Sausage Kale White Bean Soup with Parmesan Toast

Dig into a bowl of this light yet creamy Sausage Kale White Bean Soup! The beauty of this soup is that it strikes the perfect balance between cozy and fresh. It’s packed with ingredients like kale, fennel, white beans, Italian sausage and milk. For the ultimate all-in-one cozy dinner, serve each bowl with a crunchy piece of Parmesan toast. 

Why I Love this Tuscan White Bean Soup

This white bean sausage soup is part of my SOUP-er Simple Series which means it has a short ingredient list, quick cook time, and bold falvor.

To keep the ingredient list short I used only the most necessary ingredients. And instead of calling for a fresh herb I recommend using the fennel fronds from the fennel bulbs we’re using in the soup. Fennel fronds add a lovely note of fresh flavor to this Italian white bean soup.

This soup makes A LOT. It’s the perfect dinner for a large crowd, especially when you make the cheesy Parmesan toasts.

Ingredients Needed

• Yellow onion, white onion would be a great substitute.
• Crushed red pepper flakes, if you don’t have red pepper flakes, you can use black pepper. And if you prefer a more mild soup, skip this altogether.
• Bulk Italian sausage, hot or mild work here but I find hot adds more flavor and character.
• Fennel bulbs, reserve the fronds for use as an herb at the end. If your fennel bulbs come trimmed, without the stalks and fronds, consider finishing the soup with chopped fresh parsley.
• Fresh garlic
• Low-sodium chicken broth, homemade broth or stock would be absolutely delicious here if you have it.
• Tuscan kale, you can use any dark leafy green you prefer such as Swiss chard, collard greens or mustard greens. If you don’t like hardy greens you can use fresh spinach instead.  
• Canned cannellini beans, canned beans are a weeknight lifesaver! Great Northern beans are also a great option.
• Whole milk, if you need this to be dairy-free you can substitute any unsweetened, unflavored nut milk or canned coconut milk. And if you want something a bit more comforting and decadent, feel free to use half-and-half or a combo of milk and half-and-half.
• White wine vinegar is important for balancing all of the flavors. If you find most soup recipes fall flat, they likely need a splash of some sort of acid (vinegar or citrus juice) at the end. 
• Thick-sliced bread & Parmesan cheese for the Parmesan toasts, which are totally optional! 

Serve With

Sides

Honey Cornbread

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Kaiser Buns

Sausage Kale White Bean Soup

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5 from 3 votes

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Yield 12 cups (6 servings)

Category Soup

Cuisine Italian

Author Lauren Grant

Description

This delicious soup recipe is perfect for busy weeknights. A simple ingredient list and easy process gets this one-pot meal on the table in 30 minutes. Enjoy a bowl of this Sausage Kale White Bean Soup with a piece of crunchy, cheesy Parmesan toast.

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 yellow onion diced
• ▢ Kosher salt
• ▢ Crushed red pepper flakes
• ▢ 1 pound bulk Italian sausage hot or mild
• ▢ 2 fennel bulbs fronds reserved
• ▢ 4 large cloves garlic chopped (2 tablespoons)
• ▢ 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• ▢ 1 large bunch or 2 small bunches Tuscan kale, stems removed, leaves torn into bite-size pieces (6–7 cups)
• ▢ 2 14.5-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• ▢ 3 cups whole milk warmed
• ▢ 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Parmesan Toast, optional

• ▢ 6 thick-cut slices whole-wheat or sourdough bread
• ▢ 1 cup shredded Parmesan

Instructions

• Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium.
• Add onion, ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes; cook until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.
  
• Add sausage and cook, crushing with a wooden spoon, until cooked through and browned, 6–8 minutes. Drain all but 2 tablespoons drippings from pot.
  
• Meanwhile, quarter fennel bulbs lengthwise, then slice into 1/4-inch-thick slices (you should get 4–5 cups). Add fennel and garlic to pot and cook 2 minutes.
• Add broth, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer over medium and cook until fennel is nearly tender, about 5 minutes.
  
• Meanwhile make Parmesan Toasts. Heat broiler to high with rack set 6-inches from element. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and broil until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Flip bread and top with Parmesan, dividing cheese evenly between toasts. Broil toasts until Parmesan is melty and starting to brown, 2–3 minutes; set aside.
• Stir kale, beans and milk into soup; cook until kale is wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in vinegar and season with additional salt, red pepper flakes and vinegar to taste.
  
• Serve soup with Parmesan toast and reserved fennel fronds
  

Notes

If you’ve got a Parmesan rind floating around in the fridge or freezer, plop that in as the soup simmers. It will infuse the broth with salt, savory goodness.

Storage: Store this soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Nutrition of 2 cups soup + 1 full cheesy toast: 527 cal, 25g fat, 10g sat fat, 54mg chol, 1300mg sod, 45g carb, 9g carb, 7g sug, 32g pro

Nutrition

Serving: 2cups soupCalories: 398kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 22gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 1063mgFiber: 7gSugar: 5.5g

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