Creamy Sausage Soup

I don’t even remember where I found this recipe to be completely honest but I do know it’s from www.saltandlavender.com and that it is freaking delicious! The family loved it too and it’ll become a soup season staple in our home. We do feel a few modifications should be made such as using kale instead of celery and sweet Italian sausage rather than regular Italian sausage but otherwise it’s on point!! So let’s get to it!!

***Update*** USE THE KALE!!! Y’all it’s nearly identical to Olive Garden’s zuppa toscana!! 

 

Creamy Sausage Soup

Ingredients 

16 ounces sweet Italian sausage (trust me here) 

1/4 cup butter (we used 6 Tbsps)

1/2 medium onion - chopped small

2 sticks celery - chopped small (this is where we will use kale instead)

2 cloves garlic (I used 2 heaping teaspoons)

6 tablespoons flour

4 cups chicken stock (it’s a 32 oz box)

2 cups half and half

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

1 pound russet potatoes - peeled and diced small

Salt and pepper - to taste

Instructions

1. Add the sausage meat to a soup pot. Over medium-high heat, cook until browned (about 10 minutes) and break it up with your spoon as it cooks. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Leave the fat in the pot, but if it’s more than about a tablespoon, drain some out. (Our sausage didn’t have hardly grease this is why we used 6 tablespoons.)

2. Add the butter to the pot and once it is melted, add the onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Scrape up and brown bits from the bottom of the pot.

3. Stir in the garlic and flour. Cook for about 2 minutes, breaking it up with your spoon/stirring it as you go along. This step cooks the raw flour flavor out.

4. Slowly whisk in the chicken stock until all of the flour has been incorporated and there is no lumps.

5. Stir in the half and half, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, potatoes, kale and add the sausage back in to the pot. Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil then reduce the heat so it’s bubbling, not boiling like crazy. Cover the pot with the lid slightly open. 

6. Let the soup simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes and kale are tender and the soup has thickened up to your liking. I recommend stirring a few times to ensure nothing is sticking.

7. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

8. ENJOY!