my soups. I used canned navy beans in this Tuscan Bread Soup and it saved so much time.
Tips for Making This Tuscan Bread Soup
– Do not thaw the entire Udi’s® Gluten Free Delicious Multigrain Sandwich Bread loaf! Open the bread and remove about 4 slices from the bag
– Cut the bread while the 4 bread slices are stuck together. Cut them into cubes.
– Separate the cubed pieces of bread after you have cut them. It will make your life so much easier.
– You can use frozen spinach for this recipe. Just make sure you thaw it and drain out all the liquid.
– Use fresh tomatoes and canned tomatoes for this recipe. It will add different levels of flavor to the soup.
– Don’t add the cubed bread until about 10 minutes before serving. The bread will also double in size after a few minutes
– This Ribollita is freezer friendly, so, put it into freezer containers. Don’t include the bread in the containers.
– Thaw the soup by heating the soup on the stove-top and add Udi’s bread cubes 10 minutes before serving.
A Little More About Udi’s Gluten Free Multigrain Bread
– Udi’s Gluten Free Multigrain Bread has 30% larger slices, just like conventional sandwich slices.
– Udi’s bread has been certified as gluten free which just makes me so happy.
– It is also nut free and dairy free.
– Did you know that it has 8g of whole grains, plus other vitamins and minerals?
– It’s full of flavor, texture, and its freshly baked taste that will make you fall in love with bread all over again.
Side note: This is not the first time I have used Udi’s bread. Last year, I made a mean mushroom sandwich using this bread my readers still rave about it! Total game changer.
Where Can I Buy Udi’s Bread?
Udi’s bread is so easy to find in my local grocery store. I find it in the frozen/gluten free section of Publix. My local Publix has it next to all the frozen breakfast items.
Udi’s Gluten Free bread is on sale at Publix from 1/6/19 – 3/10/19 (while supplies last). You can save $1.30 on Udi’s Gluten Free Bread. Head to Publix or click here to learn all about how you can save big bucks on this bread. Make sure to redeem by 3/24/19.
Why I love this Ribollita Soup
I discovered this soup while visiting a friend in upstate NY. This was in the mid-2000s and the weather was freezing!
It was one of those winters that started in the fall! It was a winter where we had a huge stack of snow and the sun was going down at 3pm in the afternoon! I was in desperate need of some comfort food because the weather was getting to me.
So, a friend of mine had her grandparents visiting for Christmas and they were coming all the way from Italy. She was well aware of my love for Italian food, especially authentic, homemade Italian food.
She invited me over, having no idea just how much I can eat! When someone puts authentic food in front of me, I lose all my manners, etiquette and grace. I have been known to shove food in my mouth with both hands!
I make no apologies for it!!
Her grandmother was a well-known cook in her hometown back in Italy. She would cook large meals for the neighbors and they would all come to her home to feast. That’s exactly what she did when she came to NY. She cooked a feast and friends / family came over.
One of the recipes she made was a bread soup which had beans, kale, bread, veggies, Parmesan and a whole lot of tomatoes! She added fresh herbs like basil and oregano, giving the whole house a wonderful aroma. I could have sworn I was in Tuscany when I walked into their home.
Her Ribollita was the first thing I tasted and it was the best part of the entire meal. Just the first spoonful hit my taste buds and I forgot all about the cold winter. It truly chased away my winter blues and I felt alive all over again.
I never forgot that feeling and the taste of that soup. To this day, it remains the best soup I have ever tasted. Since then, I have tried to make it exactly like she made it.
This Ribollita comes close to what she made and I think you will like it as much as I do. I used spinach instead of kale, and also added carrots and red bell peppers. It’s still the warm and comforting soup that made me so happy all those years ago!
If you have someone who suffers from gluten allergies, there is no need for them to miss out on a hearty Tuscan Bread Soup. All the ingredients is in this soup contain zero gluten, including the tomato sauce and navy beans.
So, to summarize, go to Publix, buy Udi’s Gluten Free bread – which just so happens to be on sale now until 3/10/19 (while supplies last), make this Ribollita soup, devour it….
…and feel like you are on a beach and its the middle of summer!
What’s your favorite “eating soup” memory?
How to make Ribollita Soup
Ribollita - Tuscan Bread Soup
Ingredients
- 4 slices Udi’s Gluten Free Delicious Multigrain Sandwich Bread
- 2 Tbsp oil
- ¼ cup red onions finely diced
- 6 cloves garlic crushed
- ¼ cup carrots cubed
- 10 oz spinach frozen (thawed and drained)
- ½ red bell pepper optional, but, de-seed if using
- 16 oz. navy beans 1 can
- 4 tomatoes on the vine roughly chopped
- 2 Tbsp tomato sauce
- 1 cup diced tomatoes from a can
- 4.5 cup water
- 2.5 tsp salt adjust to taste
- 1 Tbsp agave
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes adjust to taste
- 4 leaves basil finely chopped
- 3 sprigs of oregano finely chopped
- 1 tsp parsley dried
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° degrees Fahrenheit
- Cut the bread into cubes, while still frozen
- Lightly spray a baking tray with oil
- Place the bread cubes and bell pepper on the tray. Spray the bell pepper with a little oil
- Put tray in the oven and bake for about 10 min or until the bread cubes brown and bell pepper’s skin wrinkles
- Remove tray and set the bread aside
- Remove skin from bell pepper and place into a blender
- Add the tomatoes on the vine into the blender
- Blend until pureed, set aside
- Heat a cast-iron soup pan for 30 seconds on medium heat before adding the oil
- Add the garlic and onions, and cook until slightly browned (about 4 min)
- Add the drained spinach, carrots, pureed tomatoes, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes
- Add the navy beans and water. Stir well
- Add the salt, agave and crushed red pepper flakes
- Cover the pan and let it simmer on medium heat for about 15 minutes
- Uncover the pan, then add the basil, oregano and parsley
- Mix well and cook for about 5 more minutes, uncovered
- Add the bread cubes and serve after 10 minutes
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