This Tuscan Soup is hearty and delicious. With Italian sausage, cannellini beans, potatoes, carrots, spinach, onions and garlic, this is one soup that won’t leave you hungry!
Serve the Tuscan soup with a generous piece of crusty bread for a meal the whole family will love.
If you’re in the mood for more delicious and hearty soups, try this Lentil Sausage Soup, this Navy Bean Soup, or this Italian Sausage and Pastina Soup.
To make this tuscan soup you will need
- 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
- 1 pound Mild Italian Sausage, casing removed (or use bulk sausage)
- 1 Medium Onion, finely diced
- 1 Large Carrot, diced
- 4-5 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoon Flour
- 8 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 Large Potato, peeled and cut into roughly 1 inch cubes
- 15.5 ounce can Cannellini Beans, drained and rinse
- 1 cup Half and Half
- 3 ounces Fresh Spinach
- Salt, to taste if needed
Prep Work
The prep work for this soup is easy, but there is a little required. A homemade soup is going to take some work, but boy is it worth it!
- Remove the sausage from their casings and tear them into small pieces.
- Dice the onions and the carrots. They’re going into the pot at the same time so keep them in the same bowl.
- I like to finely dice the onions so they disappear in the soup. But do a larger dice for the carrots, so that they hold their shape.
- Next, peel and dice the potato. Don’t make the pieces too small so they hold their shape. One inch pieces should do it.
- The potatoes aren’t going in until the end, but since you have the cutting board out and you’re prepping, get them done.
- Just, make sure to keep peeled and cut potatoes covered with cold water. Potatoes brown quickly once they’re peeled; keeping them in water slows this down a lot.
- The only thing left to do is to mince the garlic, rinse the beans and measure out the remaining ingredients.
Alright, now we can start this delicious Tuscan Soup.
Start the flavor base for the soup
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the sausage.
Cook the Italian sausage for approximately 3-4 minutes until it is browned. Stir the sausage frequently while breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Lower the heat to medium and add the onions and carrots to the pot. Cook the vegetables with the sausage for 2-3 minutes until the onions are translucent, stirring frequently.
Then, add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stir frequently.
Next, add the flour to the pot and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. We add a little bit of flour to give the soup some body.
Add the chicken broth
When we’re using prepackaged broths, simmering it with the flavor base we create will give it that homemade taste.
Sure, this step adds to the cooking time. But, the flavors develop and you get an overall better soup than if you rush it.
Add the chicken broth to the pot while gently scraping any bits off the bottom. Raise the heat to high and bring the broth to a boil.
Once the soup comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low and cover the pot. Keep the soup at a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Finish the tuscan soup
Raise the heat to medium-high and bring to soup to a full boil. Add the potatoes and the cannellini beans to the pot. Lower the heat to medium, cover and continue cooking the soup for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
Remove the pot from the heat. Add the half and half to the soup and stir until incorporated. Now, place the pot back over medium-low to low heat but do not allow the soup to come to a boil. We just want to warm it through.
The last step is to add the spinach to the Tuscan soup. Heat it gently until the spinach wilts. This will only take a minute or two, stir occasionally.
Taste the Tuscan Soup and add salt, if needed. As a reference, we didn’t add extra salt to our soup. Serve with a piece of crusty bread and enjoy!
Need more soup recipes? Try one of these:
Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Lentil and Andouille Sausage Soup
Tuscan Soup
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
- 1 pound Mild Italian Sausage casing removed (or use bulk sausage)
- 1 Medium Onion finely diced
- 1 Large Carrot diced
- 4-5 Garlic Cloves minced
- 2 tablespoon Flour
- 8 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 Large Potato peeled and cut into roughly 1 inch cubes
- 15.5 ounce can Cannellini Beans drained and rinse
- 1 cup Half and Half
- 3 ounces Fresh Spinach
- Salt to taste if needed
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the sausage.
- Cook the Italian sausage for approximately 3-4 minutes until it is browned. Stir the sausage frequently while breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Lower the heat to medium and add the onions and carrots to the pot.
- Cook the vegetables with the sausage for 2-3 minutes until the onions are translucent, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stir frequently.
- Add the flour to the pot and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the chicken broth to the pot while gently scraping any bits off the bottom. Raise the heat to high and bring the broth to a boil.
- Once the soup comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low and cover the pot. Keep the soup at a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Raise the heat to medium-high and bring to soup to a full boil.
- Add the potatoes and the cannellini beans.
- Lower the heat to medium, cover and continue cooking the soup for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Add the half and half to the soup and stir until incorporated. Now, place the pot back over medium-low to low heat but do not allow the soup to come to a boil.
- Add the spinach to the Tuscan soup. Heat it gently until the spinach wilts. This will only take a minute or two, stir occasionally.
- Taste the Tuscan Soup and add salt, if needed. As a reference, we didn’t add extra salt to our soup.