This smoked sausage soup is hearty, flavorful, and easy on the budget. Made with fully cooked sausage, white beans, and potatoes, it’s the kind of simple, satisfying dinner that comes together quickly, perfect for cold days or busy weeknights when you need a meal that delivers.
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What’s great about this recipe
- Quick and easy: With a short cook time and no special prep steps, this is a great recipe when you need dinner fast.
- Big flavor with simple ingredients: Smoked sausage, garlic, and herbs combine to create a rich, savory soup without much effort.
- Affordable and filling: Stretch a small amount of meat into a complete meal using pantry staples like canned beans and broth.
- Customizable: Use what you have—this soup works with different types of potatoes, beans, or sausage varieties.
Ingredients you’ll need
🫒 Oil – Olive oil adds flavor, but any sauté-friendly oil will work.
🍖 Smoked sausage – Use a fully cooked sausage. Choose from beef, turkey, pork, or a mix—your favorite brand works here.
🥕 Produce – Onion, carrots, celery, and garlic form the base of this soup. Potatoes make it hearty—we used red potatoes for their color and creamy texture, but yellow, Yukon, or peeled russet potatoes will work as well.
🌿 Herbs & spices – A mix of dried oregano, thyme, rosemary, black pepper, and salt (if needed) gives the soup an Italian-inspired flavor.
🫘 White beans – Canned cannellini beans are convenient and add heartiness.
🥫 Chicken broth – Use prepackaged broth or homemade if available.
📖 See the recipe card for exact quantities and instructions.
How to make smoked sausage soup
- Brown the sausage: Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook for 2–3 minutes until lightly browned in spots.
- Sauté the vegetables: Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring often.
- Add aromatics: Stir in garlic, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and black pepper. Cook for 1 minute.
- Simmer the broth: Add chicken broth and scrape the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add potatoes and beans: Stir in the potatoes and cannellini beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat again and simmer for 10–15 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender.
- Taste and adjust: Add salt if needed. (As a reference, ¼ teaspoon was added during testing.) Serve with white rice, crusty bread, crackers, or a simple green salad.
Substitutions and variations
Potatoes: Red potatoes hold their shape well, but Yukon gold or russet potatoes work too. Just adjust the cook time as needed for size and variety.
Beans: If you don’t have cannellini beans, use navy beans or great northern beans—they’re mild, creamy, and hold up well in soup.
Sausage options: Choose your favorite fully cooked smoked sausage—whether it’s pork, beef, turkey, or a blend. Just be sure it’s not raw sausage.
Add greens: Stir in a handful of kale or spinach during the last few minutes of cooking for extra color and nutrition.
Make it spicy: For a kick of heat, add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes or a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce.
Serving, storing and reheating
- Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3–4 days.
- Freezer: Freeze in a freezer-safe container for 2–3 months. Leave room at the top for expansion (about 2 inches).
- Reheating:
- Stovetop: Reheat over medium-low heat until hot. Stir occasionally and add a splash of broth or water if the soup is too thick.
- Microwave: Reheat in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until hot throughout.
- Food safety: Reheat leftovers to an internal temperature of at least 165°F. For more information on food storage and safety guidelines visit U.S. Department of Agriculture and foodsafety.gov.
Recipe tips and notes
- Brown the sausage: It’s fully cooked, but browning adds flavor and texture.
- Simmer the broth: Cooking the broth with aromatics and herbs adds that “homemade” taste—even if it’s store-bought.
- Prep ahead: This soup moves quickly. Have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go before turning on the heat.
- Go easy on the salt: Use low-sodium broth and canned beans if you’re sensitive to salt. Since the sausage, beans, and broth already contain plenty, it’s best to wait until the end to taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
- Prevent browning: Keep peeled potatoes in cold water to slow down browning while prepping the rest of the soup.
Soup is one of the best ways to make satisfying meals on a budget, and this smoked sausage soup does just that. If you're in the mood for more soup, try our Tuscan soup with cannellini beans for something simple and light, or sausage lentil soup for a similar smoky flavor. For Italian-inspired recipes, check out our popular kale and white bean sausage soup or pastina soup—each one is easy to make and packed with hearty ingredients.
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📖 Recipe
Smoked Sausage Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 14-16 ounces Smoked Sausage sliced into bite sized pieces (fully cooked variety)
- 1 Medium Onion finely diced
- 2 Carrots sliced into rounds or half rounds depending on their size
- 2 Celery Ribs sliced or diced
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Dried Thyme
- ¼ teaspoon Dried Rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 5 cups Chicken Broth
- 12 ounces Small Red Potatoes cut into halves or quarters depending on their size
- 1 (15 ounce) Can Cannellini Beans drained and rinsed (also called white kidney beans)
- Salt if need at the end
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the sausage. Fry for 2-3 minutes until it becomes golden in spots.
- Next, add the onions, carrots and celery to the pot. Cook the vegetables for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and black pepper. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Add the chicken broth and 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 3-4 minutes for the liquid to come to a boil.
- Once the broth is boiling, lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and simmer the soup for 10 minutes, stir occasionally.
- Add the potatoes and the cannellini beans to the soup. If you were keeping the potatoes in water, remember to drain them well before adding them in.
- Raise the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Then, lower the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. The tip of a knife should slide in and out without resistance.
- Keep the soup at a simmer if it’s not, raise the heat a bit. Also, give it a stir occasionally to make sure the ingredients are not sticking to the bottom.
- Taste and add salt, if needed. As a reference we added ¼ teaspoon to ours.
- Serve the soup on its own or with a side salad, white rice, crackers, or a generous piece of crusty bread, if desired.
Notes
- Keep peeled potatoes in cold water to prevent browning.
- Prep all ingredients before starting—the recipe moves quickly.
- Use low-sodium broth and beans; taste and adjust salt at the end.
Nutrition
The nutritional information above is computer generated and is only an estimate. There is no guarantee that it is accurate. This data is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only.
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