The Most Delicious Italian Sausage Soup

Italian sausage

🥗Healthier: turkey sausage

💰Cheaper: pork sausage

Turkey sausage is lower in fat while pork sausage is often more affordable.

canned tomatoes

🥗Healthier: fresh tomatoes

💰Cheaper: crushed tomatoes

Fresh tomatoes can provide a fresher taste, while crushed tomatoes are often less expensive.

cannellini beans

🥗Healthier: chickpeas

💰Cheaper: navy beans

Chickpeas offer more protein, and navy beans are generally cheaper.

parmesan cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: grated cheese blend

Nutritional yeast is a low-calorie alternative, while a blend can be more affordable.

Blend part of the chickpeas: Add 1 cup of broth and 3/4 of one of the cans of chickpeas into a blender. Blend until the chickpeas are creamy (about 10-15 seconds). Set aside for later.

Brown the sausage: In a large pot or Dutch Oven, brown the pieces of sausage in the tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat. Cook until most of the sausage is mostly cooked (it will cook fully in the soup, so it's okay if it's not fully cooked). Then, use a slotted spoon to remove the browned sausage from the pot and place it on a clean plate or in a bowl. Note: You can line the plate/bowl with paper towels if you'd like to soak up any extra grease from the cooked sausage.

Saute the vegetables/soffritto: In the same pot the sausage cooked in, add the diced onion, carrots, and celery with a generous pinch of salt. Add a little drizzle of olive oil if the pan is dry, and cook the vegetables until they're soft but not browned (about 3-4 minutes). Once they're cooked, add the minced garlic and the rosemary spring for 30-60 seconds.

Deglaze the pan: Then add the white wine to deglaze the bottom of the pan and cook with the vegetables for about 2 minutes. Add the cooked sausage back to the pot for this step to flavor the sausage with the wine.

Add the chickpeas and broth: Then add the chickpeas, the Parmigiano cheese rind, the pureed chickpeas, and the remaining stock with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Stir everything together.

Simmer: Partially cover the pot and let it simmer for 35-40 minutes on a low heat, stirring occasionally.

Add the kale: Then remove the kale from the stem and chop it up, add it to the pot of soup when it's finished simmering, and cover the pot. Let the kale cook for about 5-10 minutes until it's nicely wilted.

Taste then serve: Then taste the broth and season with more salt if needed. Carefully remove the cheese rind and rosemary sprigs before serving the soup with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Enjoy!

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level: