Ribollita

By Mark Bittman

Updated Aug. 13, 2025

Ribollita
Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Vivian Lui.
Total Time
About 50 minutes
Rating
5(4,801)
Comments
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Even vegetable stews can have more vegetables. This recipe adds a pound of kale -- that's right, a full pound -- to softened onions, carrots and celery, combined with beans and tomatoes. It's simply a matter of bringing the other vegetables together in a simmer, then adding the kale and topping with the toast. The whole dish bakes in the oven for a few minutes to brown the toast with a little Parmesan.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 5tablespoons olive oil
  • 1small onion, chopped
  • 1carrot, chopped
  • 1celery stalk, chopped
  • 1tablespoon minced garlic
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • 2cups cooked or canned cannellini beans
  • 115-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
  • 4cups vegetable stock or water
  • 1fresh rosemary sprig
  • 1fresh thyme sprig
  • 1pound chopped kale or escarole
  • 4large, thick slices whole-grain bread, toasted
  • 1small red onion, thinly sliced
  • ½cup freshly grated Parmesan
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

541 calories; 25 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 14 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 58 grams carbohydrates; 17 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 25 grams protein; 1649 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Put 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large pot over medium heat. When it’s hot, add onion, carrot, celery and garlic; sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, 5 to 10 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Heat the oven to 500 degrees. Drain the beans; if they’re canned, rinse them as well. Add them to the pot along with tomatoes and their juices and stock, rosemary and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so the soup bubbles steadily; cover and cook, stirring once or twice to break up the tomatoes, until the flavors meld, 15 to 20 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Fish out and discard rosemary and thyme stems, if you like, and stir in kale. Taste and adjust seasoning. Lay bread slices on top of the stew so they cover the top and overlap as little as possible. Scatter red onion slices over the top, drizzle with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and sprinkle with Parmesan.

  4. Step 4

    Put the pot in the oven and bake until the bread, onions and cheese are browned and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. (If your pot fits under the broiler, you can also brown the top there.) Divide the soup and bread among 4 bowls and serve.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
4,801 user ratings
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Comments

Sandra

Ribollita is a very typical dish from Tuscany and I was born in Florence so... trust me when I suggest to not add thyme and use only kale not escarole Don't put in the oven but cook early in the morning or better the day before. Add bread in large pieces and wait. Wait, wait and wait again. Then cook again for 5 minutes until boiling but only before serving. Stir, add 4 tbs olive oil and eat.
As a matter of fact Ribollita means "boiled again".

Jen A

As written, a bit boring. But a great template dish. I made the following changes:

- Broth, not water
- 10 oz kale, not 16 oz
- Add 2 sweet potatoes or equiv butternut squash (cook before adding)
- Doubled the amount of herbs (I used oregano, basil)
- Doubled the carrots & celery

Gigi

Just an addition to your great comment!

Ribollita was originally developed as a way to utilize stale bread.

For the non-Italians on this site, this is an authentic recipe for ribollita: http://www.cookwithgrazia.com/csa-box-content/ribollita-soup-authentic-r...

H Hays

This is a delicious Sunday night dish. I added mushrooms for a little extra protein and was very happy with the results. I feel like the comments are all over the place on this recipe, but I loved it and thought the flavor was incredible. Perfect for a rainy fall evening!

Julian

Made exactly to recipe and it turned out fantastic, with a surprising depth of flavour I wasn’t expecting from such a simple vegetarian recipe. No mods needed! (I did use a homemade chicken stock which might help explain the great result).

Jen RC

I spent a measly semester in Florence and fondly remembered this truly Tuscan dish. While this recipe isn’t true to form as Tuscans have pointed out, it is a lovely kitchen sink kind of meal — easily adaptable and definitely in Bittman’s style. Here are my notes: Did not use kale. Used baby spinach in the bottom of individual bowls when serving. Just put chopped thyme and rosemary right in the pot, not sprigs. Could add a bay leaf but I didn’t this time. Added 4 leftover parm cheese heels which really made it hearty. Because I didn’t have kale in it, I did the simmer for 15 min and the oven for 10. Sprinkled basil on top. Used toasted baguette rounds. Could do with some pasta, but cook separately or figure out how much more stock to add.

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