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.
Italian sausage and bean soup is healing and nourishing
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 it’s soup season. 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.
Tip: 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.
A soup diet is my secret weapon when I need to loose a few pounds
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.
more cozy soups for the win!
Maybe you’re chilled, or maybe you’re under the weather, but sometimes you just need a good healing bowl of soup. I’ve got other favorites in the recipe index, take a peek…
A large enameled cast iron Dutch oven is a kitchen essential, and I think if you could have only one pot, it would be this one. It’s heavy (cooks evenly,) enameled (food doesn’t stick,) large (it can handle your biggest roast,) and gorgeous (I leave mine out on the stove!)  I’m partial to my creamy white Le Creuset pot, which comes in a rainbow of colors. Lodge is a cheaper option that also comes in an array of colors.
“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
Italian Sausage and Bean Soup
Equipment
- Dutch oven or soup pot
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage meat
- olive oil, optional
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 15 ounce can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste
- 32 ounce carton of chicken broth or stock
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
- 15 ounce can white beans
- 3 cups of fresh baby spinach leaves, more to taste
- 1 cup cooked mini pasta, any shape
- grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Brown the sausage in a large soup pot. You can add a touch of olive oil first if you like, I don’t find it’s necessary. Break apart the sausage into small bits as it cooks, and let it cook until nice and browned. Remove the sausage to a paper towel lined plate, but leave the fat behind in the pan.
- Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic to the pan and sauté for about 5-10 minutes, stirring often, just until they start to soften. Return the sausage to to the pot with the tomatoes, paste, and broth. Season with the Italian seasoning, bay leaves, and a good grinding of black pepper. Hold off on the salting to taste until the end.
- At this point I bring the soup up to a boil, then I turn the heat off and cover. I let it sit for about 30 minutes. I love this technique because the flavor get a chance to develop but the veggies don’t get boiled to death.
- When you’re ready to eat, add the beans, and greens, and bring back up to a simmer. Taste to add salt, or any extra pepper. The trick with the pasta is to add it individually to each serving, you can put a little at the bottom of each bowl as you ladle out the soup. This is important because if you mix pasta into soup it will eventually soak up all the broth.
- Serve this soup with a generous amount of grated Parmesan.
Notes
- 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.
Nutrition
Hi Sue, thanks for all this nice recipes, can i replace the carton of chicken broth with homemade stock and is it the same volume please?
Oh absolutely, even more delicious!
Does this soup freeze well?
Yes!
My husband and I made this together for dinner today – and it is DELICIOUS! We chose to not add [pasta so instead added an additional can of beans, and tossed in a small frozen Parmesan rind, too! Your method of letting the vegetables rest for 30 minutes with the burner turned off was genius! The vegetables were perfect! A little Parmesan, a squirt of fresh lemon juice and this just became our new favorite soup.
I’m so glad you guys liked the soup Kathy ~ and I especially love that you mentioned the ’30 minute soup rest’ ~ it’s becoming my signature technique 🙂
I made this yesterday – OMG! It’s my new go-to soup recipe! Mr. Squash even noted how well the flavors blended – which is a lot to say about a man who rarely speaks when he eats and usually asks for seconds! Thanks for another winner, Sue!
Cheers,
Candace
lol, we’ve got to get Mr. Squash to speak up more during meals ~ I’m on it!
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!
Thanks so much Pamela, the tip about turning off the heat on the soup is one I’ve been doing forever, it just makes sense, I can’t stand mushy veggies.
OMG! We made this tonight and neither my husband nor I could stop raving about it. I also added a can of kidney beans because I like a really chunky soup. I can’t wait to go to work tomorrow and have leftovers for lunch! Thanks so much for this recipe!
Oh yes! This looks so delicious and hearty! Pinning!
I hope you get better soon and this beautiful soup should certainly help you. I get the point of the pasta soaking up the soup but that is exactly what makes the pasta extra delicious in these Italian style soups and my family would revolve if I served them precooked pasta in their minestrone. I find the trick is too have enough liquid in the soup and to cook the pasta in the soup last minute.
Happy New Year. I hope you will have the best year ever.
Hmmmm, the extra liquid might work, but I find the bloated pasta loses all its nice texture and looks, and becomes flabby 🙂 Happy New Year friend!
Happy New Year Sue!
You sure have to time it right to get good pasta! Your way is safer.
I adore this soup Sue! So hearty, healthy and no doubt delicious.
Such a comforting and warming treat! Perfect for January!