This sausage minestrone soup has all the goodness of the classic vegetable soup but with an extra kick from flavorful Italian sausage.
Hearty soups make great meals. They are usually made in one pot, use affordable ingredients and are a good way to include vegetables where the family won’t complain about them. Like this minestrone soup with sausage, vegetable beef soup and sausage tortellini soup are favorites at our house.
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Ingredients
- Oil – Olive oil works well; we are just using it to get the sausage started browning.
- Sausage – Mild Italian sausage works great with this minestrone soup recipe. If you like spicy, use hot Italian sausage. For more, check out these Italian sausage recipes.
- Produce – This soup is loaded with vegetables including onions, carrots, celery, garlic, zucchini and spinach. After all, traditionally this is a vegetarian soup. Although, I must confess that in this family we prefer our minestrone soup with meat.
- Seasoning – Fresh ground black pepper and Italian seasoning give this soup plenty of flavor. Italian seasoning is usually a blend that includes dried basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme and marjoram, among others. Find it in the spice aisle of larger supermarkets or online.
- Pantry – Chicken broth, cannellini beans (also called white kidney beans – you can also use red kidney beans if preferred), canned diced tomatoes, and small pasta. Good pasta choices include ditalini (what we use), small shells, and small elbow macaroni. Any small pasta shape will do. Finally, grated parmesan cheese, for serving is optional but it pairs so well with this soup that we recommended it.
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot (we use a 6-quart dutch oven) over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage for 4-5 minutes until browned, stirring frequently and breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Depending on the sausage there could be excess oil after browning. To remove it from the pot, follow these easy steps: Take the pot off the heat. Pile the browned sausage to one side of the pot and tip it slightly so the oil pools opposite the meat. Use a ladle or large spoon to scoop most (or all) of it out. Level the pot, place it back over the heat and continue with the recipe.
Lower the heat to medium and add the onions, carrots and celery to the pot. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the onions start to soften and are translucent, stirring frequently.
Add the garlic, Italian seasoning and black pepper to the pot, cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
Next, add the tomatoes and chicken broth. Stir while gently scraping any bits off the bottom of the pot.
Raise the heat to high and bring the broth to a boil (it will take about 5 minutes). Lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and simmer the soup for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Raise the heat to medium and add the pasta. Let the broth come to a boil again. It should happen right away, but if it does not raise the heat a little. Then drop it back to medium once it is boiling.
Cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Stir it occasionally to make sure the pasta is not sticking to the bottom. It tends to sink to the bottom of the pot until it starts to soften, so stirring regularly will prevent it from sticking and burning.
Add the cannellini beans and zucchini, stir well and cover the pot. Cook the minestrone soup with Italian sausage for 10 minutes until the pasta is tender. Stir the soup occasionally focusing on the bottom of the pot.
Finally, add the spinach and stir until it starts to wilt. Cover the pot and cook the soup for 3- 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Taste and add salt if needed. As a reference we did not add extra to ours.
Serve the Italian sausage minestrone with grated parmesan cheese, if desired, and enjoy.
Serving and storing
This hearty minestrone soup is a meal on its own, but serve it with parmesan cheese, a generous piece of crusty bread or a side salad for a delicious dinner your family will love.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat the soup in a saucepan until simmering. Or heat thoroughly in the microwave.
To freeze, store it in a container suitable for freezing. Remember to leave enough room for the liquid to expand when frozen, about 2 inches should do it. Freeze the soup for up to 3 months. As with all soups that include cooked pasta, keep in mind that the taste and texture can be affected when frozen.
You may also like these hearty soup recipes:
- Sausage White Bean and Kale Soup
- Sausage Potato Soup
- Cabbage Sausage Soup
- Italian Sausage Lentil Soup
- Pastina Soup
Sausage Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 1½ teaspoon Olive Oil
- 1 pound Mild Italian Sausage casing removed torn into pieces or use bulk sausage
- 1 medium Onion small dice
- 2 Carrots cut into rounds, half rounds or diced
- 1 Celery Rib sliced or diced
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 14.5 ounce can Diced Tomatoes do not drain
- 6 cups Chicken Broth
- ½ cup Small Pasta shells, ditalini, etc.
- 1 15.5 ounce can Cannellini Beans drained and rinsed (also called white kidney beans)
- 1 medium Zucchini quartered and sliced into bite sized pieces
- 2-3 ounces Fresh Spinach about two generous handfuls
- Salt to taste if needed at the end
- Grated Parmesan Cheese for serving optional
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking add the Italian sausage.
- Cook the sausage for 4-5 minutes until browned, stirring frequently and breaking up any large pieces. Drain excess oil (see notes)
- Lower the heat to medium and add the onions, carrots and celery to the pot. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the onions start to soften and are translucent, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic, Italian seasoning and black pepper to the pot, cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Next, add the tomatoes and chicken broth. Stir while gently scraping any bits off the bottom of the pot.
- Raise the heat to high and bring the broth to a boil (it will take about 5 minutes). Lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and simmer the soup for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Raise the heat to medium and add the pasta. Let the broth come to a boil again. It should happen right away but if it does not, raise the heat a little. Then drop it back to medium once it is boiling.
- Cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Stir it occasionally to make sure the pasta is not sticking to the bottom.
- Still on medium heat, add the cannellini beans and zucchini, stir well and cover the pot. Cook for 10 minutes until the pasta is tender. Stir the soup occasionally, again making sure the pasta is not sticking to the bottom.
- Finally, add the spinach to the pot and stir until it starts to wilt. Cover the pot and cook the soup for 3- 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Taste and add salt if needed. As a reference we did not add extra to ours.
- Serve with parmesan cheese, if desired and enjoy.
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