This Quick and Easy Italian Sausage Soup is delicious and comes together very quickly - perfect for nights that you don't have much time to cook.
Some of the recipes I post on this blog are fairly new creations for me, but others I've been making for years. This Quick and Easy Italian Sausage Soup fits into the latter category.
I've been making this soup for many years - way before I even met my husband. I think my mom originally gave me the recipe after someone else gave it to her. Like most of the recipes I use, I've put my own spin on it over the years.
How to make Quick and Easy Italian Sausage Soup:
I prefer to make this soup with turkey sausage. It has just as much flavor and makes your soup less greasy. However, depending on where I'm shopping, it's not always easy to find turkey Italian sausage.
I've made it with regular pork Italian sausage just as often, and it turns out just fine, but I sometimes skim the extra grease off the top of the soup.
It's also up to you whether you use hot or mild Italian sausage. I usually use mild for my kids' sake. I would prefer hot myself, but I usually just end up sprinkling extra chili flakes into my bowl.
The final choice you will have to make when you make this soup is what type of greens you will use. I prefer spinach, but I will use kale when I have leftovers hanging around (which was what happened when I made this batch in the pictures). Just note that if you do use kale, you will need to cook it just a little bit longer to get it tender.
Want more soup recipes?
Quick and Easy Italian Sausage Soup Nutrition Notes:
The nutrition information in the recipe below uses turkey sausage for its calculations. If you use regular (pork) sausage, your soup will likely have more fat (including saturated fat) and calories.
Some brands of sausage have more fat than others, so if you do use pork sausage and you find that it makes your soup very greasy, let the extra oil settle on the top and skim it off with a spoon.
This soup can easily be made gluten-free by replacing regular pasta with gluten-free pasta. It can easily be made dairy-free by skipping the Parmesan rind or shredded Parmesan.
The recipe makes 6 medium-sized bowls of soup. Serve with a green salad to make a complete meal.
Quick and Easy Italian Sausage Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound turkey Italian sausage (see note)
- 4 cups reduced sodium chicken stock
- 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (or ¼ teaspoon dried basil ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary and ½ teaspoon dried oregano)
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, use more if you want it extra spicy)
- 1 cup dry whole wheat pasta (use gluten free pasta to make this recipe gluten free)
- 1 piece of Parmesan cheese rind or some grated Parmesan (optional - skip this if you need your soup to be dairy-free)
- 5 cups baby spinach (see note)
Instructions
- Remove the casings from the 1 pound turkey Italian sausage. This can be done by slicing through the casing down the length of the sausage and peeling the casing off, or simply squeezing the sausage from the casing. Brown the sausage over medium heat, breaking up pieces with a spoon.
- Add 4 cups reduced sodium chicken stock, 28 ounce can diced tomatoes (including their juice), 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning , ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 cup dry whole wheat pasta and 1 piece of Parmesan cheese rind or some grated Parmesan (if using). Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer for 10 minutes or until the pasta is tender.
- Stir in the 5 cups baby spinach until it is wilted (about 1-2 minutes). Depending on the size of your pot, you may need to do this in 2 batches. Serve soup with grated Parmesan if desired.
Notes
For the pasta use a smaller shape like shells, fusilli or macaroni. Instead of spinach, you can use stemmed, chopped kale (or baby kale). Increase cooking time by 2-4 minutes in step 3 if using kale.
Julie says
This looks fabulous! My daughter and I were just in Africa and I enjoyed the food and the spices enormously! We should have you all over for a meal cooked in the tajine!
Carissa says
That would be great Julie; I think tajines are so cool-looking, but I have never actually used one. Would love to see one in action!
Julie says
Overkill on the "!" I just noticed. 🙂
Becky Eubanks says
Is this recipe 4 servings or 6 servings? It says 4 in the body of the recipe and 6 in the label. Thanks.
Carissa says
Hi, the recipe makes 6 medium sized bowls. Sorry for the confusion!