When I want my house to smell like cozy, homemade soup is where I start. This sausage and bean soup is so simple to make, and it's ready in just 30 minutes! Leftovers reheat well, and it can even be frozen. If you have sausage, some spices, spinach, and a can of white beans, then you're ready to cook this!
If you feel like the ingredients and the method for making this soup is pretty similar to my White Bean and Kale Soup, you are not wrong. Today's bean soup has sausage instead of bacon and frozen spinach instead of kale. The rest is similar: a white wine chicken broth base, generous Parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning mix.
Both soups use white beans, because they are my favorite bean to use in soups. They are tender, small and perfectly blend into any stew. You can even puree them or lightly mash them with a fork to create a creamy texture.
The Ingredients
If you have a few frozen sausage links (or a ½ pound of leftover sausage), part of a bag of frozen spinach, and a well-stocked spice cabinet, you can make this soup in minutes!
- Olive Oil. The absolute smallest amount of olive oil to coat the pan before we fry the sausage. It doesn't have to be extra-virgin olive oil, either.
- Sausage. We need half a pound of ground sausage. You can use regular ground pork sausage or a leaner ground turkey sausage.
- Onion. The foundation of any good soup is one medium onion, chopped.
- Garlic. Two cloves of garlic, finely minced.
- Italian Seasoning. This is a pre-made spice blend that consists of dried basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme leaves and marjoram. It's what I use in my white bean dip, too! Here is a homemade recipe for Italian seasoning, if your spice rack is as full as mine is!
- Smoked Paprika. Just a half-teaspoon of smoked paprika brings so much smoky flavor, however please note that smoked paprika is not the same as regular paprika.
- Red Pepper Flakes. It's optional to add a pinch of red pepper flakes to bring a bit of spiciness to this sausage and bean soup.
- White Wine. A hearty glug of white wine that you love to drink is the best thing to use here. I typically reach for a dry (not sweet) white wine, like Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay.
- Chicken Broth. The base of our soup is a rich chicken broth. It can be store-bought from a box or homemade, your choice.
- White Beans. One 15-ounce can of white beans, drained and rinsed. This can be navy beans, cannellinni beans, Great Northern beans, butter beans, or even pinto beans.
- Frozen Spinach. A small amount of frozen spinach (½ cup) is actually quite a bit of spinach when it defrosts and disperses through the soup, so don't be tempted to add more.
- Parmesan. You can stir a handful into the soup when it's done cooking, and also serve extra for sprinkling on top at the table.
How to Make Sausage and Bean Soup
Grab your heavy soup pot, a wooden spoon, and let's make a hearty bean and sausage soup with spinach!
Add the olive oil to your large soup pot, turn the heat to medium-high, and add the sausage. Cook the sausage while occasionally breaking it up with a wooden spoon so that it crumbles. Cook until the sausage is starting to turn golden brown around the edges.
Next, add the diced onion, garlic, and all of the spices. Cook this until the onion softens, about 7-8 minutes. Lower the heat if the onion edges start to brown too quickly.
Next, turn off the heat, and stir in the white wine to deglaze the pan. We're turning off the heat so that we don't have any chance of an open flame coming into contact with the alcohol and causing a fire. Be safe in the kitchen, friends! After all of the wine is in the pot, it's safe to turn the heat back on. Add the chicken broth and beans. Bring this mixture to a simmer.
It's time to stir in the spinach and turn off the heat. However, you can hold the soup for about an hour before stirring in the frozen spinach. Add a small handful of Parmesan cheese to the pot, and serve the rest of the Parmesan at the table for topping the soup.
Equipment
If you haven't had the chance to invest a heavy-duty soup pot for all of my bean soup recipes, then now is the time!
- Enamel-Coated Cast Iron Soup Pot comes in so many pretty colors.
- Wooden Spoon that feels perfect in your hand, and has a straight-edge for crumbling sausage as it cooks.
Storage
This soup keeps extremely well leftover in storage containers for up to 4 days. To reheat, place it back on the stove and add more chicken broth until its the consistency you like. You can also portion it into freezer-safe bags, and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, place in fridge overnight in a bowl to catch any leaks, and then reheat on stove, again, adding more chicken broth as needed.
Frequently Asked Questions about Sausage and Bean Soup
When I want to 'hold' this soup, meaning, keep it warm for a long period of time and serve it to a crowd, I reach for my crockpot. I double the recipe, using a full pound of sausage and two cans of beans (everything else is doubled, too). If you have a crockpot that lets you sear, cook the sausage in the crockpot before setting it to slow cook. If not, brown the sausage on the stove, and then pour it in the crockpot. Add all remaining ingredients (except spinach and Parmesan cheese), and cook on LOW for 6 hours.
If you can believe it, the pressure cook time on this recipe is 5 minutes. However, you need to first sear the sausage using the SAUTE function on the instant pot. After the sausage is nicely browned and crumbly, add all remaining ingredients (except spinach and Parmesan), and pressure cook for 5 minutes. Do a forced pressure release, and then stir in the spinach and Parmesan before serving.
Yes, you can add pasta to this soup if you cook it separately. To make ahead, cook the pasta, coat it with a little olive oil, and then place some in the bottom of a bowl before ladling the sausage and bean soup over it.
Sausage and Bean Soup
A flavorful pot of sausage and white bean soup with spinach.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ pound ground sausage
- 1 medium onion chopped (1 cup finely diced onion)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup white wine
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 can white beans (navy beans), drained and rinsed
- ½ cup frozen spinach
- Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- Place a large soup pot over medium heat, and add the olive oil.
- Add the sausage, and cook while stirring occasionally and breaking up with a wooden spoon.
- Once the sausage is starting to turn golden brown, add the onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
- Cook until the onion softens, about 7 minutes, while stirring occasionally. If the onion starts to burn around the edges, lower the heat slightly.
- Next, turn off the heat. Carefully pour in the white wine. Once all of the wine is in the pot, it is safe to turn the heat back on. We're eliminating any risk of open flames with alcohol by turning off the heat.
- Stir in the chicken broth and beans, and bring the mixture back to a simmer.
- Finally, stir in the frozen spinach and cook until it defrosts and wilts. Serve with Parmesan cheese at the table.
Notes
Storage: This soup keeps extremely well in storage containers for up to 4 days. To reheat, place it back on the stove and add more chicken broth until its the consistency you like. You can also portion it into freezer-safe bags, and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, place in fridge overnight in a bowl to catch any leaks, and then reheat on stove, again, adding more chicken broth, as needed.
Sausage: Ground pork or turkey sausage are both fine here.
Italian Seasoning: This is a pre-made spice blend that consists of ried basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme leaves and marjoram.
White Wine: A dry (not sweet) white wine, like Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay.
White Beans: One 15-ounce can of white beans, drained and rinsed. This can be navy beans, cannellinni beans, Great Northern beans, butter beans, or even pinto beans.
Frozen Spinach: A small amount of frozen spinach (½ cup) is actually quite a bit of spinach when it defrosts and disperses through the soup, so don't be tempted to add more.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 246Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 1130mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 4gSugar: 2gProtein: 11g
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