Summer Farro Soup with Vegetables and White Beans

This summer farro soup is made with fresh summer vegetables and cannellini beans, and topped with grated Swiss cheese. This is a comfort soup that is hearty but lightened with yellow wax beans, Anaheim peppers, zucchini, and corn.

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Want to make this recipe perfectly the first time? I want to help with that. So, check out this Table of Contents to see which sections of this post will help you the most.

Do you have recipes that have been in a pile for-like-ever that you keep meaning to make? Maybe one came from a friend or a recipe website. Or you cut a few from a newspaper or favorite magazine.

But then a bazillion things or emails get piled on top and you forget all about them. Until one day you're cleaning your desk, or weeding out your computer files, and eureka! you find one of those forgotten recipes, and you instantly know that's exactly what you want to make right now.

This soup is one of those recipes for me.

This soup is similar to a Tuscan Farro Soup as it includes both farro and white beans, but it incorporates different vegetables.

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

• Healthy Soup. This vegetable farro soup is full of nutrition from farro (a healthy grain), legumes, and fresh seasonal vegetables.
• Seasonal. A great way to use fresh, in-season summer produce.
• Hearty. All you need with this hearty soup is a simple green salad and crusty bread.
• Stores well. The flavors only get better with time.
• Flexible. This soup is a great recipe for using whatever is in season. In spring make it with asparagus and fava beans.
• No fancy ingredients. This soup uses fresh veggies and pantry staples you may have on hand.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products and foods I use in my kitchen. This means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. To view my entire storefront of recommended kitchen tools and equipment, check out my shop on Amazon.

📝 Instructions Overview

Detailed instructions for making this farro vegetable soup are in the recipe card below, but here's an overview!

Step 1

Cook the farro. You can cook the farro separately while the veggies simmer or cook the farro in the broth with the veggies. It takes less time to make the soup, however, if you cook the farro separately and add it into the soup at the end. That way, you prep and cook everything else while the farro cooks.

Step 2

Sauté. Prep the celery, onions, and chile. Warm the olive oil and sauté the veggies until softened. Add the garlic and salt and sauté until fragrant.

Step 3

Simmer. Add the water (or broth). If using water, stir in the Better Than Bouillon paste. Add the the Parmesan rind and bring to a simmer.

Add the wax beans and cook until al dente before adding the corn, zucchini, beans, and cooked farro. Simmer for 10 - 15 minutes.

Step 4

Serve. Serve with Parmesan cheese. I often add grated Swiss cheese on top.

🎯 Why This Recipe Works

• Parmesan cheese rind is a fantastic flavor booster of umami for soups and I always have a few on hand all fall and winter. In fact some markets sell just the rinds. So the next time you have a wedge of Parmesan, be sure to save the rind after you've used up the cheese. You won't be sorry.
• The combination of farro grain and beans makes this a hearty, filling soup that keeps you full for longer.

🧊 Can I make this dish ahead?

Yes. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. I have not frozen it, but will update recommendation for this when I do.

💡Ideas for Possible Variations

• Swap out farro for pearl barley, wheat berries, or quinoa.
• Use other seasonal veggies such as asparagus and fava beans in spring and mushrooms and carrots in winter.
• Add fresh herbs such as fresh basil or oregano. Chop the leaves and add either while the soup simmers or at the end just before serving.

📇 More Vegetable Soups You Might Like

I'm a soup girl, no question. And vegetable soups with beans or grains are a big favorite of mine. Here are more soup recipes you might want to try:

• This homemade vegetable soup with white beans is packed with flavor and is more like a Tuscan soup thanks to including tomatoes.
• One of my favorite soups to make on rainy days is this hearty vegetable barley soup with potatoes, onion and celery. It's lightened with a squirt of lime and a little freshly chopped mint.
• I won first prize in a national Whole Foods contest with this white bean vegetable soup. It's perfect for fall since it includes butternut squash along with other vegetables. It's hearty enough to stand on its own as a main dinner dish with only a crust of bread.
• This hearty cauliflower and white bean soup is loaded with cauliflower, leeks, and adds a little kick from jalapeño pepper. An optional topping that's perfect with this soup is pesto.
• I created this Vegetable and Rice Soup recipe for a columnist for the Washington Post several years ago. It's a comforting soup packed with vegetables, rice, and (optional) chicken for the meat eaters at the table. I typically make a double batch, one with chicken for the meat eaters in my family, and one without chicken for me.

Don't have time to run to the grocery store? Order the ingredients for this recipe using Instacart (affiliate link). Just click on the Instacart button in the recipe card below, and the ingredients will all be organized for you on their site. Plug in your zip code, choose the store you prefer, and select the ingredients you want delivered to your home.

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Summer Farro Soup with Vegetables and White Beans

This hearty summer farro soup is made with cannellini beans and fresh summer vegetables such as yellow wax beans, zucchini, corn, and Anaheim chiles. Top it with grated Swiss cheese or Parmesan cheese. (The cooking time assumes you cook the veggies and make the broth while the farro cooks separately.)

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Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Total Time55 minutes mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: farro soup

Servings: 8

Calories: 179.9kcal

Author: Susan Pridmore

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

• medium pot
• Colander
• Large heavy bottomed pot such as a Le Creuset Dutch oven
• Chef's knife

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried farro
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt divided
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced yellow onion
• 1 Anaheim chile, diced
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 8 cups water
• 2 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon - Roasted Vegetable Paste or 8 cups of vegetable broth (instead of the above 8 cups water)
• 1 knob Parmesan rind 1" piece (eliminate for vegan)
• 3 cups yellow wax beans trimmed and cut into 1" lengths
• 2 cups zucchini sliced into ⅛" rounds
• 1 cup fresh corn cut from 1 ear of corn
• 1 15 ounce can cannellini beans with any residual liquid (or 1 ½ cans cooked from dried)
• shredded Parmesan or Swiss cheese optional topping
• fresh cracked black pepper optional topping

Instructions

• Bring 3 cups of water and 1 teaspoon kosher salt to a boil in a medium pot over medium-high heat.

  Add the farro, cover, and lightly simmer until al dente - about 30 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.

  You should end up with about 3 cups cooked farro.
• Warm the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot such as a Le Creuset over medium heat.

  Sauté the celery, onion, and chile until softened, about 8 minutes.

  Add the garlic and remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and sauté for an additional minute or two until very fragrant.
• Add the water (or broth). If using water, stir in the Better Than Bouillon paste. Add the Parmesan rind and bring to a simmer. If you use vegetable broth instead of water plus Better Than Bouillon, you will need to add additional salt to taste.

  Add the wax beans and cook until al dente.

  Add the zucchini, corn, beans, and cooked farro. Simmer for 10 minutes.
• Ladle into bowls and top with optional grated cheese and fresh cracked pepper.

Nutrition

Calories: 179.9kcal | Carbohydrates: 44.1g | Protein: 8.7g | Fat: 2.6g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1.4g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 0.1mg | Sodium: 1692.3mg | Potassium: 625.1mg | Fiber: 10.1g | Sugar: 5.7g | Vitamin A: 631.7IU | Vitamin C: 28mg | Calcium: 97.2mg | Iron: 3mg

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