Name: Green Olive Soup with Olive Oil (Simple & Tasty!)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons olive oil ((more for garnish)); 1 yellow onion (diced); 4 garlic cloves (minced); 1 teaspoon parsley (either fresh or dried (more for garnish)); 1 teaspoon thyme (either fresh or dried (more for garnish)); 1 1/4 cup olives ((160g) either green or black olives, or any other type); 1 1/4 cup white beans ((240g) from 1 can, sub with butter beans); 1/2 quart vegetable stock (473ml); 1/2 quart water (473ml); 1 large red bell pepper (diced (optional)); 1/2 lemon (juiced)

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The ULTIMATE Green (or Black) Olive Soup that will soon become your go-to comfort food. With an option to make herb-infused olive oil soup, this one is packed with FLAVOR!

Olive soup with white beans, with a piece of bread being dipped into the soup.

Why You Will Love This Green Olive Soup

🥗 Packed with nutrients and vitamins.
⏱️ Done in 30 minutes and very easy to make.
🍲 Feels like a warm hug!
🛒 Made with budget-friendly ingredients.
🌱 Vegan-friendly: Win-win for your health, the planet, and the animals!

Two hands holding a bowl of green olive soup with olive oil and white beans.

Ingredients

Olive oil: Adds that Mediterranean flavor and amplifies the flavor!
Yellow Onion and Garlic: Our two aromatics that give delicious flavor to our soup!
Parsley and Thyme: Gives the herby boost. Both fresh and dried herbs work!
Green Olives: The star ingredient!
- Feel free to sub with black olives!
White beans: Plant-based protein that’s also the secret to creamy vegetable soup, which also packs many amazing health benefits!
Red Bell pepper (optional): Introduces a sweet crunch that pairs well with olives.
Vegetable stock: Forms a flavorful, rich base.
- Feel free to use any other stock you have at hand, from mushroom stock to chicken stock (assuming you’re not vegan of course).
Water: Since jarred olives usually contain additional salt, water is used to thin down the olive oil soup without being too salty!
Lemon juice: A bit of acid to round off the flavor!

Step-by-step Instructions

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add diced onion, and sauté until translucent.

Stir in minced garlic, then parsley and thyme, cooking for another minute. Then add your green olives and white beans, followed by vegetable stock and water.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Optional: Add your bell pepper in the last 5-10 minutes, so your bell peppers won’t get too mushy.

Sauteed garlic, onion, thyme, and parsley in a pot.

White beans, whole green olives, and vegetable stock on a pot, taken from above.

Now blend the olive soup to your desired consistency using an immersion blender. You can also use a regular blender here.

Stir in lemon juice. If desired, drizzle a bit more olive oil and garnish with parsley and thyme. Serve with your favorite bread or soup pasta, and enjoy!

Do NOT skip the lemon juice!!! It makes a HUGE difference and I definitely would not even want to serve this soup without lemon juice!

A black soup ladel showing green olive soup with some whole green olives and white beans shown.

A black soup ladel scooping the olive soup into a white soup bowl.

Top Tips

Taste and adjust: Taste the green/black olive soup before blending and add some salt or herbs if needed.
Blend to your preferred consistency: For a chunkier soup, blend less; for a smoother soup, blend longer.

Serving Suggestions

To garnish, add some fresh parsley or thyme. Feel free to also drizzle a bit of olive oil on top, or sprinkle some freshly cracked black pepper.

I like serving mine with some rustic bread (or make some garlic bread using your regular sliced bread, or make this Italian loaf garlic bread), but this soup is also great when served with small pasta like orzo, ditalini, or stellini.

You can also add a dollop of hummus on top. For a complete meal, serve this with my garlic pita chips, cheesy garlic wrap, hummus bagel, avocado bagel, or tomato carpaccio.

Close-up of green olive soup with olive oil, served with a crusty bread.

Recipe Variations

Ingredients-wise, green olives also pair well with (plant-based) cheese, tomatoes, capers, potatoes, hummus (like in my Hummus Bagel recipe), almonds, and walnuts. So feel free to add 1-2 of these ingredients to your soup, either blending them together or as toppings!

Technique-wise, if you love the taste of olive oil, make some herb-infused olive oil by bringing your olive oil with herbs (like parsley, thyme, or even chilli flakes) on a very low heat for 4-6 minutes. Then you can continue right away with sautéing your onion and garlic to make herb-infused olive oil soup.

Three white bowls of green olive soup with a green napkin underneath and a spoon on the bottom right side.

And If You’re Keen On Learning More About Green Olives…

Are Green Olives Good For You?

Yes they are! Olives have a lot of antioxidants and help lower cholesterol and blood pressure. They may also reduce cancer risk as mentioned in this Healthline article.

One note of caution is that they might contain quite a high amount of salt from the packaging liquid, making it important for you to rinse your olives well before use!

Which is Better: Green or Black Olives?

Nutrition-wise, they have very similar nutritional profiles. Livestrong explained that green olives tend to contain more salt, whereas Masterclass explained that black olives have more antioxidants from polyphenols.

Taste-wise, black olives are harvested after they have ripened on the tree, making them have a milder and sweeter taste when compared to green olives.

A bowl of hearty olive soup with white beans and olive oil, served with rustic bread, with more soup around it.

Storage and Meal Prep Instructions

Storage: Let the soup cool down and refrigerate in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.

Meal Prep: Cook a big batch of this olive soup and chop up the additional parsley and thyme for garnish. They will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Feel free to double this olive oil soup and freeze a couple of portions for longer storage. It tastes just as good as the fresh one!

Freezing: Freeze this green olive soup in smaller air-tight containers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.

FAQ

Yes, but note that you have to first cook them. This requires you soaking the beans overnight, before boiling them for about 20-40 minutes, depending on the bean size and how long you’ve soaked them.

Blend the soup longer so the the white beans get mashed even more. You can also consider adding a splash of (vegan) cream, flour, or corn starch if blending doesn’t do the trick.

Yes you can! Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is great for soups and stews since they are mostly cooked on a lower temperature as they are simmered on low heat.

Just be mindful to not put the heat on high in the beginning when you sauté the aromatics like onion and garlic to infuse your olive oil with those flavor!

Due to its low smoking point, avoid using olive oil for high-temperature frying or grilling, as it can burn and therefore altering its taste and nutritional profile.

The second scenario is when you’r baking a cake that requires a neutral flavor. Olive oil does have an intrinsic flavor so in this case, stick to a milder tasting vegetable oil.

No, it doesn’t. It’s usually added in the beginning so that the aromatics (such as onion and garlic) can infuse more flavor to the soup, and to prevent them from sticking to the pot.

To thicken your olive soup, blend them longer or add a bit of (vegan) cream, cornstarch, or flour.

Sure you can! Use any red pepper flakes of choice, adding them at the same time as you add the thyme and parsley!

A bowl of olive oil soup with green olives, white beans, and olive oil, garnished with thyme and chopped parsley on top.

Want More Healthy Recipes Like This?

For another healthier comfort food favorite, check out my medieval pottage (peasant 3-ingredient almond milk mac and cheese.

If you’re looking for another dish to serve alongside this olive oil soup, try any of my garlic bread: garlic bread with Italian/French loaf, with regular sliced bread, or with pita bread!