Italian Sausage and Bean Soup is hearty, nourishing, comforting, and quick to make ~ clocking in at just under an hour.  It rivals Grandma’s chicken soup when it comes to curing what ails you.  

I’m glad you can’t see me now because I’m down for the count.  My husband stepped off a plane last week with a scratch in his throat…fast forward to today when we’ve got a full sick house and not enough Puffs to go around.

Luckily January and February are my soup months.  My favorite Le Creuset pot sits out on the stove for the duration while I cycle through as many soup recipes as I can muster.  It’ll either be healthy or comforting, depending on whether one or all of us is sick, what the weather’s like, or what strikes my fancy that day.  Today’s chunky Italian recipe is a little bit of both.

This tomato based soup is full-on Italian, no holds barred.  A quick trip to the grocery store for some sweet sausage and fresh spinach seals the deal, I’ve got everything else in the pantry including several cans of fire-roasted tomatoes, I use them often because I love that little extra depth of flavor.  Lots of garlic, tomato paste, chicken stock, and Italian seasoning give this soup a classic, homey vibe.  I’ve added little ‘farfalline’ (itty bitty farfalle) pasta, but any small shape will work, including orzo, or rice shaped pasta.

The soup can be ready in under an hour, but if you’d like to make it ahead, it will age beautifully overnight.  I would hold off on adding the greens until ready to serve, in that case, because they’ll lose their vibrant color.

One of the biggest benefits for me to making lots of soup in January is that it helps me to lose any extra pounds I’ve gained over the holidays.  Soup works well to control my appetite because the liquid fills me up and satisfies me quicker and for a longer time than regular meals.  A soup like this Italian sausage and bean covers all of the food groups, too (remember tomatoes are a fruit!) After a month or two of making soup on a regular basis for dinner, I’m usually back on track and ready for spring.

Tip: Adding pasta to soups is tricky because after only a short time it will absorb much of the broth and ruin the texture of the soup.  The trick is to cook the pasta separately, and add it to each individual bowl as you serve, not to the pot of soup itself.  It’s a small extra step but well worth it.

Maybe you’re chilled, or maybe you’re under the weather, but sometimes you just need a good brothy soup.  I’ve got other favorites in the recipe index, take a peek ~

• Not Your Grandma’s Chicken Soup
• Slimming Detox Soup
• Dilled Matzo Ball Soup
• Miso Soup
• Thai Coconut Tom Kha

Reader Rave ~

“This soup was absolutely delicious! Your tips about the pasta and removing the soup from the burner so the vegetables wouldn’t get soggy were new to me and made me feel like a better cook, thank you!”  ~Pamela

Make this Italian Sausage and Bean Soup your own ~

• Feel free to leave out the pasta for a lower calorie/carb soup.

• Use turkey sausage for lower fat.

• Kale can be substituted for the spinach.

• This soup can be made with a light chicken broth or stock base, just omit the tomatoes and tomato paste.  Add about 2 cups more broth or stock.

• To control sodium in this soup look for low sodium broth and beans and omit the Parmesan, opt for shredded Swiss or mozzarella instead.

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