Vegan Portuguese Bean Soup! Perfect for weeknight dinners or meal prep, this vegan Portuguese bean soup is naturally dairy-free, gluten-friendly (if you choose gluten-free pasta), and endlessly adaptable—save time with pantry staples while still creating a soul-warming, soul-satisfying dish that tastes like a hug in a bowl.
This Vegan Portuguese Bean Soup is a hearty, comforting bowl that delivers big, cozy flavors with every spoonful. Packed with a rainbow of healthy vegetables, tender potatoes, kidney beans, and a generous helping of macaroni, this soup delivers satisfying texture and plant-based protein in every bite. A whisper of smokiness ties the pot together, infusing the broth with depth and warmth that lingers on the palate.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
We all enjoyed this soup, and it disappeared quickly. Yasmeen loved the depth of flavor—the smoky undertones, the creamy potatoes, and the macaroni. It’s one of those meals that feels both cozy and vibrant, a perfect antidote to chilly evenings.
You’ve got to give this one a try!
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: This Vegan Portuguese Bean Soup is hearty and delicious, full of healthy veggies with potatoes, kidney beans, and macaroni that hits the spot with a hint of delicious smokiness.
- Amount of Soup/Stew: This recipe makes a large amount (13 cups). It is a great food prep soup that freezes well.
- Broth: This soup is a cross between a soup and a stew. It is thick and hearty. Perfect for dipping crusty bread.
- Spices: The spices are earthy and smoky; however, you can easily ramp up the spices if you wish to suit your own personal preferences. Our family was completely divided over the amount of seasoning needed and over which spices should be emphasized. The good news is that it is easily customizable.
- Kidney Beans: Feel free to substitute the kidney beans with your favorite bean or leave the beans out and ramp up the macaroni.
- Potatoes: Feel free to use your favorite potato that can hold up during the cooking process. We used a general restaurant style Russet potato.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda is often used as a neutralizer for dishes that contain a lot of acidity, typically from tomatoes. We use it in this dish to remove some of the tomato acidity (from the crushed tomatoes) without losing the tomatoey flavor. When you add it, the mixture may bubble up, then settle down as it neutralizes the acidity. The baking soda also helps speed up the cooking process when combining tomatoes with the cubed potatoes. When cooking potatoes and tomatoes together, the acid in the tomatoes can slow down the cooking and softening of the potatoes.
- Regular Chili Powder: Feel free to use your favorite chili powder, just be sure to select a mild one and not one that has a lot of heat to it.
- Pasta: You can leave the pasta out if you wish. It is not an essential ingredient.
- Gluten Free Pasta: Feel free to use gluten free pasta; however, if using a gluten free pasta, we recommend cooking it separately as gluten free pasta is super thirsty and will drink up all the broth.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep 5 days in the refrigerator. Store in a covered air-tight container.
This soup freezes well.
Pantry Products:
- Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients. Feel free to use your favorite vegetable broth.
- Liquid Smoke: We used Colgin Natural Hickory Liquid Smoke. Feel free to use your favorite liquid smoke.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Large stock pot with a lid
If you try flavorful soup, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
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Vegan Portuguese Bean Soup
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 40 Minutes
- Total Time: 55 Minutes (+Rest Time)
- Yield: 13 Cups 1x
- Category: Soups
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Portuguese
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Vegan Portuguese Bean Soup is a hearty, comforting bowl that delivers big, cozy flavors with every spoonful.
Ingredients
Base Ingredients:
- 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
- 1 cup diced carrots
- ½ cup diced celery
- 2 cups chopped green cabbage
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 – [ 28 oz. can ] crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth *
- 4 cups water
- 3 cups peeled and cubed potatoes *
- 2 teaspoons hickory liquid smoke (+/-) *
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda *
Spice/Herb Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (+/-)
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika (+/-)
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano (+/-)
- 1 teaspoon regular chili powder (+/-) *
- ¾ teaspoon cumin (+/-)
- ½ to 1 teaspoon dried ground fennel seeds (+/-)
- ¼ to 2 teaspoons sea salt (+/-) *
- Pinch to ½ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)
- 2 bay leaves
Other Ingredients:
- 2 – [ 15.25 oz. cans ] kidney beans, drained and rinsed *
- ½ cup uncooked macaroni (or pasta of choice) *
Serving Ideas:
- Crusty bread
Instructions
- Place all the Spice/Herb Ingredients (except the bay leaves) into a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
- In a large stock pot, add the diced onions, carrots, cabbage, and celery, sauté over medium-high heat for 7 to 9 minutes to soften, add a splash of water, if needed to avoid burning.
- Then lower the heat to medium, add the minced garlic and tomato paste, sauté, stir constantly for one minute.
- Next add all the remaining Base Ingredients (except the baking soda) and the Spice/Herb Mix, stir well. Increase the heat, bring the mixture to a boil, add the baking soda, stir well, then immediately lower to a simmer; tuck in the bay leaves, and simmer with a low-percolating boil over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- After 10 minutes, add the kidney beans and uncooked macaroni, simmer at a low-percolating boil for 20 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are perfectly tender.
- After 20 minutes, remove the pot from the stove, cover, and allow to sit undisturbed for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to marry. After 15 minutes, remove and discard the bay leaves. Serve with crusty bread. Enjoy!
Notes
Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.
Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Servings: 8 to 10 (makes 13 cups)
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