Soup can get a bad rap for not being a filling meal, but forget that notion with this recipe! This Sausage Kale and White Bean Soup is hearty, delicious, and bound to keep you warm and full!
Sausage kale and white bean soup
People have told me they're hesitant to have soup as the only item on their dinner menu. This is likely due to the fact that some soups are lighter, less hearty, and can leave you wanting more post-meal.
I wanted to create a recipe for a delicious soup that fuels your body and leaves you feeling recharged for the rest of your day. This sausage kale and white bean soup definitely fits the bill. Full of nutrients, potatoes, delicious sausage, and 24g of protein, there is no way this soup will be subject to a side dish in your dinner plans.
Sausage kale and white bean soup ingredients
- Italian sausage (mild or hot)
- onion
- garlic
- beef broth
- yellow potatoes
- Neufchatel cheese
- kale
- cannellini beans
- salt
- pepper
- paprika
- parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes
Substitution ideas
- Italian sausage: For a higher protein recipe, substitute turkey sausage. You can really use any kind of sausage for this recipe.
- Cheese: You could use a dairy-free cream cheese instead of Neufchatel cheese to make this recipe dairy-free. You'll also need to either omit or use a dairy free parmesan for the topping.
- Cannellini beans: If you can't find cannellini beans, great Northern beans are the best stand-in.
How to make sausage kale and white bean soup
After you've gathered all of your ingredients, follow these steps to make this delicious soup:
- Place a large dutch oven on the stove top. Turn on medium heat and let the dutch oven heat up.
- Spray the dutch oven with cooking grease.
- Add the Italian sausage to the dutch oven. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to break up the sausage as it cooks, about 7-8 minutes or until there's no pink and internal temp is 160 degrees.
- After the meat is finished cooking, scoop the meat out of the dutch oven. Place in a bowl on the side until needed. **When scooping out the sausage, leave the excess liquid in the dutch oven! Don't drain. You'll use this for the next steps**
- Add the onion and garlic to the dutch oven. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, as desired. Use a spoon to stir frequently.
- Cook for about 5 minutes, until onions start to get soft.
- Add the block of Neufchâtel cheese to the dutch oven. Use a spoon to crush the cheese and help the melting process. Stir around until creamy and melted, about 2 minutes.
- Pour the chicken broth and potatoes into the dutch oven. Turn the burner up to medium-high heat. Cook for about 20 minutes. Add beans and cook 5 more mins.
- Cut the heat to low and add in the kale and sausage. Mix completely and let cook for about 3 minutes, until the kale leaves start to wilt.
- Scoop the soup into bowls. Top with parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes for some extra flavor.
- Enjoy!
What is the thickener in a white bean soup?
This recipe utilizes Neufchâtel cheese as a thickener. There are other options for thickeners out there, though.
Some of my favorites are cornstarch or canned coconut milk. These both would make your recipe dairy-free as well. Another technique is mashing half of the beans you add into your soup for a thicker, more creamy texture.
How many carbs and in white bean and kale soup?
In this particular recipe, there are 40 carbs. The bean and the potatoes are the main contributors here to the carb count.
I also tend to add a few more carbs myself to this meal with a delicious piece of crusty bread on the side. Trust me on this one, you can't go wrong!
How to store soup
The best way to store soup is in an airtight container in your fridge. Make sure you wait for the soup to cool down beforehand.
If you have room and aren't too bothered, I sometimes store soup in the same pot I cooked it in. Then, when you reheat it, you can just place the pot straight from the fridge back onto a burner and heat thoroughly.
Best way to reheat soup
Speaking of reheating, you can do so in a couple of different ways. Either place the soup in a pot and reheat on a stove top burner or place it in a microwave safe bowl and heat in the microwave.
If you're going the route of heating up in the microwave, heat for 1 minute and then stir the soup. Keep adding additional minutes and stirring until the soup has been heated all the way through. It usually takes me 1-3 minutes depending on how much soup I'm preparing.
How to meal prep this recipe
This recipe is perfect for meal prep. Not only is it ready in 40 minutes, but this soup is so filling, you're going to love having this in your rotation.
After cooking the recipe, portion the soup into 6 different containers. As you go about your week, pull out one of the servings for lunch or dinner!
More soup ideas
Really have a hankering for some soup? Try these other soup recipes from Jordo's World:
Sausage Kale and White Bean Soup
Equipment
- large dutch oven
Ingredients
- 1 lb Italian sausage 16 oz (mild or hot)
- 1 medium onion diced (125 grams)
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced (5 grams)
- 5 cups beef broth
- 4 medium yellow potatoes diced 24 oz)
- 1 block Neufchatel cheese 8 oz
- 2.5 cups kale stems removed (85 grams)
- 15 oz cannellini beans drained
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- toppings: parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Place a large dutch oven on the stovetop. Turn on medium heat and let the dutch oven heat up.
- Spray the dutch oven with cooking grease.
- Add the Italian sausage to the dutch oven. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to break up the sausage as it cooks, about 7-8 minutes or until there's no pink and internal temp is 160 degrees.
- After the meat is finished cooking, scoop the meat out of the dutch oven. Place in a bowl on the side until needed. **When scooping out the sausage, leave the excess liquid in the dutch oven! Don't drain. You'll use this for the next steps**
- Add the onion and garlic to the dutch oven. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, as desired. Use a spoon to stir frequently.
- Cook for about 5 minutes, until onions start to get soft.
- Add the block of Neufchâtel cheese to the dutch oven. Use a spoon to crush the cheese and help the melting process. Stir around until creamy and melted, about 2 minutes.
- Pour the chicken broth and potatoes into the dutch oven. Turn the burner up to medium-high heat. Cook for about 20 minutes. Add beans and cook 5 more mins.
- Cut the heat to low and add in the kale and sausage. Mix completely and let cook for about 3 minutes, until the kale leaves start to wilt.
- Scoop the soup into bowls. Top with parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes for some extra flavor.
- Enjoy!
Mel says
On the ingredient list you said beef broth. Then in the directions you say chicken broth. Here’s hoping beef tastes good because I can’t run back out to the store as I’m in the middle of making this, lol.
Jordan Smith says
Hi Mel, so sorry for the confusion! Either broth is okay and will taste great!
Janice says
This soup is delicious! Sausage gives it a lot of flavor. The ingredients calls for beef broth but the directions say chicken broth, I wasn’t certain which one but I used chicken and it turned out good!
Elizabeth says
Made this recipe this week and it was delicious! Great flavor!
Kara says
I made this last week and literally could not stop saying “this is sooooo good”. Multiple coworkers kept asking “what smelled so good” too and we realized it was this soup! We will definitely make this again during the cold winter season.
Lacy says
Could you possibly make this in the crockpot?
Jordan Smith says
Absolutely! This recipe is a great contender for the crockpot.