If you turned your nose up at the word kale, please keep reading! This sausage kale soup is so amazing you will forget it has the green stuff in it, I promise! My pickiest of eaters devour bowls of this comfort soup with a slice of crusty bread and requests it on repeat because it is that flavorful and delicious!
I happened to be making this soup one chilly day here and that also happened to be the day I found out several of my neighbors had come down with C19 so I doubled the batch and delivered it to each of their porches.
That started something and now they request soup days and I am much happier to host them in my house for lunch when they are healthy, lol! This recipe has cauliflower however one of my neighbors doesn’t love cauliflower, so I made a sausage kale potato soup batch for her and it was equally as amazing! I added more substitutions below!
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Ingredients for Sausage Kale Soup
- Italian Sausage – Use bulk sausage. You can use mild, spicy, sweet, or even turkey sausages, whatever is your favorite. This adds a flavorful protein.
- Yellow Onion – This adds amazing flavor. Yellow onions are a bit sweeter, however, white onions work great also.
- Cauliflower – Cut the florets into bite-size pieces.
- Kale – I know, I know, I mentioned the green stuff again (note, I personally love kale). Cut the leaves from the thick stems and chop to bite size pieces. You can also purchase bags of pre-cut/pre-chopped kale.
- Carrot – This adds great color and the perfect amount of sweetness to counter the red pepper flakes
- Butter – use unsalted butter as we will flavor every layer of this soup ourselves.
- Garlic – large cloves minced. I have used both freshly minced garlic and prepared garlic from a jar, both worked beautifully.
- Red Wine Vinegar – It may sound unusual and strange but vinegar is a flavor enhancer (umami). Just trust me!
- Spices – Oregano, Basil, Rubbed Sage, Red Pepper flakes. Don’t skip any of these!
- Chicken Broth – you can also use vegetable stock if you prefer.
- Heavy Cream – If you want to reduce calories or just prefer the soup to be a bit lighter you can also substitute equal parts half and half.
- Salt & Pepper – this will be used often at each layer as we build the soup. These automatic salt and pepper grinders are life!
This soup pairs amazingly with crusty bread. I pick up a few loaves and warm it in the oven as the cauliflower is cooking in the soup. By the time the soup comes together, your bread is ready to be sliced at a diagonal and join your soup bowl!
I recommend using an enameled cast iron dutch oven pot if you can. These pans create an amazing caramelization of the vegetables that tremendously flavors the soup! Use a 5.5 qt or above!
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FAQs about this soup recipe
Yes! Freeze in an air-tight container such as these 32-ounce deli containers with lids or you can freeze the soup in Gallon Freezer Ziploc bags. I like to free the bags flat so they are easy to stack or file in your freezer!
Store the soup in an air-tight container as mentioned above for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
If you are reheating small portions you may reheat it in the microwave or stovetop. If you are reheating the entire quantity of soup, I recommend using a large soup pot and reheating over medium heat on the stove. Reheat until small bubbles form but the soup is not to a full boil.
Yes! I cut 3-4 russet potatoes into bite-size pieces and cooked the same as the cauliflower and it was delicious. Yukon Gold potatoes work well also. You could also substitute white beans such as cannellini or navy beans. One 15-ounce can works, rinsed!
You can substitute with spinach but I really, really, really hope you will try the kale first {wink}. Substitute equal quantities and use the same cook times/method.
Yes, you can! During refrigeration, the fats in the cream will separate from the chicken broth. Once the soup is reheated and mixed these two will morph right back into a single creamy soup base!
MORE SOUP RECIPES YOU WILL LOVE: Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup, Chicken Parmesan Soup, Vegetable Beef Soup
Sausage Kale Soup Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground sausage
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 yellow onion, medium, chopped
- 1 carrot, medium, peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsps red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp oregano, dried
- 1 tsp basil, dried
- 1 tsp rubbed sage, dried, regular or ground
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 12 ounces heavy cream
- 1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into small bite-sized florets
- 3 cups kale, centers removed, then chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Heat a large Dutch Oven over medium-high heat. Add ground sausage and break it up and cook until browned. Approx 5 minutes.1 lb ground sausage
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked meat from the Dutch oven and place it on a paper towel-lined plate. Discard any remaining standing fat in the Dutch oven but do not wipe the Dutch oven completely clean.
- Add butter to the same Dutch Oven and melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and carrots and a pinch salt and a few spins of teh grinder of pepper to taste Cook until the onions are translucent and the edges are brown.1 tbsp butter, 1 yellow onion, 1 carrot
- Stir garlic into onion and carrot mixture and continuously stir for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant.3 cloves garlic
- Add red wine vinegar and cook until semi-syrupy (technical term, lol) about 2 minutes.2 tbsps red wine vinegar
- Stir in oregano, basil, sage and red pepper flakes.1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp rubbed sage, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- Deglaze the pan: add in about 1/4 cup of the chicken broth and use a flat wooden spoon to scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. This step is important, do not skip this step!
- Pour in the remaining chicken stock heavy cream, and add another pinch of salt and a few more grinds of black pepper. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until simmering.6 cups low sodium chicken broth, 12 ounces heavy cream
- Once the soup is simmering, add cauliflower and reduce temperature to medium-low and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes or until cauliflower florets are fork-tender.1/2 head of cauliflower
- Stir in the cooked sausage and the kale. Cook 1-2 minutes longer just until the kale starts to wilt in the soup and the sausage is reheated.3 cups kale, 1 lb ground sausage
- Give the soup a taste and ddd any additional salt and pepper if needed.1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper
- Ladle into your favorite soup bowls and enjoy with some crusty bread or crackers.
Comments & Reviews
Laurie Baker says
This is the best Sausage Kale Soup Recipe I’ve ever seen and it’s so easy to make.