I made this with the dried beans and with the canned beans. I found a cannelini that didn't have salt added in the Italian food section of my supermarket. The recipe that was printed in the magazine had thyme seasoned croutons that were served in the soup instead of the garlic. The croutons, I think, are essential. I've made it without and it's never been quite as good. I used 2 14 oz cans of cannelini for 12 oz of dried beans. This is one of my favorite summer soups before seared tuna.

I used canned beans and only cut back the water by 1 cup. I would suggest cutting the salt in half when using canned beans or else it's pretty overpowering. You can always add at the end but you can't take it out! I decided against the fried garlic and went with hommade croutons

Wish someone would answer Donnna510. Canned beans would make this alot easier.

How many cups of canned white beans can I exchange for the 12 ounces of dry beans?

This was simply excellent! I can't digest white beans, so I used red kidney beans, and if you don't mind a darker soup, it is simply delicious. I've always been weary of soup recipes calling for what seems like too much water, but this one gets all its thickness and taste from the beans, kale and garlic. The last step : garlic chips and oil drizzle, really does bring a huge kick to the end result. I can't wait to eat this again tomorrow at lunch time!