What could be better than opening the doors of your cupboard and finding everything you need for a hearty soup? Thanks to a well-stocked pantry, I recently did just that with this recipe.
Okay, I also used up some sausage links, and finished the soup with a handful of tired spinach I had on hand. The results? Our new favorite soup.
Inspired by Julie’s latest cookbook, Spilling the Beans
The ingredients for this rustic soup are simple, but if you can pull it off using items like homemade chicken stock and fresh basil, and cook your own beans instead of opening a can, you will elevate it into a truly satisfying and memorable soup.
I’ve frozen several liters of this soup for when the baby comes. Something tells me I’m going to need sustenance in a bowl for those early days, and if it comes with spiral noodles and topped with Parmesan cheese, I’m going to be one well-fed mama.
Tips & Substitutions:
- For a vegetarian version, simply skip the sausage, swap vegetable stock for the chicken stock, and proceed with the recipe as usual.
- My boys aren’t fans of the greens, so I dish up their bowl-fulls before I add the spinach to the pot. Other than that, they love this soup!
- If you don’t have the Parmesan on hand, sprinkle a little sea salt on the bowls as you serve them. The soup needs that little salty kick to enhance the spinach and pasta.
- The recipe calls for fresh spinach, but a rough chop of kale or chard would make a great substitution if that is what you have on hand.
| Sausage, Bean & Pasta Soup with Spinach |
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- Canola or olive oil
- 2 fresh Italian or chorizo sausage (hot or mild)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup dry fusilli or other small pasta
- 14 oz can tomato sauce or diced tomatoes
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 tsp dried oregano or basil
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- 2 cups fresh spinach, loosely packed, or 1 cup chopped kale
- 2 cups cooked white or red kidney beans, or a 19 oz can, rinsed and drained
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
- In a large saucepan set over medium heat, heat a drizzle of oil and sauté the sausage, breaking it up with a spoon, until it is browned.
- Add the onion and garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until soft.
- Add the water, pasta, tomato sauce, stock, oregano, and salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the pasta is tender.
- Add the spinach and beans and cook the soup for another 3 to 5 minutes.
- If it seems too thick, thin it with a little extra stock, tomato juice, or water.
- Ladle into bowls and top each serving with grated Parmesan while still hot.
“Come join SoupaPalooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by KitchenAid, Red Star Yeast and Le Creuset”
How do you like your soups? Smooth and creamy, or hearty and filling?
About Aimee
I love hearty soups in the winter. It is a staple around here. We make a similar soup to the above…but minus the tomatoes and add a little cream in there
You are also good to not make your boys eat the spinach! My Emma thinks she doesn’t like spinach, but then I tell her that is what I put in our green smoothies and she decides she just doesn’t like cooked spinach 
Heather’s last post: All Purpose Cleaner Recipe
What a fantastic soup! Love the sausage in it, although not a huge fan of beans, but I can just leave those out!
Nelly Rodriguez’s last post: UPrinting: Review & Custom Stickers Giveaway
Looks delicious and so hearty! Great for lunchboxes the next day. I have a great soup recipe with chorizo sausage for a bit of spice! Really yummo!
Ruthie’s last post: Dinners for Weight Loss Week 2
I love this recipe so much! Thank you for the shared post here…
Charrmagn’s last post: livia condo
Yum! This sounds nice. We usually plant a lot of Kale in the summertime and I’m thinking that it would be a yummy addition, too. Printed!
Great, healthy looking soup! How about Italian turkey sausage? And I love the suggestion of kale above. Yum!
Mary Miller / A Passionate Plate’s last post: Churros and Chocolate
I guess if I HAD to choose, I would opt for a creamy soup. But gosh, I’m a sucker for any kind of soup with all sorts of textures! I’ll have to try your soup recipe!
Sleeping Mom’s last post: The importance of establishing toddler routines
Question: When you freeze it, do you freeze it with the pasta in there or is that something you’ll add as you re-heat it?
Jayme @ No Regrets Living’s last post: Kicked out of bed?
I’ve done it both ways, Jayme. Definitely it is better to freeze without pasta, but even if you do, just thin with a little water when you reheat.
Freezer meals are the best when baby arrives!
Funny, I have nearly the same soup on my meal plan for this week. One ingredient I love in it is sun dried tomatoes. It just takes it up a notch.
Emily @ Random Recycling’s last post: Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
I love all soups. I only wish my family liked them more.
Becky @ Sowing Little Seeds’s last post: 100+ Picture Books We Love (mostly Twaddle-Free)
Hearty soup for me (especially right now since I went DF while breastfeeding to clear up his eczema). And this sounds delicious. Great idea to add the tips and substitutions! Thanks.
Steph (The Cheapskate Cook)’s last post: On the Menu: Uninspiration
Imagine my surprise at seeing this on my morning browse of blogs. I had 3 left-over chicken sausages that I wanted to make into dinner this evening. This was absolutely perfect and our family of four enjoyed it thoroughly. We will definitely add it to our favorites. Thank you a million times over for giving me so many healthy, value-oriented ideas to include in our meal planning. You can go push out a baby now, we’re happy and well fed!
Man a-LIVE. Aimee, I kid you not, I wanted to jump through the screen and eat this soup even though I’ve already had dinner. My throat is still hurting from whatever this virus is I’ve had, and it looks like exactly the thing I need. I’m makin’ it tomorrow.
Amber | Bluebonnets & Brownies’s last post: Guest Post: Coconut Almond Macaroons
I love this kind of soup…I want to try this too…Thanks a lot for the idea!
Devhonn’s last post: b & b Paignton
I made this soup over the weekend too! It’s a great soup!
Looks amazing, as always. In fact, I have every single item needed to make this, so I may just change up my dinner plans for tonight!
Yummy! I love soup. Specially when there’s tomatoes! I’ll definitely make and try this one. Thanks you for sharing this!
Nicole Schuman’s last post: insurance claim
I LOVE the fact that this is a pantry recipe and Brian will love the fact that it contains sausage. Win-win!
Jamie | My Baking Addiction’s last post: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mini Cheesecakes
Lovely pantry soup! Definitely one I will have to try, especially since I have all the ingredients on hand!
Tracy’s last post: Grilled Personal Polenta Pizzas
I want to try this kind of soup…Thanks a lot for the shared information and recipe here…
Alexandra’s last post: movers Danville
This is something new to me.. The yummy look is very intriguing.. Love to try it out!
Queenie20′s last post: Sports Betting
My husband loved it! He kept refilling his bowl with the soup. It was so neat to go to our square ft. garden and pick spinach to go in the soup. This recipe is a keeper!
Thanks for this great recipe! I made it on Monday night and it was all you promised–quick and easy and so tasty. And healthy, too!
Barbara’s last post: An impulse buy pays off.
This is really delicious.. I’m so excited to prepared this kind, I know that it will click to the taste of my family…
Samantha32′s last post: 2012 Prophecy Disasters
This looks delicious! It looks similar to minestrone, except for the sausage. It might be a good thing to stir up as a 1-serving soup. Thanks for the idea!
What a delicious recipe, I don’t think I can prepared and got the taste of it… Yummy!
Rose37′s last post: Hotel in Paignton
I can’t wait to taste this delicious recipe, how I wish I can prepared this one to share with my family…
Cheny25′s last post: The Magic of Making Up Review – Does it Really Work?
Just wanted to say this has become a staple in my house! I’m making it today for two mommies who just had new babies. LOVE this recipe!!
I just printed that out. I absolutely LOVE soups. Whenever we go out my wife always makes fun of me because I almost always get a soup and salad combo. This looks absolutely delicious and I can’t wait to try it.
Derek Maak’s last post: Can I Text Him First Or Should He Make The First Contact?