Cream of Green Bean Soup

Submitted by breezermom

"I was so surprised when I found this recipe. It's made with fresh green beans, and uses potatoes to thicken it instead of flour or cornstarch. I especially like the tarragon in this soup. If it gets too thick, use the larger amount of whipping cream. To save calories, I like to use fat-free half and half. This was in a box of my mother's clipped recipes. I don't know where she clipped it from....looked like magazine paper to me."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 12mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Yields: 7 cups

ingredients

• 6 green onions, sliced
• 6 shallots, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 medium baking potatoes, peeled and diced
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 lbs fresh green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1⁄2 - 1 cup whipped cream or 1/2-1 cup half & half light cream
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper

directions

1. Saute the green onions, shallot and garlic in the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until tender. Set aside.
2. Cook the diced potatoes in boiling water to cover for 15 minutes, or until tender (depends on how small you diced them); drain well, and set aside.
3. Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a large saucepan; add green beans, and cook 30 to 35 minutes or until tender. Add the reserved green onions and potato; stir well.
4. Transfer half of the green bean mixture to the container of an electric blender; cover and process until smooth, stopping once to scrape down the sides. Repeat the procedure with the remaining green bean mixture. (Sometimes I like to use my immersion blender, leaving some of the pieces whole). Return the pureed mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; stir in whipping cream or half and half, lemon juice, and tarragon. Cook until thoroughly heated. Serve, and sprinkle with black pepper.

Reviews

[Melissa T.]

I wanted to do something with a bunch of green beans that were going to go bad if I didn’t use them and found this. To be honest, the flavor was okay except for a really off-putting aftertaste. I don’t think I’ll be making green bean soup again but it was good to try something new.

 

[danjw2]

One of the best soups I've ever made, and to think I used overgrown green and yellow beans that I had left too long in the garden! I used a regular white onion instead of green onions, fresh thyme instead of tarragon, and cooked everything in one pot (adding the potatoes about 15 mins after starting the beans.) We had about half the soup without adding milk/cream - it was almost like a split pea soup. Bet it would also work with bacon or ham sauteed at the beginning (with the onion/shallots/garlic).

 

[MsUnderwoodPW ..]

Very yummy and will definitely make again!! Like others who have posted, I was looking for an option for this year's crop of beans from the garden. Similarly our beans were on the tougher side so I would recommend removing the strings if possible while prepping. Skipped a step and after sautéing added the broth, potatoes, and green beans straight into the pot. Also didn't have any tarragon so substituted marjoram. The lemon juice added so a lovely fresh taste to it. Turned out wonderfully.

 

[Irene A.]

I liked this recipe so much. My family enjoyed the soup.

 

[j_hersee]

I had a bag of home-grown green beans that I'd left on the plants too long and they'd gone a bit tough, so I decided to look for a soup recipe to use them up. This recipe was so easy to do, I blended thoroughly to make sure there were no tough bits left, and the result was absolutely delicious!