Italian Sausage Soup

This post may contain affiliate links. See my privacy policy for details.

This hearty Italian sausage soup is loaded with protein, vegetables and pasta making it a complete meal in a soup bowl! It is basically like a meatball soup with Italian sausage, what’s not to love?

For more tasty Italian sausage recipes, why not learn How to Cook Sausage and have them plain, which is how we usually enjoy them. You can even make Air Fryer Italian sausage!

Italian Sausage Soup

Italian sausage is one of the great sausage types; spicy, salty, and maybe just a little bit sweet – what’s not to like?

However, you don’t just have to put it on a pizza or meatball subs. This recipe for Italian sausage soup lets the sausage really shine through while also packing in plenty of beans, vegetables, and a rich tomato sauce.

Despite Italian sausage being more of an Italian American food than a true Italian recipe, this soup should still fill you up and give you all of those super comforting dinners, just like your non-existent Italian grandmother used to make.   

Italian Sausage Soup Ingredients

Make sure you look at the recipe card at the very bottom for the exact amounts so that you know exactly what to buy for this recipe.

• Ground Italian sausage

• White onion

• Sliced carrots

• Garlic cloves

• Chicken broth

• Can of fire-roasted diced stewed tomatoes

• Can of cannellini beans

• Dried basil

• Bay leaf

• Zucchini

• Ditalini pasta

• Spinach

• Salt & pepper  

How To Make Italian Sausage Soup

• In a large stockpot, brown the sausage with the onions and carrots

• Cook until the sausage is no longer pink

• Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant

• Stir in the broth, tomatoes, beans, basil, and bay leaf, seasoning with salt & pepper

• Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes

• Stir in the zucchini and pasta

• Simmer for 10 more minutes, or until everything is tender

• Remove from the heat and add the spinach

• Replace the lid, allowing the heat from the soup to cook the spinach leaves, about 5 minutes

• Season again to taste, and then serve

Do You Need To Use Ditalini Pasta For This Recipe?

This recipe calls for ditalini pasta, which is definitely not a pasta type that most people would expect to see regularly.

However, the use of the tiny, round ditalini is the absolute perfect pasta choice for this recipe.

You don’t want a larger, chunkier pasta like penne or rigatoni, as that would overwhelm the dish, as well as soak up too much of the sauce.

The pasta needs to be more of an added extra – it serves as the carb base for the soup, but it should still have the consistency of a soup.

If you struggle to find ditalini, either order it online or check any kind of specialty store in your area.

Just in case you absolutely cannot get ditalini pasta wherever you live, take some spaghetti and cut it into super small pieces using a pair of sharp scissors. It won’t have any of the great texture ditalini usually has, but it’ll be a close runner-up.

Types of Italian Sausage to Use

Italian sausage is absolutely everywhere in North America. However, it isn’t as present outside of North America, especially so in Italy, ironically, where it isn’t really well known at all.

You can use either hot, sweet, or mild Italian sausage in this recipe, all of them work well!

If you can’t find ground Italian sausage, simply buy some that are in the casing and remove the inner ground meat, discarding the casing, and cook it as directed.

Looking for more delicious Soup recipes? Try these out:

• New England Clam Chowder

• Beer Cheese Soup

• French Onion Soup

Enjoy!

Love,

Karlynn

Pin this recipe to your SOUPS & STEW RECIPES Board and Remember to FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST!