It doesn’t have to be cold outside to get me cooking up delicious hearty soups for my friends and family. And my Italian Sausage and White Bean Soup is a perfect light dinner or lunch any time of year.
With all the fresh vegetables in the market, summertime is my favorite time to make this delicious Italian sausage and white bean soup. It’s the kind of soup that almost begs to have a piece of crusty bread dunked into it!
If you love hearty soups, make sure to try my Classic Minestrone.
Ingredients to make Italian Sausage and White Bean Soup
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make my Italian Sausage and White Bean Soup. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Do I have to use Chicken stock to make this soup?
No, you don’t. If you want to keep it completely vegetarian use vegetable stock. You can also use beef stock if you prefer a heartier beef flavor.
How to make Sausage and White Bean Soup
- Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large pot and when the oil is hot add the diced carrots, celery and onion.
- Let the veggies cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring as needed.
- Add the diced zucchini, and green beans to the pot.
- Stir to mix the veggies in to the mixture and continue to cook for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the sausage from the casing and add it to the stock pot.
- Break apart the sausage meat and allow it to brown until cooked.
My soups almost always start with a mirepoix or as the Italians would call it a Soffritto, which is a diced combination of celery, onions and carrots.
Always starting your soup by allowing your vegetables to cook a bit before adding in any water, this process is called sweating down the vegetables.
- Add the chicken stock, and white beans to the pot.
- Mix the beans and bring the soup to a boil, then turn down the heat and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Add the pasta to the minestra .
- Mix the pasta in and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Add the spinach to the pot.
- Cook long enough for the spinach to wilt and the Italian sausage and white bean soup is ready.
Serve the soup with grated pecorino romano or parmesan cheese, and a twist of freshly ground black pepper.
Do I have to use all of the ingredients to make this soup?
No, you don’t. Whatever I happen to have on hand can find its way into my soup pot. While I start most of my soups from fresh ingredients these days, there was a time that the soup served another purpose, and that was an outlet for leftovers and scraps.
Those were the soups that we loved and some were hard to duplicate because of what was used. I do still make about 50 percent of my soups that way, utilizing leftovers, but some soups just need to be started from scratch.
Creating soups that your family and friends will enjoy eating isn’t difficult. Use the ingredients that they like.
If you’re not fond of white beans leave them out. If you don’t want to use Italian sausage leave it out or replace it with chicken. It’s really that easy.
Wouldn’t your family love to sit down to a bowl of this delicious Italian sausage and white bean soup? I promise it will bring smiles to your table and requests for seconds!
More Recipes You’ll Love!
Italian Sausage and Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 3 carrots diced
- 1 small onion diced
- 4 stalks celery diced
- 1 cup green beans cut into ¾-1 inch pieces
- 1 green squash diced
- 2 cups chopped escarole or greens of your choice
- ½ lb sweet sausage
- 16 ounces cannellini beans one small can drained
- 1 cup uncooked soup size pasta ½ pound
- 4 cups chicken stock more if needed. (vegetable stock can be used)
- season with black pepper and sea salt to taste
Instructions
- in a small stock pot add a tablespoon of olive oil, the diced carrots, celery and onion. Allow them to cook for 5-7 minutes.
- Add the diced zucchini, and green beans and continue to cook for about 5 minutes
- Remove the sausage from the casing and add it to the stock pot, break apart the sausage and allow it to brown
- Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil, turn down the heat and allow to simmer.
- Add the cannellini beans and continue to simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Add in the pasta and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.
- add in the escarole and allow to wilt.
- serve with a sprinkle of grated cheese and crusty bread.
Bonnie Branch
It was great!!! As usual, my husband said it tastes like its from a restaurant. I just added italian herbs. Other than that kept the recipe the same. Thanks Chef Dennis!
Katie Youngs
This is one of my favorite soup recipes.
Addie
Love all those veggies in there! So yummy!
Alice | SkinnySpatula
This is exactly my kind of soup!
Kayla DiMaggio
This looks amazing! It is packed full of vegetables which I love!
AISilva
This soup looks so amazing, thanks!
Sue
There is something so special about a good homemade soup. I really does feed the soul. I’ll be trying this one, definitely!
Mihaela | https://theworldisanoyster.com/
Your experience says it all! I love to eat soups when I travel to Italy and make them at home too. I’ll definitely try yours. Excellently written post!
Jeannie
We all love soups, soon I can make this for my family.
Freya
One of my favourite soups, I love that it can use up veg you have in the fridge and the addition of sausage really elevates it!
Bonnie Banters
I remember seeing this article when you originally wrote it. When I need food blogging advice, I always look to yours. It’s so generous of you to share your valuable experience and advice. You are completely right…my time is precious to me!
Chef Dennis Littley
Thanks Bonnie!
Kimby
Chef Dennis, I really liked the encouraging motto at the end of your post: “Share your knowledge. Together we are stronger.” Your soup was the perfect illustration for the power of “togetherness!”
As for your latest Ask Chef Dennis series (and the comments that followed), I’m grateful for the knowledge that is so graciously shared here. Thank you and Happy New Year!
Tiffany
Thanks for your perspective Chef! 😀
Sandra's Easy Cooking
Great soup, look absolutely mouthwatering and I enjoyed reading your post!!!!
Wish you Merry Christmas!!!
Heidi
Your soup looks amazing!
As always, good advice from Chef Dennis.
Thanks for sharing