Italian White Bean Soup with Kale (Printable)

Hearty soup with spicy sausage, creamy cannellini beans, kale, and roasted garlic in a rich broth.

# What you need:

→ Meats

01 - 1 pound spicy Italian sausage, casings removed

→ Vegetables

02 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
03 - 1 large yellow onion, diced
04 - 2 medium carrots, diced
05 - 2 celery stalks, diced
06 - 6 cloves garlic, peeled
07 - 1 bunch Tuscan kale (approximately 6 ounces), stems removed, leaves chopped

→ Beans

08 - 2 cans (15 ounces each) cannellini beans or Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

→ Liquids

09 - 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
10 - 1 cup water

→ Herbs & Seasonings

11 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
12 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
13 - 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
14 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

→ Garnish

15 - Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
16 - Extra virgin olive oil
17 - Crusty bread for serving

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Place garlic cloves on foil, drizzle with olive oil, wrap, and roast for 20 minutes until soft and golden. Cool slightly, then mash into paste.
02 - Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking apart with spoon, and cook 6-8 minutes until browned and cooked through. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
03 - Add remaining olive oil to pot, then add onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté 6 minutes until softened.
04 - Stir in mashed roasted garlic, thyme, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook 1 minute until fragrant.
05 - Add beans, cooked sausage, chicken broth, and water. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered 15 minutes.
06 - Stir in chopped kale and continue simmering 10-12 minutes until kale is tender and vibrant.
07 - Taste soup and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as desired.
08 - Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with Parmesan cheese, drizzle of olive oil, and crusty bread if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It comes together in an hour but tastes like you've been tending it all day.
  • The roasted garlic is a game-changer that you'll start adding to everything once you taste it.
  • One pot, minimal cleanup, and it only gets better as leftovers.
02 -
  • Don't skip the roasted garlic step, it sounds fussy but it takes 20 minutes hands-off in the oven and transforms the whole soup into something you can't replicate by just mincing raw garlic.
  • Rinsing your canned beans genuinely matters because the starchy liquid they're packed in will cloud up your beautiful broth and make the texture pasty instead of silky.
03 -
  • Always taste and adjust seasoning at the very end because broth reduces and concentrates as it simmers, and you don't want to oversalt early on.
  • If you have a Parmesan rind lingering in your cheese drawer, toss it in while the soup cooks to add umami depth that tastes like you've been making this forever.
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