Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup
Well friends, it’s raining and cold outside again. And at our house that means soup time. So today I wanted to share my Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup recipe. Now this recipe has evolved over the years and there are so many different ways that you can vary it. Below I will tell you how.
Tips and Tricks
Now you will notice that I use Sweet Turkey Italian Sausage in my Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup recipe. I do this to reduce the amount of fat and calories in the overall dish. You can always choose Hot sausage for a spicier version. And you can also use conventional pork sausage for a richer soup. The choice is yours.
You will also notice that I cook my pasta noodles separate from my soup. I do that for several reasons. One, this keeps the pasta from continuing to cook over time and becoming too soft. Two, if you decide to freeze some of your Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup for later it is best to omit the pasta. The pasta will not freeze well, but the rest of the soup will. Finally, this is a great way to prepare a dish for people with different dietary needs. For example, I made conventional pasta for my husband and gluten-free for myself.
Gluten-Free Pasta
If you are in need of a Gluten-Free pasta let me recommend one from Barilla. Their GF pasta that is made from rice and corn is actually quite good. It has good flavor and texture. I have been impressed with how it cooks very similar to conventional pasta.
Sides
If you are searching for something to serve alongside your soup consider my Grandma’s Cornbread recipe. It is perfect on the side with butter or crumbled into your soup. And it is so simple to make.
Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb sweet turkey Italian sausage
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 red/yellow bell pepper diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- Salt and Black Pepper
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 15 oz can great northern beans rinsed and drained
- 2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
- 6 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 8 oz bag fresh spinach
- 1 lb elbow pasta cooked separately
Instructions
- Heat a 6-quart stock pot over medium high heat. Once pot is heated, coat bottom of pan with olive oil and add sausage to pan (casings removed).
- Brown sausage and crumble. Once meat is finished cooking add onion, peppers and garlic. Add some salt and black pepper.
- Allow vegetables to cook 3-4 minutes then add Italian seasoning, beans, tomatoes with juice, and chicken stock.
- Stir well and allow soup to cook over medium low heat for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes add fresh spinach, stir to combine. Cook for another 10 minutes.
- To serve add cooked pasta to a bowl and top with soup. This allows you to freeze extra soup if you wish. And keeps pasta from becoming too soft.
