Italian Sausage Soup

My girlfriend Lindsey and I had plans to go skating recently so before we headed out into the deep freeze, I thought soup would be the perfect meal to keep us warm! 

I had been wanting to try this soup for awhile. I usually gravitate towards rich, creamy soups, but this one, even though was broth based, seemed full of so many delicious, healthy ingredients, that I thought would be a great change. Boy was I right. Every bite had something different -- pasta, veggie, beans, cheese. And what I love is that you could change anything about the recipe to tailor to your own tastes. 

Italian Sausage Soup

Serves 6-8

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound Italian sausage (you may want to mix mild and hot for more flavour)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 can (28 oz) stewed tomatoes
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 can (14 oz) white kidney beans, rinsed
• 2 small zucchinis, diced
• 1 cup bowtie pasta
• 2 cups spinach, torn
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Directions

• Cut the sausage out of the casing and break it into small pieces. Cook in a frying pan until browned.
• In a stockpot, melt the butter and brown the onion and garlic until soft. Add broth, tomatoes, carrots and sausage. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Stir in beans and pasta. Cover and simmer another 10 minutes, then add zucchini and simmer for another 5 minutes. 
• Remove from heat and add spinach. Replace lid, allowing heat from the soup to cook the spinach leaves, for about five minutes.
• Serve with grated cheese on top.

Recipe adapted from www.allrecipes.com