Vegan Zuppa di Farro

Vegan Zuppa di Farro, a simple soup made with farro, borlotti beans, crushed tomatoes, vegetables, and fresh herbs. A plant-based twist on the traditional Italian soup!

Do you love farro? Being married to an Italian means farro finds its way into many of the foods we prepare, as evidenced by this simple Black Bean Corn Farro Salad and this Easy Lentil Bowl with Spicy Harissa.

But farro is also a great grain for soups because the small wheat kernel soaks up the flavors of the soup and lends a nice nuttiness and chewy texture. And one of the Italian's simple peasant dishes is zuppa di farro (which translates literally to farro soup), a simple farro and bean soup with tomatoes, vegetables, and herbs.

Want the simple from-scratch one-pot Vegan Zuppa di Farro recipe? Let's do it!

How is Zuppa di Farro traditionally made? How do you make it vegan?

Zuppa di Farro is a traditional Italian farro and barlotti beans recipes that hails from Lucca, a small town in Tuscany that is northest of Pisa. It's a hearty soup that is typically served in the winter months, and is considered a “peasant's dish” because of its use of dried beans and grains.

Traditionally zuppa di farro is made by cooking pancetta with farro, barlotti beans, crushed tomatoes, onions, carrots, and herbs, and topping with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of cheese.

However, because we wanted to keep things plant-based we made sure to kick up the flavor we lost from the pancetta and cheese with a blend of both thyme and sage. We topped it off with a bit of garlic-infused oil instead of the traditional olive oil drizzle.

The result? A flavorful, thick, and hearty soup that's a perfect cozy Italian comfort food!

How to make (step-by-step)

First, heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot or dutch oven. Add chopped onions, carrots, and celery and cook until soft, about five minutes.

Next, add borlotti beans (sometimes referred to as cranberry beans), farro, crushed tomatoes, and vegetable stock. Then add bay leaves, a bit of thyme and sage, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix together and bring soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer for 40 minutes.

When soup is done, use an immersion blender to blend the soup about halfway or remove 3-4 cups of soup to a puree in a traditional blender and add back to soup. Zuppa di Farro is typically a thicker soup but it's not a stew, so make sure that it's thickened but still “soupy.”

To serve, add a few sage leaves and a drizzle of garlic-infused oil (optional) and enjoy!

Tips, tricks, and tools

This plant-based zuppa di farro recipe is easy to make, but there are a few tips and tricks for streamlining preparation:

• Buy a premade zuppa di farro mix: You can buy the burlotti beans and farro separately, but some stores do sell zuppa di farro grain and dried bean mixes in the soup section
• Where to buy barlotti beans: I've found barlotti beans (sometimes referred to as cranberry beans) at my local grocery store in the dried beans section, however you can also order them online. Here is a good brand of Italian barlotti beans and here is a bigger bag of Colombian cranberry beans that are less expensive (both will work in this recipe)
• A great pantry meal: Zuppa di farro is an excellent pantry-stable meal that uses dried beans, farro, and canned tomatoes, as well as shelf-stable vegetables like onions and carrots. You can also substitute fresh herbs for dried, if needed.
• Great for leftovers! This is a great recipe to make once and eat all week. Make a bit pot of zuppa di farro and save in the refrigerator for up to four days for work lunches, or freeze for a month (or even more) and pull out to reheat on busy weeknights
• Mix up the herbs: I studied many different zuppa di farro recipes and each used different herbs, from thyme to sage to rosemary and oregano. Use what you have on hand, it's sure to be delicious!

Want more vegan soup recipes?

Check out our other plant-based soup recipes, like:

• Red Beet Apple Soup
• Spicy Butternut Squash Chili
• Spicy Sweet Potato Carrot Soup
• Roasted Tomato Leek Soup
• Red Beet Apple Soup

Did you make this Vegan Zuppa di Farro? Leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let us know how it turned out. Save this simple soup recipe for later by pinning to your favorite winter Pinterest board and make sure to tag me on Fork in the Road’s Instagram to show me your soup creations!

Continue to Content

Yield: 6 servings (1-1/2 cups)

Vegan Zuppa di Farro

Print

Vegan Zuppa di Farro, a simple soup made with farro, borlotti beans, crushed tomatoes, vegetables, and fresh herbs. A plant-based twist on the traditional Italian soup!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 can (15oz) borlotti beans, drained
• 1-1/2 cups farro
• 1 can (28oz) crushed tomatoes
• 2 quarts (32oz) vegetable stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 3-4 sage leaves
• pinch of salt and pepper
• Optional: drizzled garlic oi

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat, add olive oil, onion, carrots, and celery and cook until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
2. When vegetables are soft add beans, farro, crushed tomatoes, vegetable stock, bay leaves, thyme, sage, and a pinch of salt and pepper to the pot. Mix well and turn up heat to bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 40 minutes.
3. After soup is done cooking, use an immersion blender to puree about half of soup mixture. Soup should be halfway blended and slightly thickened, but still a soupy liquid text.
4. To serve: drizzle with garlic oil (optional) and garnish with a bay leaf

Notes

Notes: instead of buying beans and farro separately, you can also purchase a dried zuppa di farro blend made of farro, beans, and sometimes other grains and peas. If so, you may need a bit more vegetable stock and will likely need to add about 10 minutes to the total cook time to ensure that beans are cooked throughout.

Tools Needed: knife set, large soup pot, dutch oven

Prep Ahead: cut vegetables ahead of time to reduce prep time

Leftovers and Storage: this zuppa di farro soup can be cooled and then refrigerated for up to four day, or frozen for a month or more in glass food storage containers

Nutrition notes: nutrition information calculated for one serving, without optional garlic oil drizzle. This recipe is a vegan soup that is high in plant-based protein, fiber, and vitamin A.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1 serving (1-1/2 cups)
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 214Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 296mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 7gSugar: 9gProtein: 10g