Minestrone Soup With Sausage
This minestrone soup with sausage is loaded with fresh vegetables and flavored with Italian sausage. It will become your favorite soup for the cold season!
About This Recipe
Minestrone is a traditional Italian soup made of vegetables and legumes and often served with pasta or rice.
It is a budget-friendly recipe that is mostly prepared during the fall and winter and served with crusty bread, extra virgin olive oil, and Parmigiano cheese.
As in many traditional recipes, there are a few variations popular all over the country. Like adding meat or seasonal ingredients.
The recipe we’re sharing with you today is made with salsicce di maiale (pork sausage) and is utterly delicious.
The sausage adds a flavorful kick and is perfect for meat lovers, making this soup rich and more fulfilling.
Why You Should Make It
- EASY TO MAKE: You just need to cut your vegetables, sauté, and simmer. All-in-one pot and perfect for beginner cooks.
- BUDGET-FRIENDLY: Best for using seasonal vegetables and it yields lots of soup to feed a crowd.
- COMFORTING: Because there’s nothing better than a warm, hearty soup for dinner after a long day at work, especially on those cold days!
- FREEZES NICELY: Perfect for busy days, make a large batch, divide in containers, and store in the fridge or freeze it for months! My kind of meal.
- HIGHLY NUTRITIOUS: Packed with vegetables, little oil, protein, and carbs. It has everything to feed your body with good stuff.
This is one of my husband’s favorite soup recipes, it is slightly different from the traditional minestrone he used to eat as a kid, but he loves it and he asks for this soup pretty often.
The Ingredients
- ITALIAN SAUSAGE: I used 4 links (skin removed), and each one weighed about 3.8oz/110g. Any type of Italian sausage will work fine in this recipe. You can also replace Italian sausages with ground beef or pork.
- VEGETABLES: Feel free to use any seasonal fresh vegetables available to you like carrots, zucchini, green beans, celery, cabbage, potatoes, frozen peas, cauliflower, etc. Or you can also use frozen vegetables.
- TOMATOES: I used fresh tomatoes, but also diced canned tomatoes or tomato sauce are good options.
- ONIONS: Chopped onions or onion powder for flavor.
- HERBS: Rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano, etc. Is up to you to use fresh or dried.
- FLAVORS: Garlic cloves, salt, and black pepper.
- OIL: Extra virgin olive oil or mild olive oil.
Please note I didn’t add beans as in the traditional minestrone soup recipe. This is just a personal preference so feel free to add them if you want. Read the notes below for more info.
How To Make Minestrone Soup With Sausage
Prepare all the vegetables you intend to add. Wash them, peel them, and dice them in small bites.
Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the sausages and use a spoon to break them into pieces.
Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until sausage changes color.
Add onion and garlic then cook stirring constantly until onion has softened and sausage has nicely browned.
Turn heat to medium-high, add the tomatoes and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until tomatoes are slightly cooked.
Pour about 5 cups of water, season with salt and pepper, add herbs and bring to a boil.
Once the soup starts to boil, add all vegetables making sure everything is slightly covered with liquid. So, if needed, add more water.
Now reduce heat to a gentle simmer, cover the pot and allow to cook until all vegetables are nicely soft (about 20 minutes).
Adjust seasonings to taste, turn off the heat and serve.
Recipe Notes
- Vegetables can vary depending on the season and what you have available at home. Sometimes I add green beans, broccoli, leeks, corn, kale, mushrooms, spinach, etc.
- Cut vegetables into small bites, so they would be easier to eat.
- For a healthier option, opt for lean protein such as chicken or turkey sausage. Perfect to keep your saturated fat intake low.
- If you want to add a spicy kick, peperoncino or chili powder are nice options.
- If you want to add beans, cannellini beans, borlotti, or navy beans are recommended. For this recipe you can use 1 can of beans (about 8.5″/240g, drained). Add them along with the vegetables.
- Minestrone soup with sausage is a brothy soup, still, it has lots of texture thanks to the vegetables and meat.
How To Serve
Minestrone soup with sausage can be served with some crusty bread on the side to dip into the flavorful broth.
My husband says the best condiment is just a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and Parmigiano. I say a squeeze of lime is enough…and chiles.
But you can actually serve it with:
- Pasta: Any short pasta will be good, but ditalini are the best. Cook the pasta separately.
- Rice: White or brown rice is a good addition, check up this restaurant-style basmati rice for perfectly fluffy rice.
- Bread: Spread a bit of olive oil on some sliced bread, toast on a griddle, and enjoy with this soup. Or try this delicious Cheesy Garlic Bread.
How To Store
Minestrone soup with sausage makes a wonderful prep meal for any day of the week. We recommend making a double batch and dividing it into portions so you can enjoy it through the week.
Allow the soup to cool down then place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months.
When ready to eat. Thaw the soup overnight in the refrigerator and then add to a pot and reheat on the stovetop stirring from time to time.
More Italian Recipes
Minestrone Soup With Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 lb Italian sausages (about 4 links, casings removed)
- 2 lb chopped vegetables (carrots, zucchini, green beans, cabbage, etc.)
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
- 3 medium tomatoes (or 1 can of diced tomatoes)
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- fresh herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, etc.)
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat.
- Add the sausage and use the back of a spoon to break it into small pieces.
- Cook until sausage is no longer pink (about 4-5 minutes).
- Stir in onion and garlic. Cook until the onion has softened and the sausage has nicely browned.
- Turn heat to medium-high, add diced tomatoes and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until tomatoes are slightly cooked.
- Pour 5 cups of water. Season with salt and pepper and add the herbs.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then add the vegetables making sure everything is slightly covered with liquid. If needed, add more water.
- Now reduce heat to a simmer, cover the pot and cook until all vegetables are nicely soft (about 20 minutes).
- Adjust seasonings if needed and serve the minestrone soup with crusty bread, pasta, or rice.
Notes
- Vegetables can vary depending on the season and what you have available at home. You can also add broccoli, leeks, cauliflower, kale, mushrooms, spinach, etc.
- Cut vegetables into small bites, so they would be easier to eat.
- For a healthier option, opt for lean protein such as chicken or turkey sausage. Perfect to keep your saturated fat intake low.
- If you want to add a spicy kick, peperoncino or chili powder are nice options.
- You can also add 1 can of beans (about 8.5″/240g, drained) and cook them with the vegetables.
Nutrition Information
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As a meat lover, minestrone soup with sausage is my fav soup ever! It’s very delicious and fulfilling, I tried adding other meat but the pork sausage is my ultimate favorite. I will make this again tomorrow for our lunch!