Tuscan-Style Soup with Kale & Sausage
It’s kind of my Sunday tradition to make a soup every week. I just love the coziness and ending a weekend with a big pot of delicious, nourishing soup. There’s nothing like finishing all of the necessary errands for the weekend and curling up on the couch with a bowl of soup. I’m even guilty of this in the summer, but I just can’t help it… soup is my favorite!
That brings me to this Tuscan-style soup, which just might be my new go-to. It’s soooo flavorful, easy to make, healthy and super filling. Utensils not even necessary, because you’ll want to be soaking up this goodness with a big chunk of crusty bread, trust me.
The inspiration for this soup came from good ol’ Olive Garden, but I wanted something lighter and more nourishing. I opted to keep the Tuscan-Style Soup with Kale & Sausage dairy-free and gluten-free so that everyone can enjoy, and it’s easily made vegetarian by omitting the sausage.
A Few Notes on the Tuscan-Style Soup
The base of this Tuscan-style soup is made up of a diced sweet onion and a diced shallot. I love using shallots in soups because I think it gives them that really amazing flavor, without having to chop a million cloves of garlic, ha! I also think shallots stand up to a sauté better than garlic, which tends to burn.
For the sausage, I used sweet Italian sausage, but hot would also work really well. I actually added ¼ tsp of crushed red pepper flakes for just a bit of heat since the sausage I used was sweet, which you can omit if you use spicy (or keep it in for some real nice heat…. yum!).
If you buy the sausage in casings, simply use kitchen shears to cut open the casings before adding the sausage to the pan. If you don’t eat pork, you could absolutely substitute ground turkey or ground chicken. If doing so, I would suggest adding a bit of ground fennel, which will give it that quintessential “sausage” taste. If you’re vegetarian, you can absolutely omit the meat. It would be great with an extra can of beans, too!
Alright, Time to Make the Soup!
This Tuscan-style soup truly is so simple and easy to make. After heating oil in a large pot (I love my Lodge Dutch Oven), add the onion and shallot, stirring frequently and cooking for about 2 minutes, until fragrant.
Once fragrant, add in the Italian sausage, using the back of the spoon to break it down into smaller pieces. Once the sausage is in smaller pieces, the key is to let it sit so that it actually browns. You don’t want to let it burn, of course, but by letting it sit for a minute or two before stirring, it will form a delicious crust. Do a few rounds of this to get deliciously browned sausage.
While the sausage is browning, add ¼ crushed red pepper and 1 tsp salt. Again, you can easily omit the crushed red pepper if you are not a fan of heat (although this gives a VERY mild level of heat) or if you’re already using hot sausage.
Once the sausage is browned, add 1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes (no salt added) and 1 can of white beans that have been rinsed and drained.
When this is being all stirred up, make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan for all of the wonderful browned sausage bits. Those add so much flavor to the soup!
Next, pour in the 8 cups of vegetable or chicken broth. I am actually partial to Trader Joe’s Hearty Vegetable Broth any time I need stock or broth, because I think it’s incredibly flavorful and it has really, really great ingredients.
The diced potatoes and the rest of the seasonings go in next. Simply pour in the potatoes, and then add another ½-1 tsp salt (or omit if the Tuscan has salt), 1 tbsp Tuscan (or sub Italian) seasoning, 1 tsp garlic powder and ½ tsp black pepper. Give the soup a good stir, turn the heat down to medium-low and cover. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.
Now it’s time for the kale! I love adding kale to soup because it’s so hearty that it stands up to the hot temps, but wilts just enough for it to be edible in soup form. The measurement I give for kale is really just a suggestion, you can feel free to add as much or as little as you like. But you’ll be surprised at how much it wilts, so don’t be afraid to add in a few big handfuls at first.
Once the kale has wilted, turn off the heat and add the juice of 1 lemon.
Give it a taste to see if you want to adjust the seasonings, and it’s ready to eat!
Tuscan-Style Soup with Kale & Sausage
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp avocado or olive oil
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 1 shallot, diced
- 1 pound Italian sausage (sweet or hot)
- 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes no salt added
- 1 can white beans drained & rinsed
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper omit if you aren't a fan of heat (although 1/4 tsp will still be very mild)
- 1 tbsp Simply Organic Tuscan (or Italian) Seasoning
- 8 cups vegetable or chicken broth I use Trader Joe's Hearty Vegetable Broth
- 2.5 cups red potatoes, diced
- 5 oz. de-stemmed and chopped kale (a few large handfuls)
- 1 lemon, juiced
Instructions
- If the sausages are in casings, remove them and set aside.
- Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add oil and heat for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add diced onion and shallot to the pot, cooking down for about 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- To the same pot, add the sausage to brown. The key is to let the sausage sit once it’s broken down into smaller pieces without stirring it too frequently so that it gets a nice brown crust.
- While the sausage is browning, add ¼ tsp crushed red pepper and 1 tsp salt.
- Once sausage is browned, add canned diced tomatoes, and then fill the can halfway up with water to get the remaining tomatoes out of the can. Add to the soup pot.
- Add drained and rinsed can of white beans to the soup pot.
- Stir the mixture, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to get all of the browned bits.
- Add 8 cups of vegetable or chicken broth to the soup pot. I like to use the Trader Joe’s Hearty Vegetable Broth.
- Immediately add diced potatoes to the pot, stirring to mix.
- Add another ½-1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp Simply Organic Tuscan (or sub Italian) seasoning, 1 tsp garlic powder, and ½ tsp black pepper.
- Let simmer, covered and on medium low, for 20-30 minutes until potatoes are cooked through.
- Add the kale, stirring to wilt.
- Top with the juice of 1 lemon.
Tuscan-Style Soup with Kale & Sausage
Easy & flavorful Tuscan-style soup packed with nutrients from kale, white beans, sausage and potatoes.
Type: soup
Keywords: dinner, soup, healthy, meal-prep
Preparation Time: PT
Cooking Time: PT20M
Total Time: PT45M
Recipe Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp avocado or olive oil
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 1 shallot, diced
- 1 pound Italian sausage (sweet or hot)
- 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes no salt added
- 1 can white beans drained & rinsed
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1 tbsp Simply Organic Tuscan (or Italian) Seasoning
- 8 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 2.5 cups red potatoes, diced
- 5 oz. de-stemmed and chopped kale (a few large handfuls)
- 1 lemon, juiced
