One-Pot Wonders

White Bean and Kale Soup with Sausage

by:
February  5, 2015
5
16 Ratings
White Bean and Kale Soup with Sausage
Photo by Alpha Smoot
  • Prep time 15 minutes
  • Cook time 40 minutes
  • Serves 5
Author Notes

Soup is so warm and comforting and perfect it makes me want to change the lyrics to love songs to be about soup instead. So that's what I've been doing, aloud, all the time. Everyone is very happy they know me and no one is at all annoyed! What I like about youuuuu, you really know how to sooouuupppp. —Kendra Vaculin

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Olive oil
  • 2 shallots, small diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 medium carrots, diced
  • 4 ounces cremini mushrooms, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 3 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 15-ounce can white beans (like Great Northern), drained and rinsed
  • 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
  • 1/4 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves torn or roughly chopped (should yield about 2 packed cups)
  • 1 pound sausage (like kielbasa or chorizo)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Crushed red pepper flakes
  • Parmesan cheese
Directions
  1. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the shallots and season with salt and pepper; cook down until almost transparent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, mushrooms, and a pinch of the red pepper flakes. Season and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened.
  2. Add the wine and use it to loosen and scrape up all the awesome brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Cook until the liquid is reduced slightly.
  3. Add the stock, beans, and rosemary. Bring to a boil, and then add the kale. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.
  4. While the soup is cooking, brown the sausage in a medium pan. If crumbled, add directly to the soup. If linked, transfer to a cutting board. Thinly slice crosswise, stir into the soup.
  5. Serve with a sprinkling Parmesan cheese. Plus bread — you're no fool.
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  • Sidney
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  • Dee Greeley
    Dee Greeley
  • juliunruly
    juliunruly
  • Sarah Hoshikawa
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Kendra Vaculin

Recipe by: Kendra Vaculin

A fan of female driven comedies, a good beat, your hair today, and making foods for friends.

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29 Reviews

ks.grand
ks.grand November 20, 2022
I love this recipe! I used hot Italian sausage and omitted a bit of the red pepper flakes. I also added one more cup of vegetable stock and some thyme to go with the rosemary. This is a lovely recipe that makes a hearty meal- incredibly easy to modify as well. Cheers!
 
Joanne
Joanne May 14, 2020
this is very good made exactly as directed. I froze some and a few months later the flavors had only melded more.!! 5 *****
 
nancy O.
nancy O. February 24, 2020
I never write reviews...I have made countless delicious things from Food52 (love this site), but never have I taken the time to sit down and write something. But, this recipe deserves some words and superlatives! Not that the other recipes weren't worth it...however, this is the most delicious, most interesting, richest, and yet simplest recipe I've made from this community. I followed the recipe (almost) to the T... I added a small head of diced fennel (that's about as rogue as I'll go), used a good bottle of white wine (because the French are right..."the better the wine, the better the dish."), and added the review suggestions on the parm rind (**Thank you Heena K for that lovely addition!!**). Phenomenal!!! Truly a wonderful recipe, worth trying out! ...Currently reheating the leftovers...and I can't wait to eat dinner!
 
lesliemorrisnlc
lesliemorrisnlc February 17, 2020
I made this last night and it was the most flavorful, delicious soup I've made in a while! I used EdenThistle Farm's chorizo which may have made it more wonderful, but I spent today looking forward to eating the leftovers tonight. Utterly scrumptious! I followed the recipe to a T, but maybe next time I'll throw in a parm rind to make it more yummy, if that's possible. :)
 
Joy
Joy December 2, 2019
Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. I'm in Europe so I bought two cans of white beans (they come in 400g cans). I substituted red wine and chicken stock based on what was in my pantry. I upped the chicken stock to 4 cups. Thanks for previous suggestions to use parmesan rind and a squeeze of lemon! We loved this.
 
teriolle
teriolle November 29, 2018
Easy sub: instead of mushrooms (didn’t have and my kids don’t like anyway) I just added a tablespoon or so of tomato paste for a little depth of flavor — perfect!
 
Shirlee
Shirlee October 28, 2018
Agree with the other comments to add lemon juice or serve with lemon wedge. Also made a toasty crouton-type pita to serve on the side - drizzle olive oil, herbs, and grated cheese under the broiler for a few minutes. Yum!
 
Sidney
Sidney January 14, 2018
I made this last night using vegetarian kielbasa and a nutty chardonnay. It was perfect for a cold winter evening. Satisfying and comforting, the rosemary added the perfect amount of savory.
 
julie
julie January 9, 2017
My family liked this soup but didn't think it was outstanding. I started by browning the sausage in the soup pot, removed and set it aside (less clean-up), then proceeded with the recipe and my guess is it only helped add flavor. We didn't have mushrooms but I added celery. Used chicken stock as it was what we had on hand. Easy, tasty and my kids didn't even mention the kale. Topped with fresh flat leaf parsley and parm.
 
kschurms
kschurms January 9, 2017
I can't stop making this soup!! Absolutely love the kick from the white wine and mushrooms.
Last time I made it I browned a bit of bacon separately and added it into the soup at the end for an extra kick. I also add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end.
 
Dee G.
Dee G. February 10, 2016
A wonderful hearty soup - so basic yet and versatile. Made as the recipe calls for with the exception of the sausage. I used Soy Chorizo (a vegan & gluten free Mexican style of chorizo). Got raves.
 
juliunruly
juliunruly February 8, 2016
I love this soup and we make it once every couple of weeks or so. I use a handful of modifications: No mushrooms or carrots, but I add tomato paste. I use the crushed red pepper while simmering, not as a garnish. I also add a parmesan rind while cooking, and about half a lemon's worth of juice to the pot before serving. We use smoked Kielbasa, and it works perfectly.
 
Sarah H.
Sarah H. February 6, 2016
Really enjoyed this! Cooked it for the first time because I wanted something comforting for my sore throat, and it's delicious! Simple and easy to make. I added tomatoes and used vegan mexican chipotle sausage instead, but I agree that spicy sausage definitely makes this! And the parm on top is glorious. The best part is that there are leftovers so I'm looking forward to enjoying more of this for the next few days.
 
Tricia W.
Tricia W. October 28, 2015
So yummy! I only had red wine and beef, Better Than Bullion but it turned out great! I doubled the garlic and veg and it still seemed pretty balanced with the amount of sausage. One thing I would watch would be the salt level if you use bullion instead of stock and then you throw a salty cheese like parm on top!
 
Christopher
Christopher August 30, 2015
Probably the best soup I've ever made. The wine, shallots and spicy sausage really make it. I double the recipe and eat it all week. It gets better each day. I keep the 3 main ingredients and change up the beans and veggies to the season and works great.
 
Kevin F.
Kevin F. March 2, 2015
Made this tonight and the entire family enjoyed it (kids 10 and 7). Made as directed, with the sausage choice being a sweet Italian style chicken sausage. We doubled the recipe and will enjoy this for another meal or so.
 
Ollie
Ollie February 28, 2015
Does this actually make enough for five people? It seems like only 3 cups of stock wouldn't give a whole lot of broth? Should I add water or something?
 
juliunruly
juliunruly November 29, 2015
Definitely not enough for five. For us it made two dinner servings, and one serving of leftovers the next day.
 
Shirlee
Shirlee October 28, 2018
I used 4 cups of broth and actually added more water.
 
HapppyBee
HapppyBee February 25, 2015
So very good the first time I made this! Added a frozen Parmesan rind, more stock, doubled the beans, carrots and mushrooms and made a big batch as soup only gets better the next night. Added ham chunks rather than sausage as that's what I had on hand this time. Delicious and my husband actually ate the kale! A keeper.
 
Maria L.
Maria L. February 24, 2015
One note here: if you go the chorizo route, use Spanish style chorizo, not Mexican. You need a firm sausage and Mexican chorizo is more of a meaty paste meant to be cooked off as one would do with ground beef or pork. In general, it is very fatty, but that works in it's favor for what it is used for in Mexico.
 
Jussy
Jussy February 17, 2015
Super yummy and easy to make ! Like it !

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