Winter has finally decided to arrive here in upstate New York. And what do I do to celebrate? Make soup of course!! Those who know me well, know that I am true soupie at heart! (You know…a soup groupie ;0) So to welcome in the 20 degree temperatures, I decided to make a sausage and white bean soup!
This is a very versatile recipe. I have made this in the crockpot, in my pressure cooker as well as on the stove top. And this recipe is so easy to prep, a lot of times while I am chopping all the vegetables, etc to make this soup for dinner, I just double everything up and assemble an extra serving of this soup in a bag, minus the chicken broth, to toss in the freezer for another day! When that day comes, I just toss the bag of preassembled goodness with the chicken broth in the pot or the crockpot and dinner is done in no time.
I had come across a similar version this recipe on Who Needs a Cape while doing a search for easy crockpot freezer recipes. I have added a few things to make it into a soup that has great flavor and a little more veggie content and my whole family LOVES it, even the kids! It is great all alone or with a little freshly grated parmesan cheese on top and some fresh homemade bread!
Sausage and White Bean Soup
1lb ground Italian sausage, mild or hot depending on your tastes, crumbled, cooked and drained of fat
5 tsp jarred minced garlic or 3 fresh cloves, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
3 carrots, peeled or not, chopped
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes
2 15oz cans white beans, drained(great northern beans or cannellini beans are my go tos)
1 32oz box of chicken broth or stock
¾ tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
Fresh grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Brown the ground sausage with the garlic and the onion, drain off any excess grease(your cardiologist will thank you!) Add all the other ingredients and simmer on the stove top for 45 minutes, until vegetables are tender and flavors are melded. Ladle into bowls, top with fresh grated parmesan and enjoy!
For the slow cooker, follow directions above for browning the sausage and then assemble all ingredients and cook on low for 6 hours.
For the pressure cooker, follow directions above for browning the sausage and then assemble all ingredients and cook on the soup setting or high pressure for 12 minutes.
Bon Appetite!
Let me know how your soup turned out! What kind of soup do you make stay warm on a cold day?
Beth says
I love anything with sausage! Thanks for posting this delicious sounding recipe.
Tara says
Sausage does make anything better doesn’t it 🙂 Thanks Beth!