You’ll love this easy potato soup recipe made with Italian sausage, potatoes, garlic, and kale. The soup is comforting and ultra flavorful. Skip to easy Sausage Potato Soup recipe
There are many ways to make potato soup, but this sausage and kale recipe is our favorite. It’s rustic and full of flavor. Nobody wants a tasteless soup, right?
How to make the best potato soup
Our potato and sausage soup is hearty, tasty and keeps well in the fridge. If you’ve ever had Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana soup, this potato soup is similar (although I’d bet it’s better). We’ve been doing a version of this for years.
This potato soup recipe is simple, so it all depends on the ingredients used. Here is the summary for you:
potatoes: You can use any kind of potato, but We strongly recommend using Yukon Gold potatoes. They don’t need to be peeled, and when cooked, they’re buttery and almost melt in the mouth. We also use Yukon Gold potatoes to make mashed potatoes. If you can’t find them, red or white baby potatoes, as well as russet potatoes will work.
Italian sausage: Depending on your preference for spices You can use sweet Italian sausage or hot (spicy) Italian sausage. We use sweet Italian sausage and then adjust the spice level of the soup with crushed red pepper flakes.
Stock/broth: For the best taste Use a good quality chicken broth Use store bought or homemade. When we reach for store-bought broth, we’re opting for low-sodium foods. We also look for store-bought broth that is darker (usually means more flavor) and since it usually has more backbone, we like to buy packaged bone broth (we sometimes use homemade bone broth, too).
cream (or milk: For the soup stock, we combine chicken stock with cream. the Chicken broth adds flavor, and the cream makes the broth silky and more luxurious — like in this creamy chicken noodle soup. We prefer to use cream when making soups, but if you only have milk be sure to read our tips on using milk to prevent curdling. If you’re dairy free, omit the cream/milk. The soup will still taste good.
Herbs and spices: The Italian bratwurst already provides a lot of flavor, but adds Garlic, dried oregano, nutmeg and a bay leaf make the soup taste amazing. If you have some, a few sprigs of fresh thyme is a nice touch too. We like to add crushed red pepper flakes for some spiciness, but that’s up to your taste.
Kale: for color and texture, towards the end of cooking we stir in chopped kale. For the kale, strip the leaves from the stalks (the stalks are too tough for this soup). Then cut or tear into bite-sized pieces. Baby kale leaves work too and don’t need to be shredded. You can also substitute spinach, chard, or other veggies.
Parmesan cheese: Parmesan is an optional ingredient, but if you have some on hand it adds a nice richness to the potato soup.
Making sausage and potato soup is easy and it all happens in one pot! Here’s a rundown of how to make it (see the full potato soup recipe below).
- Fry the sausage.
- Add the onions to the sausage and cook until soft.
- Stir in the garlic, herbs and spices.
- Add the broth and bring to a simmer.
- Add the potatoes and cook, half covered, until tender.
- Stir in the kale and parmesan. Taste for seasoning and then serve!
If you enjoyed this potato soup recipe, here are a few more favorites:
Easy roast potato soup recipe
- PREPARATION
You’ll love this easy Sausage and Potato Soup recipe made with Italian sausage, potatoes, garlic and kale. The soup is comforting and ultra flavorful. For the best potato soup, use Yukon Gold potatoes. They have thin skin, so there is no need to peel them. They also become buttery and soft when cooked. The red pepper flakes add warmth to the soup. If you’re using hot (spicy) Italian sausage to make the soup, you may want to remove the red pepper flakes.
Makes about 8 cups of soup or 4 to 6 servings
you will need
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound pieces of fresh Italian sausage, casings removed
2 cups chopped onion (8 ounces or 1 medium onion)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, depending on seasoning preference
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs of thyme
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, diced (2 to 3 large)
5 cups chicken broth or broth, see our chicken broth recipe
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half
4 cups chopped kale leaves with ribs removed, or use baby kale
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional (2 ounces)
Fold in freshly grated nutmeg
directions
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sausage. Boil, crush the sausage with a wooden spoon until crisp; about 10 minutes.
Add the onions and cook, stirring every few minutes, until softened; 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Cook, while stirring the garlic and spices in the pan, for about 1 minute.
Add bay leaf, thyme and potatoes. Pour in the broth. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook until the broth is just simmering, but before it begins to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover pot with lid and simmer until potatoes are tender; about 15 minutes. While the soup is cooking, stir frequently. If the soup begins to simmer, reduce the heat slightly.
Uncover the soup and remove the bay leaf and sprigs of thyme. Stir in the cream, kale, and parmesan. Add a small pinch of nutmeg, then taste the soup for flavor. Season to taste with more salt and pepper if needed.
Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until kale is wilted and tender; about 5 minutes more.
Advice from Adam and Joanne
- Cream is best, but if milk is all you have, here are our tips on how to use milk in soups while preventing curdling: Use warm milk and don’t boil the soup. Before adding the milk, warm it slightly in the microwave or on the stovetop. The warm addition of the milk prevents it from curdling when it hits the hot pan. It’s also important not to let the soup cook aggressively. You want it to simmer on low, which also prevents the milk from curdling.
- For a creamier and thicker soup, use a potato masher and mash up some of the potatoes in the pot just before adding the kale.
- The kale will soften over time in the soup. If you like extra soft and tender kale, leave the lid on and keep warm for another 10 to 15 minutes.
- For a lighter version, substitute chicken or turkey sausage for the pork sausage and replace the cream/milk with additional broth.
- Nutritional Information: The nutritional information below is an estimate. We used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, take a picture and tag it #inspiredtaste – we love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
Nutrition per serving: serving size 1 cup of soup / calories 268 / total fat 11.5g / Saturated Fatty Acids 3.9g / cholesterol 33.9mg / sodium 639.4mg / carbohydrate 26.2g / fiber 2.9g / sugar 9g / protein 15.2g