This Italian Sausage Soup is made in just one pot and takes 10 minutes to prep! It’s an easy dinner that’s loaded with flavorful Italian sausage, tons of veggies, perfectly cooked noodles, and parmesan cheese!
Love Italian sausage in soups? Try my Sausage Orzo Soup, The BEST Sausage Tortellini Soup, or this easy Zuppa Toscana recipe next!
Table of Contents
As many of you know, soup is one of my favorite things. Whether it’s chicken noodle soup, roasted tomato soup, potato soup, taco soup, or cheeseburger soup, you can bet I’m going back for seconds…okay, probably thirds.
Well, this Italian Sausage Soup is no exception to my love for soups. It’s packed with veggies, Italian sausage, spinach, Ditalini pasta, parmesan cheese, and so much flavor.
This is definitely a dinner you will want to add to your meal rotation!
Italian Sausage Soup ingredients:
This recipe is a flavor bomb that’s made up of super simple ingredients!
- Italian Sausage: you can use either mild or spicy depending on your heat preferences.
- Carrot, Onion, Celery, and Bell Pepper: a colorful blend of veggies that gives the soup an extra nutrition boost and adds so much texture.
- Minced Garlic: I keep a jar of pre-minced garlic in the fridge so it’s available whenever I need it, but you can also mince or finely chop your own garlic.
- Italian Seasoning and Salt: the Italian sausage and chicken broth already contribute so much flavor to the soup, but I like to add more Italian seasonings and a touch of salt to take it up a notch.
- Chicken Broth: I recommend using low sodium chicken broth so you can control the saltiness of your soup. If you’re using regular broth, you may want to adjust the amount of salt you add yourself.
- Ditalini Pasta: I think the size of ditalini pasta incorporates perfectly with the other ingredients but really any bite-sized pasta shape will work. (Got extra? Try this Ditalini Pasta with Bacon and Peas next!)
- Spinach: I use fresh spinach to add at the end. If you’re using frozen spinach, you’ll want to add it sooner so that it has time to cook.
- Grated Parmesan: to top it off! I recommend freshly grating the cheese for the best texture.
How to make Italian Sausage Soup
This hearty Italian sausage soup is made in just one pot which makes for super easy prep and even easier cleanup! Scroll down to the recipe card for complete instructions.
- Cook the sausage and veggies: in a large pot, add Italian sausage, carrots, onion, celery, and peppers. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until the sausage is browned and the onions are translucent.
- Simmer with seasonings and broth: stir in Italian seasoning, garlic, and salt, cook for one minute, then stir in chicken broth, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to medium, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add pasta: add in your uncooked noodles and simmer, stirring often, until the pasta is cooked to desired doneness. I recommend cooking it al dente according to box directions since it will continue to cook as it sits in the soup.
- Finish and serve: mix in fresh spinach, sprinkle with parmesan, then serve and enjoy!
Can I use another type of meat?
Yes! You can easily swap the Italian pork sausage out for Italian turkey sausage, plain pork or turkey sausage, chicken sausage, or ground beef.
Keep in mind, Italian sausage is pretty heavily seasoned, so if you use something else you may want to add more seasonings to the soup!
Variations/substitutions for Italian Sausage Soup
- Add more veggies. This soup is already pretty packed with veggies but you can boost the nutrition even more by adding mushrooms zucchini, kale, broccoli, peas, you name it.
- Make it creamy. If you prefer a creamier texture, mix in a splash of half-and-half or heavy cream.
- Use another pasta. You can use any smaller pasta shape. Try it with orzo, macaroni, rotini, pasta shells, or even cheese tortellini!
- Spice it up. Give the soup a kick of heat by using spicy Italian sausage, adding diced jalapeño, a sprinkling in a touch of red pepper flakes.
- Make it meatless. You can easily swap the Italian sausage for a meatless variety or use beans instead. Keep in mind, this may require you to add more seasonings.
- Make Italian sausage tomato soup. You can easily make this Italian sausage soup into tomato soup by mixing in tomato sauce, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes.
Serving suggestions
With protein, veggies, and carbs, this Italian sausage soup can very easily be a complete meal all on its own!
However, if you do want to fill out your meal a bit, you can serve it next to a simple side salad with Italian dressing, homemade breadsticks, some of my Mom’s Homemade Buns, or Cheesy Garlic Bread!
How to store
I recommend serving this Italian sausage soup right away for the best pasta texture. However, leftovers will last in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Can I freeze this soup?
You can, but I recommend doing so before you add the pasta. To freeze, assemble the soup as directed up until you add the pasta. Let it cool completely, then place it in an airtight container and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to enjoy, thaw the broth and veggie mixture in the fridge, bring to a simmer on the stove, then add in the pasta and finish out the recipe as directed.
More soup recipes to try
- Vegetable Soup — easily vegetarian and loaded with nutritious veggies!
- Beef and Tomato Macaroni Soup — comforting and nostalgic.
- Sausage Tortellini Soup — Italian sausage in a flavorful tomato broth with tortellini.
- Smoked Sausage Minestrone — made with just 6 main ingredients!
- Beef and Barley Soup — a classic for good reason!
Easy Italian Sausage Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage (mild or spicy) casings removed
- 3 large carrots (peeled and diced)
- 1 medium onion (peeled and diced)
- 2 ribs celery (sliced)
- 1 red bell pepper (finely chopped)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 7 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 ½ cups Ditali or another small pasta (dry)
- 1 cup fresh, chopped spinach
- freshly grated Parmesan to serve
Instructions
- In a large pot or dutch oven, add crumbled Italian sausage (remove casings if it has them), carrots, onion, celery and pepper. Cook and stir for 5 minutes or until sausage is browned and onions are translucent.
- Stir in Italian seasoning, garlic and salt and cook 1 minute.
- Add chicken broth, scraping the bottom of the pot well to remove any stuck on bits.
- Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 10 minutes or until vegetables are nearly tender.
- Stir in pasta and cook, stirring often, until pasta is cooked to desired doneness, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in fresh spinach. Sprinkle with Parmesan if desired and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Faith says
I want to know if I could put tortellini in this soup.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Faith! Yes, it will be similar to this sausage tortellini soup recipe: https://www.thereciperebel.com/sausage-tortellini-soup/ Enjoy!
JoeW says
Very easy, and I got to use up a bunch of “partial” veggies.
Scales well, too.
Joe
Morgan Rousset says
I want to absolutely thank you for this inspiring soup! I did make my own altercations but overall same direction and I don’t know how to explain how friggin good it smells in my house right now!!!
J says
Delish!!!
The Recipe Rebel says
Thanks!
Laurie K says
No spinach here, but have everything else and it’s 30 degrees below zero outside. We are not going anywhere. I think we’ll give this a try without it. I am thinking this sounds delicious even without it!! It’s 9:40 in the morning and I’m already drooling at the thought of it!!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hope you enjoy it Laurie!
Lucy says
I’m adding a 5 star rating to my previous comment!
The Recipe Rebel says
Thanks!
Lucy says
This soup eats like a meal! It was delicious.
The Recipe Rebel says
Thanks Lucy!
RJ says
Great recipe. Thank you for sharing. I used chicken Italian sausage, crushed fire roasted tomatoes and used a pre made tub of mirepoix to save time.
The Recipe Rebel says
Glad you enjoyed it, RJ!
Tracy Mcmaster says
I absolute loved this soup!!! So tasty and healthy!
Tasty for the whole family. I love a one pot dinner ❤️🙌
The Recipe Rebel says
Glad to hear, Tracy.
Melanie says
Fantastic! We used 1 1/2 lbs sausage & 1 cup ditalini. Will definitely make again.
The Recipe Rebel says
Happy to hear!
Sydneyve says
I made this tonight for dinner and it was delicious! The whole family ate it right up, my 3 year old loved it so much she forgot to chew and swallowed the spoon fulls whole. 😂 it had a hint of spice, I used the mild Italian sausage. My last onion went bad so I used onion powder, 1 tablespoon and 1/2 tablespoon of onion powder for substitute. Thank you very much for the recipe! 10/10!
The Recipe Rebel says
Great to hear!
Ardis says
I never leave reviews!
This soup has been on been on low and slow in my cast iron Dutch oven all afternoon~minus the pasta, which I will cook separately because…nobody wants pasta mush.
The recipe as is, is delicious but after a few hours, I added a 15 ounce can of tomato sauce and and couple squirts of tomato paste. I adore anything tomato~y so forgive my additional ingredients because truly~it needs nothing more than you have in your recipe.
I know my husband will have some of this but I’m the soup lover and will likely consume most of it over the next couple days.
I just love your recipes!
Also, we’ll be in Manitoba next year as we await our train to Churchill. That clicks off all of our 50 and your 10+3!
Pay no attention to me sitting in your front yard sniffing the delicious smells from your kitchen! 😂😂😂
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Ardis! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review! Enjoy your trip!
Jenna says
I’ll be making very with fall weather finally starting! Would a sweet sausage work in this recipe???
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Jenna! It should work. Enjoy!
Amy says
Made this today. Subbed yellow squash (zucchini) for red pepper and threw in some tomatoes I needed to use up. Use whatever veggies you have- it’s a very forgiving recipe! I was a bit skeptical because of how few spices this took, but it was amazing! I did use low sodium chicken broth and mild Italian sausage. I think if you would use the regular, it would be too salty. Great soup going into fall.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Amy! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for this kind review!
Liesa B. says
This was the first soup I’ve made and it was EASY and DELICIOUS! Thank you so much.
I did end up using chicken bouillon instead of chicken broth and only parsley instead of Italian seasoning.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Liesa! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Courtney says
This was delicious!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Courtney! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Robb says
The Italian sausage soup turned out great. With the sausage, garlic and Italian seasoning it was a bit salty. I’ll season to taste next time
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Robb! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Jessica says
Easy and DELICIOUS! I followed the recipe exactly as written and it was a perfect meal for a cold night. The hardest (or rather the most time consuming part) was cutting the vegetables! This is definitely going into my soup rotation.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Jessica! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!