Vegan White Bean Soup Serbian Style (Pasulj)

Are you ready for a delicious vegan and WFPB one-pot wonder? Look no further, because I'm here to show you how to make this easy, flavorful and satisfying Serbian White Bean Soup recipe!

This traditional Balkan dish is made with white beans as the main star of the meal, but it also packs in plenty of nourishing vegetables like onions, carrots and celery.

Plus, I've lightened it up even more by making it oil free too! Serve this soup as a hearty lunch or dinner - either way, your family will love every bite.

So let's dig in and get cooking with this amazing Vegan Serbian White Bean Soup Recipe that's perfect for batch cooking meal preps!

Try some of my other bean recipes like white chili recipe, bean chili, creamy White Bean Lemon Spaghetti.

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Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instruction
• Slow Cooker and Instant Pot Instructions
• Substitution
• Variation
• Storage
• Serving Suggestions
• Tips
• FAQ
• 📖 Recipe

Ingredients

A quick overview of what ingredients we use for this soup.

You can find the ingredients with quantities and the recipe to print out on the recipe card below.

• Onions
• Garlic Cloves
• Leeks
• Carrots
• Celery root
• Paprika powder, sweet
• Cooked White beans
• Marjoram, dried
• Oregano, dried
• Parsley
• Freekeh or TVP
• Tomato paste
• Celery salt
• Onion powder
• Chunky tomatoes
• Vegetable stock
• Smoked salt

Instruction

We start by grounding the Freekeh. To do this, I use my food processor with the pulse function.

Soak the cracked freekeh in vegetable broth. If you use TVP, then submerge this in enough vegetable broth to cover it. I let both soak overnight.

The next day you can finely dice the onions, mince the garlic, and sauté in a sufficiently large pot.

For this purpose, I always add a splash of water, so that nothing burns or stick to the bottom.

Now chop leeks, carrots, and celery root finely. I like to use a food processor for this as well. Add the vegetables to the onions and let them sauté briefly. 

Now you can add all the other ingredients and let the soup simmer for about 20 min on medium heat.

When the freekeh is soft, the soup is ready, and you can season the soup again just to your own taste.

Garnish the soup with some freshly chopped parsley.

Slow Cooker and Instant Pot Instructions

• Slow Cooker: You can cook this soup in a slow cooker for about 6 hours. Start in the morning and for lunch or dinner your soup is ready to be served.
• Pressure Cooker: You do not have time to cook the soup that long? Use an Instant Pot or a Stove Top Pressure Cooker (brand I use). You add all the ingredients and let it cook under pressure for about 15 minutes.

Substitution

• Ground Meat Alternative: As is often the case, the original recipe is prepared with ground meat. But I found a great alternative for that. Just take freekeh, and you'll get a super delicious Serbian white bean soup. I use whole freekeh kernels and blend them quickly with the food processor until coarse. Freekeh tastes slightly nutty and gives the vegan soup a delicious note. Of course, you can also use TVP or other ground meat alternatives. Try the soup with pearl barley, bulgur.
• Beans: You can use any white beans like navy beans, cannellini beans, Lima beans, great northern beans. I love to use a mix of those.
• Leeks: You can substitute leeks with green onions.
• Celeriac: Celery Root, easy replaced by some celery.
• Smoked Salt: Instead of Smoked Salt, you can also use liquid smoke or smoked paprika to add some smoke flavor to your vegan white bean soup.
• Spicy: This recipe has already some kick. But for a quick spicy recipe, you can add some chili flakes.

Variation

• Vegetables: Add some Soup greens / vegetables like green beans, brussels sprouts to add some extra nutrition to your soup.
• Creamy: You want a creamy bean soup, add some coconut milk or cashew cream.
• White Wine: You want to add some extra flavor, add some white wine while you sauté the onions. You can also use white wine vinegar instead of wine.

Equipment

To make this party soup, you will need a soup pot like 4qt pot or pressure cooker. You also will need a chef knife and a cutting board.

Storage

The Serbian bean soup lasts in the fridge for up to a week. Please make sure you put the meatless soup in an airtight container.

Freezing

This vegan Serbian white bean soup can even be frozen very well, so it is great for making this as a meal prep in larger quantities.

Serving Suggestions

We serve classic rolls to vegan Serbian bean soup. I just love to dip bread in soups.

You can also top the soup with croutons.

A rustic sourdough bread goes well with such a soup, as well.

Garlic baguette as a side dish would be a real eye-catcher.

Or have it fancy, and serve this vegan Serbian bean soup in a bread bowl. Simply cut the lid off the bread and remove the inner.

FAQ