White bean and Italian sausage soup is a thick, hearty bowl of browned sausage, creamy white beans, carrots, celery and fire-roasted tomatoes in a savory, herby broth. It is a cold-weather dinner that is ready in well under an hour and wants nothing more than a piece of crusty bread.
How to make white bean and Italian sausage soup: Brown Italian sausage in olive oil in a Dutch oven. Add onion, carrots and celery and cook until soft, then garlic and Italian seasoning. Stir in canned white beans with their liquid, fire-roasted tomatoes, chicken stock and a sprig of thyme. Simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, taste and season.
Why You’ll Love It
- One pot. The sausage, vegetables and broth all cook in the same Dutch oven.
- Forty minutes. Ten minutes of chopping and half an hour at the stove.
- Pantry cans. One can of beans and one can of tomatoes do most of the work.
- Mild or spicy. Use sweet or hot sausage, and add red pepper flakes or leave them out.
Ingredient Notes
Italian sausage. One pound, sweet or hot. If you buy links, take off the casings.
Sweet onion, carrots and celery. One large onion diced into 1/2-inch pieces, 3 medium carrots peeled, halved and sliced, and 3 stalks of celery thinly sliced.
Garlic and Italian seasoning. Three cloves, minced, and 2 teaspoons of seasoning.
White beans. One 14-ounce can. Do not drain it. The liquid in the can goes into the soup.
Fire-roasted diced tomatoes. One 14.5-ounce can.
Chicken stock. Three cups.
Fresh thyme. One sprig, simmered in the pot.
Sea salt. Add it only at the end, and only if the soup needs it. Sausage and stock bring salt of their own.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound Italian sausage, sweet or hot, casings removed if using links
- 1 large sweet onion, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
- 3 medium carrots, peeled, halved and sliced
- 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 can white beans (14 ounces), with the canning liquid
- 1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, cracked
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1/2–1 teaspoon sea salt, only if needed after tasting
- Parsley, chopped, for garnish
How to Make White Bean and Italian Sausage Soup
1. Brown the sausage. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the sausage, breaking it into crumbles with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, about 8 minutes. If using raw ground pork or beef sausage, check that it reaches 160°F with a food thermometer.
2. Soften the vegetables. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and the vegetables are soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and stir continuously for 1 minute.
3. Add the beans and broth. Add the white beans with their canning liquid, the diced tomatoes and the chicken stock. Stir in the black pepper and the optional red pepper flakes, but hold the salt. Add the thyme sprig.
4. Simmer and season. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, until the flavors meld. Taste, then add sea salt if needed and adjust the pepper.
5. Serve. Ladle into bowls, garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately.
Should You Drain the White Beans?
Not for this soup. Open the can and tip in everything, beans and liquid together. This recipe is written that way.
You will find white bean soups that do the opposite. They drain the beans, then purée or mash part of them to thicken the pot. Both ways make good soup, but they are different recipes. Follow the one you are cooking. Here, the beans go in undrained and stay whole.
| Question | This recipe |
|---|---|
| Drain the beans? | No. Add them with their canning liquid. |
| Mash or blend some beans? | Not called for |
| When does the salt go in? | At the end, after tasting, and only if needed |
| Lid on or off? | Off. Simmer uncovered. |
Hold the salt until the soup has simmered. Taste it first, then add between 1/2 and 1 teaspoon of sea salt if it needs it.
Tips for Success
How do I know the sausage is cooked?
It is no longer pink after about 8 minutes of browning. For raw ground pork or beef sausage, check that it reaches 160°F with a food thermometer.
How small should I cut the vegetables?
Dice the onion into 1/2-inch pieces, halve and slice the carrots, and slice the celery thin. Small, even pieces soften in 5 to 6 minutes.
Why add the garlic after the other vegetables?
The recipe adds the garlic and Italian seasoning once the vegetables are soft and stirs them for 1 minute before the liquid goes in.
Do I take out the thyme?
The sprig simmers in the pot. Fish out the stem before you ladle the soup.
Sweet or hot sausage?
Either one. For more heat, use hot sausage and add the red pepper flakes. For a mild pot, use sweet sausage and skip them.
How to Make the Soup Thicker
This recipe makes a brothy, chunky soup, and it does not include a thickening step. Keeping the canning liquid from the beans is part of its body, so do not pour it down the drain. Mashing or blending some of the beans is how other white bean soups get thicker, but that is a change to this recipe, not part of it.
Variations
Greens. Some sausage and white bean soups finish with spinach or kale stirred in until wilted. Neither is in this recipe.
Pasta or cream. Small pasta and a little heavy cream turn up in sausage and white bean soups too. Those are separate recipes with their own amounts.
Storage & Reheating
USDA FSIS says to divide leftover soup among shallow, covered containers and refrigerate it within 2 hours. Refrigerated leftovers keep for 3 to 4 days, not a week. For longer storage, freeze the soup in airtight containers for up to 3 months.
Reheat leftovers to 165°F on the stove or in the microwave. Do not reheat soup in a slow cooker.
What to Serve With It
If you like bean soups, try slow cooker 15 bean soup or crock pot ham and beans, with slow cooker Amish lima beans as a side. For other warming soups, there is slow cooker Amish tomato noodle soup and the 5-ingredient slow cooker loaded potato soup. For another sausage dinner, make the slow cooker pierogi and sausage casserole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I drain the canned white beans?
No. For this recipe, add the beans with their canning liquid.
How can I make the soup thicker without changing this recipe’s ingredients?
Keep the bean liquid, as the recipe says. Mashing some beans would thicken it more, but that is not a step in this recipe.
How long can I refrigerate or freeze leftovers?
Refrigerate for 3 to 4 days, or freeze in airtight containers for up to 3 months.
Can I use hot Italian sausage?
Yes. Sweet or hot Italian sausage both work.
Final Notes
I taste the soup before any salt goes in, because the sausage and the stock are usually salty enough. If you make it, leave a comment to tell me how it turned out or ask a question.
White Bean and Italian Sausage Soup
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound Italian sausage sweet or hot; remove casings if using links
- 1 large sweet onion diced into 1/2-inch pieces
- 3 medium carrots peeled, halved and sliced
- 3 stalks celery thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 can white beans 14 ounces; include the canning liquid
- 1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes 14.5 ounces
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper cracked
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1/2–1 teaspoon sea salt only if needed after tasting
- parsley chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the sausage, breaking it into crumbles with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, about 8 minutes. If using raw ground pork or beef sausage, check that it reaches 160°F with a food thermometer.
- Add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and the vegetables are soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and stir continuously for 1 minute.
- Add the white beans with their canning liquid, the diced tomatoes and the chicken stock. Stir in the black pepper and the optional red pepper flakes, but hold the salt. Add the thyme sprig.
- Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, until the flavors meld. Taste, then add sea salt if needed and adjust the pepper.
- Ladle into bowls, garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately.
