Ribollita (Tuscan Make‑Ahead Bread & Bean Stew)

Name: Ribollita (Tuscan Make‑Ahead Bread & Bean Stew)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 100 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 250 g dried cannellini beans; 3 can cannellini beans; 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 1 large yellow onion; 2 piece carrot; 2 stalk celery; 4 clove garlic; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 1 can whole peeled tomatoes; 6 cup vegetable stock; 2 leaf bay leaf; 1 tsp dried rosemary; 1 tsp dried thyme; 1 pinch red pepper flakes; 8 oz Tuscan kale (cavolo nero) or lacinato kale; 8 oz day-old crusty bread; 1 tsp coarse salt; 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 0.5 cup cold water

Hearty Tuscan vegetable and cannellini bean stew thickened with day‑old bread. It mellows and improves in the fridge, making a reliable week‑long meal for lunches or simple dinners.

AI image

1 hr 40 min

start to finish

25 min

hands on

Some skill

difficulty

servings

6 servings

Ingredients

Beans (choose one option)

250 g dried cannellini beansabout 1 1/4 cups; soak overnight and cook (see steps)

Beans (canned shortcut, optional)

3 can cannellini beans15 oz / 425 g cans, drained and rinsed(optional)

To thicken & serve

8 oz day-old crusty breadabout 225 g, cut or torn into 1" pieces

Contains gluten. Cooking for an allergy? Check the label on every packet you use — brands differ, and we can only tell you what the recipe calls for.

Roughly, per serving

330 kcal14g protein45g carbs11g fat

An estimate, not a lab analysis.

Method

If using dried beans: pick over beans and rinse.
Soak the dried beans in plenty of cold water overnight (8 hours).
Drain soaked beans, add to a medium pot, cover with fresh water by 2 inches, bring to a simmer and cook until tender, 50–70 minutes; drain and set aside.
If using canned beans: drain and rinse the cans and set the beans aside.
Warm a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and add the olive oil.
Add the chopped onion, carrot and celery and sauté, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent.
Stir in the garlic, dried rosemary, thyme and red pepper flakes and cook briefly until fragrant.
Add the tomato paste, stir to coat the vegetables, then add the crushed tomatoes and cook down for a few minutes.
Add the cooked or canned beans to the pot along with the vegetable stock and bay leaf; bring to a gentle simmer.
Simmer uncovered until flavors marry and the liquid thickens slightly.
Stir in the sliced kale, nestle the bread pieces into the stew so they absorb liquid, then continue to simmer so the bread breaks down and thickens the ribollita.
Remove the bay leaf and use a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon to mash roughly one-third of the beans and bread against the pot side to create a thick, stew-like texture.
Season to taste with salt and plenty of black pepper.
Cool the ribollita for 20–30 minutes at room temperature, then transfer to airtight containers and refrigerate.
When serving during the week, reheat a portion gently on the stove with a splash of water or stock if too thick; simmer 5–8 minutes until hot.

Worth knowing

Ribollita means "reboiled"—it tastes better after a day or two when the flavors meld. It will keep in the fridge up to 5 days.
If you prefer a creamier texture, blend 1–2 cups of the stew and return to the pot.
Freeze in single portions for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
To make gluten-free: use dense gluten-free bread or omit bread and mash extra beans to thicken.
Optional garnish: a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, or grated hard cheese at the table for non-vegan eaters (not included in the recipe to keep it vegan).

Make it yours

Cooking without dairy, without an oven, for someone who won't touch chilli, or for six instead of four? Have the recipe rewritten around it — quantities, steps and all.

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More Italian cooking

An original Restaurant Pro recipe — our own composition in the idiom of Italian cooking, not any restaurant's recipe. Written to be vegetarian and vegan as listed.