Hearty Italian Sausage Soup + Video
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
My Italian sausage soup is delicious and filling – just what you need after a long day. Make this easy one pot recipe for dinner tonight!
This simple recipe features flavorful links, tender pasta, tomatoes, beans, and more for a stick-to-your-ribs alternative to chicken noodle or minestrone soups. Or this amazing Italian lentil soup that is perfect for a cold day!
Plus, it’s easy to throw together at the last minute and you won’t have a pile of dishes to clean! We also have a Lipton onion soup mix to make and keep in your pantry.
If you enjoy Italian soup with sausage, try my copycat version of Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana. It can be prepared on the stove or with an Instant Pot, whichever you prefer.
Or, swap the links for homemade meatballs and veggies in a rich, tomato broth for another easy one pot meal. It’s also ready in 30 minutes and is just as hearty and delicious.
Looking for something other than soup? Try my amazing sausage and potatoes skillet, or this Paccheri Pasta.
Italian Sausage Soup – Ingredient Notes
- Meat – Swap the mild blend for a spicy one to add a little extra heat, or replace it with whatever meat you prefer. Be sure to add extra seasoning while it’s browning – I would recommend about a tablespoon of Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon each of garlic and onion powder, and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- Pasta – I love this with orecchiette or small shells, but you could easily use ditalini or elbows. To make it even heartier, swap the noodles for cheese tortellini.
- Tomatoes – Use fire-roasted instead of regular crushed or diced tomatoes so this tastes like it’s been simmering all day long!
- Veggies – Carrots and celery help create a flavorful base and blend seamlessly into this dish. You could also toss in some onion, zucchini, and bell pepper or wilt in some spinach just before serving.
- Garnish – Fresh basil rounds out the flavors in this sausage soup recipe, and freshly grated Parmesan makes everything taste better!
Serving Suggestions
While this Italian sausage soup is more than enough on its own, it pairs well with a simple salad or my artisan-style garlic skillet bread!
Get Free Recipes Sent to Your Email
Do you ❤️ TSRI? Don’t miss another recipe!
Subscribe to The Slow Roasted Italian by email to receive new recipes in your inbox!!
RECIPE VIDEO
Watch the video below to see how easy it is to make this recipe!
FAQ – Common Recipe Questions
Can I cook this sausage soup recipe in a crockpot instead?
Because the noodles cook in the liquid, I wouldn’t recommend it.
I do have a slow cooker Italian soup with sausage that has similar flavors and plenty of veggies. If you’re really craving pasta, prepare some on the stove and stir it in just before serving.
Can I freeze Italian sausage soup?
Yes! If you’ll be freezing the whole batch, I would recommend slightly undercooking the pasta so it doesn’t become too soft when thawed and reheated.
Transfer to airtight jars or containers once cooled and leave some space at the top for the liquid to expand. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat in the microwave or on the stove.
Enjoy!
With love from our simple kitchen to yours.
Don’t miss a thing! Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram ❤ ❤ ❤
Hearty Italian Sausage Soup + Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound mild Italian chicken sausage, or pork
- 3 carrots
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 8 cups chicken broth, or 8 cups water and 4 tablespoons chicken bouillion
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
- 15 ounce can cannellini beans, (white beans), rinsed and drained
- 14.5 ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 pound dried orecchiette pasta, or shells
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, rough chopped
Instructions
- Heat a 12 quart pot over medium high heat. Add olive oil and sausage. Peel and chop carrots, add to pot. Wash and chop celery. Cook sausage until browned on each side and stir vegetables. Once sausage is browned on each side remove from pot and add all remaining ingredients except pasta and basil. Bring soup to a boil.
- Meanwhile slice sausage into coins and add to soup. Once soup comes to a boil add pasta and basil. Cook until pasta is cooked through stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published September 2013, updated and republished September 2021
Disclosure: Posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link your price will remain the same and The Slow Roasted Italian will automatically receive a small commission. Thank you for supporting us, it helps us keep creating new recipes.
I'd love to try this soup, it looks delicious, but what kind of pasta did you add, and how much?
1/2 pound dried orecchiette pasta (or shells) – says in ingredients 🙂
yum! This is my kind of soup especially with my fave pasta orecchiette.
That's what I'm saying! Thanks for stopping by Rachelle. Enjoy.
It was awesome!!
So happy you loved it Sharon!
I made it…it was very good!!! I used cheese tortellini for the pasta.
Oh I love the tortellini idea! Definitely trying that variation.
This would make me feel a lot better too! Hope Chad is all better now.
Thanks Chris! This is the perfect get well soup.
Is there a substitute for sausage for this soup? We dont eat sausage 🙂
You can substitute whatever meat or meat substitute you like. I would add extra seasoning though (as sausage is very flavorful). Maybe a pinch of red pepper flakes and a tablespoon of Italian seasoning and 1 teaspoon of garlic and onion powders mixed in with the meat when you cook it.
Let us know how it goes!
I make it with cheese tortellini and it is easy better if you let it dimmer all day or cook and reheat the next day
I made this soup last night and it is a winner for sure. It has awesome flavors, is easy to prepare, and nice on the wallet. I also used the cheese tortellini and it was the perfect match. I also accidentally used spicy tomato paste, but I ended up liking the additional spice.
Wonderfully tasty ….. sub'd the sausage with vegan meat….tasted great!! Used gluten free pasta. Very healthy and incredibly tasty!
Made like the directions, it was delicious. Thank you
I thought I read directions somewhere about freezing this soup. Can't find them now. It said to add pasta after thawing and reheating. Any other advice? Basil OK to add before freezing?
I thought I read directions somewhere about freezing this soup. Can't find them now. It said to add pasta after thawing and reheating. Any other advice? Basil OK to add before freezing?
Can you use Chrizo and instead of the beans use potatoes?
Trying to figure out the best way to 'KETO' this. I've always made soups like this in the past, but tomatoes are restricted on keto. no pasta – etc. one of the things I don't like about keto.
I love this soup,I take mild Italian sausage out of the casing it adds amazing flavor
Can this be made in the instant pot?
Made this soup today exactly as written ingredient wise & OMG it's SO GOOD! It's our new, favorite soup. Only little thing I did different is made tiny meatballs out of the sausage & browned them instead of slicing the sausage into "coins." Thanks for the recipe!
I purchased ground mild Italian sausage without realizing the recipe used actual sausages. So I rolled them into little balls and fried them. It was a little more work but my husband loved them.
Warning: the soup was quite salty initially so I panicked and added more water, added some peeled big chunks of potato to soak up the salt (removing them before serving), and also added some heavy cream (maybe 1/3 – 1/2 cup) I happened to have. It honestly turned out SO GOOD and the Picky Husband said this is definitely a make-again recipe (a rare moment in my house).
Next time I would probably use low sodium tomato products. I will add the bit of cream again because the whole thing was just so good.
Thanks for sharing your recipe!
I love the shells pasta in soups. It holds the soup nicely along with all of the other ingredients. Going to be making this for dinner with my boyfriend again.
Delicious! I added a couple of things.
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 small onion diced
I used fresh Italian sausage and did not remove casings.
I eliminated tomato paste and used 15 oz can of tomato sauce instead of 8 oz can
I didn’t have roasted tomatoes so used regular diced
It was amazing!