20-Minute Dinner: Leftover Bruschetta Soup

We celebrated my mother-in-law’s birthday this weekend, and since she loves bruschetta, I decided to make a batch for hors d’oeuvres. I have a knack for overestimating how much of a dish I’ll need—a trait I inherited from my mother, who’s main skill in life is cooking meals that feed an entire army—so after the party, I realized I had a huge bowl of the delicious tomato bruschetta topping left over. What in the world would I do with it? Realizing I couldn’t possibly eat that much bruschetta if my life depended on it, I decided to get creative and turn it into a soup.

So while my hubby watch the pathetic display that was the Eagles game yesterday (seriously, what was that?), I got to work in the kitchen. I decided to start by blending up a cup of the bruschetta topping with some beans to give the soup a slightly thicker base. (Bonus: It added some protein, too.) Adding some vegetable broth helped make the soup go a little further, and I threw in some spices to bring out the flavor. A few minutes of simmering and cooling, and–voila!–instant dinner.

Let me tell you: This stuff was delicious. And it totally helped my hubby lick his post-Eagles-defeat wounds. Plus, it’s completely vegetarian friendly, and could even be a winner-winner-vegan-dinner if you omitted the cheese. Check out my recipe below to get in on tomato-y goodness.

Leftover Bruschetta Soup
Serves two

4 cups leftover bruschetta mix, divided (*This is the recipe I used, plus I added some diced eggplant because I had it lying around.)
3/4 cup beans, divided (Any kind will work, but I used Goya’s Small White Beans)
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Toasted baguette slices
Shredded Parmesan (for topping)

Method

1. In a food processor or blender, purée one cup bruschetta mix and 1/4 cup beans.

2. In stock pot, add puree mixture, remaining bruschetta mix, beans, vegetable broth, oregano and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Ladle into serving bowls and top with a slice of bread and parmesan.