A filling soup packed with the flavors of Italian sausage, zucchini, tomatoes, spinach and topped with Parmesan cheese. A hearty one pot meal that is freezer friendly and can be made in the slow cooker.
I like to think this is the soup that landed me my husband.
Sure we were high school sweethearts who had been dating since we were 17, and soul mates, and made for each other. But the winter I mastered this sausage soup was followed by the summer we got engaged. Coincidence?
We were talking on a rainy day in February 2011 when he said, “You know what I really want you to make? Sausage soup. It’s my favorite.” To which I replied, “Sausage soup? I’ve never even heard of sausage soup.” How could his favorite soup be something I had never eaten?!
I had him describe this childhood favorite soup of his. “There’s sausage, and zucchini, maybe carrots? It’s in, like, a broth?”
I had my work cut out for me.
After some experimentation I created what I hoped was the perfect sausage soup.
I served it up to him, and watched as he took his first bite.
At first he was quiet, just for a moment.
Then he looked up at me and smiled.
“Nat. This is the BEST sausage soup I have ever had! God I love you.” I felt like I had just won Top Chef.
Then he asked, “Can I have more Parmesan on top?”
The man likes his cheese.
And 4 months later we were engaged.
So make this engagement worthy soup. Your man will love it.
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Italian Sausage and Vegetable Soup
Prep Time: 30 minutes- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 6
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 16 ounce package of sweet Italian sausage
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large carrots cut in to 1/4″ thick half moons, about 1.5 cups
- 2 medium zucchini cut in to 1/4″ thick half moons, about 1.5 cups
- 4 celery stalks cut 1/4″ thick, about 1.5 cups
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped medium, about 1.5 cups
- 2 garlic cloves chopped fine
- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 32 ounces chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon thyme
- 1/4 cup orzo pasta (optional)
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- Salt and pepper
- Freshly grated Parmesan for topping (optional)
Instructions
- 1. In a heavy bottom pot, heat 1 tbs olive oil over medium high heat. Add in the whole sausages and brown the outside, about 5 minutes, turning every minute. Put the sausages aside on a plate.
- 2. In the oil, add in the carrots, zucchini, celery and onions. Add in 2 tsp salt and 2 tsp pepper. Cook over medium heat, scraping up any brown bits from the sausage on the bottom of the pot, and stirring occasionally. Cook until the onions turn translucent, about 10 minutes.
- 3. While the vegetables are cooking, slice the sausages a little more than 1/4″ thick. It is ok if they are still pink in the middle, they will continue cooking in the soup.
- 4. When the onions have turned translucent, and the vegetables have cooked through, add in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Then add in the can of diced tomatoes, chicken stock, sliced sausages, and 1 tablespoon of thyme. Cook over low heat, uncovered, for 40 minutes.
- 5. After the soup has cooked for 40 minutes, add in 1/4 cup of orzo. Stir and continue cooking for 15 minutes, uncovered.
- 6. After the orzo has cooked for 15 minutes, add in 2 big handfuls of fresh spinach, stir to combine.
- 7. Taste to see if it needs more salt and pepper.
- 8. Take the soup off heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes. After the soup has rested for 5 minutes serve it topped with fresh Parmesan and warm bread.
- 9. Will keep in an air tight container for 1 week in the fridge. Can be frozen for up to 6 months.
Notes
This can be cooked in the slow cooker. After you have added in the can of diced tomatoes, chicken stock, sliced sausages, and 1 tablespoon of thyme transfer all of the liquid to a crock pot. Cook over low for 4 hours, or high for 2 hours. Add in the orzo 20 minutes before serving, and stir in the spinach 5 minutes before serving.
For gluten free and low carb, leave out orzo.
This soup is very forgiving and tastes better the longer it cooks. Feel free to leave it cooking on the stove over low heat for longer than 1 hour and your family can help themselves throughout the night.
Nutrition
- Calories: 381
- Fat: 22g
Browning the sausage
Chopped vegetables
How the vegetables should look before you add in the tomatoes, broth and sliced sausage
Adding in the sausages to broth and vegetables
This has now become my favorite soup too.
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That’s incredible that you guys have been together for so long! Must be the soup ;-) And yes for more parm!
Thanks Erin! We just had our 10 year dating anniversary this summer. I already feel like an old married couple at 27. Ha!
And always more Parmesan : )
Yum! Ths looks really delicious! Pinned it to my soup board.
Thanks Kelly!
Such a cute story! This soup looks so delicious after such a windy and cold day today.
Thanks Rachel! It’s raining here in California too. And thanks for the email, hope you got my reply! Wrote while stuck in traffic. Don’t worry, my husband was driving : )
Oh my…this Italian Sausage and Vegetable Soup sounds so delicious and so comforting. Definitely my kind of soup to make and enjoy after a long day! thanks for sharing. :)
Thanks Amy! It’s so good, warms you up and makes you feel all cozy : )
My grandma always said that the way to a mans heart is through his stomach. Worked for me :) love this recipe
Thanks Kathy. Your grandma is a wise woman, because it worked for me too! As long as I keep cooking for him I think we’ll have a long and happy marriage : )
Sounds like the soup of love then! I love these kinds of chunky, filling, comforting soups. They’re really perfect to beat the dropping temperatures!
It is definitely a soup of love : ) This is my favorite kind of soup too, not to thick and heavy but still packed with flavor. Thanks for your comment!
I’m making this for date night with my boyfriend, it’s currently simmering on the stove and smells divine!! I can’t wait to eat it with thick slices of rustic French bread :) thank you for the recipe!!!
★★★★★
Thank you so much Chanee! Glad you found my recipe and made it. You just made my day! This is the perfect date night meal because it requires hardly any work, leaving you lots of time to spend together rather than slaving in the kitchen. I hope your boyfriend liked it! And really appreciate your comment : )
Awh, such a sweet story. Love it. :)
And I’m loving this soup! I wish I had it for lunch today. This would surely be hit in our home!
Thanks Tina! I love this soup because every time I make it I’m reminded of this story : )
I grew up on soups like this! LOVE it! And such a cute story, too ;)
Thanks Ashley! And I *wish* I could have grown up on soups like this, I’ve definitely been missing out : )
Yep. This is what we’re making for dinner tomorrow. It is COLD here and this soup seems like just what we need to get warm. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Thanks Monet! I hope your family loves it. It’s cold here too. Well, California cold at 65 degrees. Brrr! *wink*
This soup looks perfect, especially with that yummy Italian sausage that I can’t get enough of!
Thanks Pamela! I’m a tad obsessed with italian sausage too. Just used it to make some lasagna this weekend, yum!
I can understand why this is his favorite soup! It looks incredible and so warm and comforting. I wish I had a big bowl of it right now. Brrr…it is cold here in Florida today!
It is so good, but with sausage and veggies you can’t really go wrong. It’s cold here in California too. Well, is 60 degrees cold? Haha, feels like it to me : )
And thanks for visiting my blog and commenting!
Made this last night for my boyfriend and in his words “it was a hit”! So yummy, especially when it’s cold outside! Love the pictures and reading the background story in between, thanks Natalie! :)
★★★★★
Thank you so much! You just *made* my day Bri! I’m so glad your boyfriend liked it! It is a very guy friendly soup. It is freezing here at home, was 24 degrees this morning, so a great time for warm soup.
And I’m so glad you read my little recipes here! Hope you’re doing well. If you’re ever back in Danville we must get together. Miss you!
I made this soup for my husband yesterday. I threw it in the crockpot and let it cook all day. My husband loved it! Then I noticed this morning that I forgot to add the spinach that I was supposed to add at the end :( oh well next time :)
I’m so glad you made it and loved it! This is my husbands *favorite* soup. He gets so excited when I make it, you would think it was Christmas. Definitely a “guys” soup. Cooking it in the crockpot is the best because your house smells good all day, and it does all the work for you when you’re out and about. I’ve made this before without the spinach, and it’s still good. I always just like a little extra nutrition. I’ve made it with Kale too, which is great. Hope you have a good weekend Annemarie! And thanks for letting me know you loved my recipe, you just made my day!
I made this soup yesterday and it is excellent! I have to eat a gluten free diet, and this was great for me. I just used a quinoa-based pasta instead of orzo. Thank you for a wonderful find!
I am so glad you made my soup Joy! It’s hands down my favorite soup recipe. My husband goes crazy for it. And it’s also great for gluten free! My father in law is also gluten free, and whenever I feel stumped about what to cook for him I’ve made this recipe. I’ve always just left the pasta out, but great idea using quinoa-based pasta! That’s a great idea. Don’t know why I never thought of that before. Thank you so much for letting me know you loved my recipe. Means a lot to me, you just made my day : )
I just made this soup today for dinner tomorrow. Everyone wants to eat it now it smells so good even though we just had curry for dinner! Can’t wait to serve it up for dinner tomorrow evening. Thanks for the recipe.
★★★★
Well you just made my day Kelleah! You’re in for a great dinner tonight! So funny, because I made this soup for us on Monday, and have been enjoying the leftovers for lunch all week. It is still my husbands favorite soup that I’ve made him. I hope your family loves it! Thanks for letting me know, and for stopping by my food blog! *hugs*
Just made this for my wife and she said it was one of the best soups she’s ever had. Tasted like it was made in a town in Tuscany. Thank you!
★★★★★
I’m so happy to hear that Christopher! This is my husbands FAVORITE soup! He gets so excited when I make it. So flavorful and healthy. Glad you wife liked it. Thanks for letting me know, you just made my day!
Making It Right Now,The House Smells Great. Hope Everyone Likes It.I Will Let You All Know After Dinner!!! Smells Yummy!!!! ;) <3
Yea! Doesn’t it smell amazing as it’s cooking? Hope your family loved it! Thanks Penny : )
This recipe was fantastic! Well-rounded flavors. It used a variety of ingredients, and yet was super easy. I will definitely use it again! I cut the salt in 1/2 because I knew that my sausage was pretty salty, and so was my stock. I might omit it entirely next time. But it was quite lovely!
★★★★★
Yea! I’m so glad you liked it Meg! Smart to adjust your salt. This is my husbands favorite soup, and I just made it again last night for him. We have leftovers for lunches for the next few days. Hurray!
Stumbled on your soup recipe on the net and it sounded so good I made a crockpot full. I cut up too many vegetables so added an additional 14.5 oz of chicken broth. It is absolutely delicious. The sweet sausage and the thyme really make it pop. It is now my”go to”soup. Thank you.
★★★★
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Will! You made my day. Thanks for taking the time to let me know you liked my recipe, means the world. What a small world, I made it yesterday for dinner too! Now we have leftovers for lunch for the week. Yea!
Do you drain the canned tomatoes or use the liquid? Making this soup tonight and it looks delish! Thank you
★★★★★
Use the liquid! Dump the whole can in there, tomatoes and the tomato juice. Hope you love it when you make it!
Its the start of my soup making season and your recipe was the first one of the year! I’m sensitive to salt & haven’t used it in years. My Dad gave me some venison sausage that he claimed was too salty, saw this recipe & knew it would be perfect due to the orzo! Anyhoo, 8 yrs of soup making & my soup critic always complains. This was the first soup he just “yummmm” about w no critique!
★★★★★
This was so nice to read! Thank you! I’m so happy this soup was loved by all. It’s my husbands *favorite*. Thank you for taking the time to let me know you liked my recipe! You made my DAY! Means a lot.
I needed a quick soup to make as I hadn’t shopped and was called into work and had to make due with canned veggies, beans etc. so with some heavy tweaking on the veggies portion with this as the base the only change in the recipe itself was adding an extra 2 cups of water (I use my own bullion base) to add extra broth to it otherwise it is a great recipe. Will make it again when I have all the ingredients haha
I’m so glad you liked it Amanda! And glad to hear it works with canned vegetables. That’s so nice in a pinch. Thanks for making my recipe and letting me know you liked it! Means the world!
This is just what we need here in Wisconsin now. It is very cold here in the ’30s and rainy. Love all the veggies in it!
★★★★★
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Laura! This is perfect for a cold day! Thanks for making my recipe and letting me know you enjoyed it! Means the world.