Great Northern Bean Soup

Tomorrow, we are having Great Northern Bean Soup for dinner. I have said before that being a southern girl I am used to things being cooked with bacon or ham hocks for flavor. My mom's bean soup has a delicious flavor due to the all day simmering and the ham, but this one is much healthier, I'm sure, and it's definitely a lot quicker I think it was originally a Cooking Light recipe. I simply copied it from someone else's recipe collection. It is both delicious and hearty. DH loves it.

Bean Soup

Cooking spray
1 cup baby carrots, sliced and diced
1 cup chopped  sweet onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
7 ounces turkey kielbasa, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I used Jennie-o 99% fat free turkey kielbasa when I use it. I have made it without the kielbasa and it is still good, but the kielbasa pushes it over the edge)

4 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth (I love Pacific free range organic low sodium> It only has 70 mg sodium per serving)

1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 (15.8-ounce) cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed (low sodium beans preferred)
1 (6-ounce) bag fresh baby spinach leaves


Heat a large saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onion, garlic, and kielbasa; saute 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes. Add the broth, Italian seasoning, pepper, and beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.
Place 2 cups of the soup in a food processor or blender, and process until smooth. Return the pureed mixture to pan. Simmer an additional 5 minutes. Remove soup from heat. Add the spinach, stirring until spinach wilts.