Kale and Sausage Soup with Cannellini Beans
A few years ago a good frien came over for dinner and brought this amazing soup. It has been a family favorite ever since.
She is a great cook and has a special gift for Italian food. Her original version of this soup uses broccoli rabe instead of kale, but I almost always have kale in my fridge and it makes a great substitute, plus it’s cheaper.
This soup is loaded with flavor….don’t be alarmed by the amount of garlic I tell you to put in it…just do it! I promise it will be delicious!
This soup can also easily be prepared without the sausage to be a vegetarian or vegan meal. I have made it both ways and it’s still delicious and full of flavor without the sausage.
P.S. if you don’t have Cannellini Beans, Great Northern beans will work great too!
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 7 large segments of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
- ½-1 lb Italian Sausage (I use 3-4 links of sweet Italian Sausage and squeeze it out of the links)
- 5 cups chicken broth or stock (if you are making it without sausage to be vegan use veggie broth)
- 2-3 cups water
- 4 15 oz cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (I blend up one and add it at the end to thicken the soup
- ¼ tsp basil
- Dash of red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp Italian Salad Dressing (can substitute ½ tsp Italian Salad Dressing mix and a dash of red wine vinegar)
- 2-3 cups roughly chopped kale
- Salt and pepper to taste
- In a large soup pot add the olive oil, sausage, and onion. Cook until meat is almost completely browned and add garlic. cook for another 2-3 minutes I salt and pepper this mixture lightly while it is cooking.
- Add broth, water, beans (not the can you blend up though you will add that at the end), basil, and crushed red pepper. let simmer for 5 minutes
- Add Italian dressing, the blended can of beans and chopped kale
- Let cook five more minutes or until kale is tender. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed.
- *Note: I always drain and rinse my beans. If you choose not to do so you may need to adjust recipe by not adding any extra salt and possibly adding more water. The bean liquid will make the soup more salty.
Enjoy! Don’t forget to serve it with some yummy crusty bread! My favorite simple recipe is this Artisan Bread.
Keep it Real!!!
Maria
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