Sausage Potato and Kale Soup
This Sausage Potato and Kale Soup is a hearty, delicious, creamy dinner loaded with Italian sausage, tender potatoes, smoky bacon, Italian seasoning, and peppery kale. It’s classic comfort food, and it’s ready in under an hour!
When we think of cozy main meals for the fall, we always think of soup. Hot and loaded with flavor, dishes like homemade tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches, creamy chicken and potato soup, and slow cooker ham potato soup always fill you up and leave you satisfied on a cold day.
This sausage potato and kale soup falls into that category. With hearty Italian sausage, smoky bacon, tender potatoes, peppery kale, and a creamy, seasoned broth, this is a soup that warms you up on even the coldest day.
Pair it with copycat Cheesecake Factory brown bread or homemade garlic breadsticks for an easy, delicious fall meal.
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple Ingredients: Everything you need to make this soup is in your kitchen or local grocery store.
- Easy: If you can use a stove, you can make this soup. It’s a rustic, basic dish.
- Hearty and Filling: With all that sausage, potatoes, and bacon in a creamy broth, this soup leaves you full and satisfied.
- Classic Comfort Food: With its hearty ingredients and classic Italian flavors, this is comfort food at its finest.
- Customizable: It’s easy to adjust the ingredients to suit your family’s tastes.
Key Ingredients
We’ve made this list to help you save time on your next trip to the grocery store. You can find the full amounts needed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Bacon: Crispy bacon and a bit of its reserved fat add a salty, smoky, rich note to the soup.
- Italian Sausage: Italian sausage adds tons of Italian flavor and meaty texture to every bite.
- Red Potatoes: Red potatoes are a hearty addition to the soup, taking on the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Kale: Kale adds a peppery bite that works perfectly with the smoky bacon and zesty Italian sausage.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream creates a rich soup that’s creamy but not too thick.
Variations
- Spicy: Use spicy Italian sausage and add red pepper flakes for a spicy kick.
- Bacon: Your favorite bacon will work in this recipe. All bacon is good bacon!
- Potatoes: You can use red, white, Yukon Gold, or fingerling potatoes. Avoid russet potatoes as they can fall apart while simmering.
- Kale: If you’re not a fan of kale, try spinach instead.
How to Make Sausage Potato and Kale Soup
This is a quick overview of the steps needed to make this recipe. You can find the full instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Cook the bacon for a few minutes to render the fat. Then, add the sausage and cook until both are crispy. Drain, leaving a bit of the fat for flavor.
- Add the onions and cook until soft. Then, add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add the remaining ingredients except the cream and kale, bring to a boil, and simmer until the potatoes are tender.
- Add the cream and kale and continue cooking until the kale is wilted. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- We recommend a Dutch oven for this recipe if possible. If you don’t have that, use the heaviest pot you have.
- Chill your onion for about 30 minutes to avoid watery eyes while chopping it.
- Don’t let your soup boil after adding the heavy cream. It will break and ruin the soup.
- Taste your soup after cooking and add more salt and pepper if necessary before serving.
Sausage Potato and Kale Soup FAQs
Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.
Sausage potato and kale soup is better known as zuppa toscana. It’s a classic Italian soup made with bacon, Italian sausage, potatoes, and either kale or spinach.
All you need is one or two tablespoons to add lots of flavor to your soup without making it greasy.
The best potatoes for soup are waxy potatoes like red, white, or fingerling potatoes. Yukon Gold will also work because of its slightly higher wax content compared to russet potatoes.
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📖Recipe
Want to make this recipe? Print the recipe card below, or pin this recipe, so you can find it later.
Sausage Potato and Kale Soup
Equipment
- large pot or dutch oven
Ingredients
- 6 strips bacon chopped
- 1 ½ pound Italian sausage casings removed if applicable
- 1 onion chopped
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 4 cups water
- 5 medium red potatoes cut into bite-sized pieces
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 small bunch kale stems removed and leaves chopped
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon for a few minutes
- until it starts to render fat but isn’t fully crispy. Add the Italian sausage, breaking it into
- pieces, and continue cooking until both the bacon and sausage are crispy. Drain some of the
- grease, but leave a little in the pot for flavor.
- Add the chopped onion to the pot and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the minced
- garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Pour in the chicken broth and water. Add the red potatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, and
- pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are tender,
- about 15-20 minutes.
- Stir in the heavy cream and chopped kale. Let the soup simmer for another 5-10 minutes,
- until the kale is wilted.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Ladle into bowls and enjoy!
Disclaimer
Any nutritional data I provide is an approximation and actual dietary information can vary based on ingredients and proportion sizes.
