Last updated on December 21st, 2022
White Beans, Greens, and Sweet Potato Soup features simple, healthy ingredients in a naturally sweet broth that kids will love. It’s so easy to make that kids can pitch in with the prep work. Make this soup with your helpers and then sit down to share a family meal together.
Making Family-Friendly Soup
Three awesome words to hear in the kitchen: Can I help? Kids who help prepare meals make healthier food choices and are more likely to eat the meals they help cook. Make this soup with the kids and then taste test it together.
Even very young children can pitch in prep for this soup recipe.
Set up a large bowl filled with a few inches of water on a towel on the floor or at the table. Small children can scrub the sweet potatoes, carrots, and celery and then set them on the towel to dry.
Little ones can also tear the collard green leaves. It’s okay if the leaves aren’t torn to exactly 1-inch pieces, you can make them smaller before tossing them into the soup.
Preschoolers can help chop veggies with a crinkle cutter or other safety tool.
As with the collard greens, the vegetable sizes are approximate. You can always chop them smaller if necessary. However, the carrots and celery should be cut to a smaller size than the sweet potatoes because they take longer to soften.
Helpful Items for Cooking Soup with Children
Large Bowls
You should have 1 or 2 large bowls available for washing vegetables, collecting kitchen scraps, or corralling ingredients during chopping.
Towels
It’s a good idea to have a few tea towels or kitchen towels ready for drying the vegetables or cleaning up spills.
Chopping boards and choppers
Look for crinkle cutters or other safety tools for young children.
Measuring cups and measuring spoons
Children can help fill and dump ingredients.
Can opener and sieve
Watch out for sharp edges when you drain and rinse the white beans
Prep dishes
If you only have one set of measuring tools you might want to hold ingredients in bowls, cups, or jars until the time comes to add them to the soup.
Large lidded soup pot and a large spoon
The stove top cooking is for the grownups or older children under close supervision.
Kid-Friendly White Beans, Greens and Sweet Potato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup carrots, diced to ½-inch pieces
- 1 cup celery, diced to ½-inch pieces
- 1½ pounds sweet potatoes, rough chopped to ¾-inch pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 bunch collard greens, stems removed, leaves torn to 1-inch pieces
- 2 (15 ounce) cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 6 cups vegetable stock
Instructions
Rinse and dry the vegetables. Carefully trim, and chop the carrots, celery, sweet potatoes, and garlic, and measure them into prep dishes. Tear the leaves of the collard greens to 1-inch pieces, and discard the stems.
An adult or older child can open and drain the cans of great northern beans. Pour the beans into a sieve and rinse with cool water. Rinse and recycle the cans.
If kiddos are interested, measure out the other ingredients into prep dishes so they are ready to go when it’s time to cook. If you’re short on time, space, or don’t want to create any extra dishes, skip this step.
The next part is for the grown-ups:
Heat a large soup pot over medium-low. Pour in the olive oil—you’ll know when it’s heated because it shimmer if you slightly tilt the pot. Add carrots, celery, salt and pepper, and sauté for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Stir in the sweet potatoes, and then add beans and vegetable stock.
Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.
Add the collard green (the pot may be very full but the greens will cook down), and return the lid to partially cover the pot. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
Stir the soup and then taste it to determine if you want to add any more salt or pepper.
Serve hot, or warm for the little ones.
Store in an airtight container chilled for 3 to 4 days or frozen for up to 4 months.
Taste Testing
Four more fantastic words in the kitchen: Can I try some?
Get excited to try the soup you created together! Serve a bit of everything in bowls or mugs.
If little ones aren’t ready for soup yet the components can be fished out and served as finger foods. Be sure the size and texture is appropriate for their age and level of development.
It’s normal for kids to be a bit skeptical of new food. Talk about what they like about the soup, or what they’re not sure of. Most importantly, it’s about the experience of cooking and eating together as a family. 💖
If your family enjoyed making White Beans, Greens, and Sweet potato soup together try cooking up a pot of: Late Harvest Vegetable and Bean Soup.
Kid-Friendly White Beans, Greens, and Sweet Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup carrots, diced to ½-inch pieces
- 1 cup celery, diced to ½-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1½ pounds sweet potatoes, rough chopped to ¾-inch pieces
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 2 (15-ounce) cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 bunch collard greens, stems removed, leaves torn to 1-inch pieces
Directions
- Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-low. Add carrots, celery, salt and pepper, and sauté for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Stir in sweet potatoes, and then add beans and vegetable stock.
- Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.
- Add the collard green (the pot may be very full but the greens will cook down), and return the lid to partially cover the pot. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot or warm.
- Store in an airtight container chilled for 3 to 4 days or frozen for up to 4 months.