Sausage White Bean Soup

Sausage white bean soup makes a healthy, easy meal for dinner on chilly nights. Filled with wholesome ingredients like peppers, white beans, and chicken sausage, this comforting soup will warm you up after a cold winter day.

On a cold winter night, there’s nothing like coming home to a bowl of cozy soup for dinner. What makes this soup so amazing is that it only uses a few ingredients and comes together in a snap! Plus, it has such a rich and creamy broth full of spices, garlic, and nutritional yeast that sure is comforting when it’s cold out. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

What to serve with Sausage White Bean Soup

Although this soup is so yummy and filling that you don’t need to serve it with anything else, dipping sourdough in this soup makes it even better! Here are a few ideas of easy breads you can serve alongside this soup:

• Sourdough Overnight Bread
• Sourdough Baguettes
• Sourdough Discard Biscuits
• Sourdough Dinner Rolls
• Sourdough Garlic Bread

These are all great, but my favorite way to serve this soup is in Sourdough Bread Bowls.

When to add sausage to bean soup?

The easiest time to add sausage to bean soup is at the beginning! Before adding the vegetables, cook the sausage in 1/2 cup of chicken broth for 5 minutes or so so that they brown a bit. If you cook the sausage after the vegetables, the bottom of the pot will be crowded and the sausage won’t be able to brown.

Why should you always rinse canned beans?

Rinsing canned beans removes extra salt that they were packaged in, so it’s a great idea if you need to be careful about how much sodium you consume. Additionally, if you don’t rinse the beans beforehand, they will release extra liquid as they cook, making the soup watery. It only takes a few extra seconds to rinse, but will make your soup taste so much better!

Tips for making Sausage White Bean Soup

• While this soup only takes about 25-30 minutes to make, if you want an even easier way to prepare this recipe you can use a crock pot! Once you’ve prepped the ingredients, add them to a slow cooker, turn to a medium-low setting, and let cook all day.
• If you prefer to use regular milk rather than coconut, you absolutely can. Just be careful to heat the soup on low heat once you add the milk so that it does not curdle on you! (Would not recommend using the slow cooker if you’re using regular milk)
• Have extra veggies on hand? Mushrooms, onions, carrots, tomatoes, and potatoes would all be delicious additions to this soup. Peel and cut them, then heat them in the pot with the garlic and peppers. If you use potatoes or carrots, make sure to allow extra time for them to cook through.
• This soup will last for about 5 days in the fridge. Store in an air-tight container and reheat in the microwave or on the stove for a quick dinner.
• You can also freeze this soup if you want! Just portion the soup into gallon sized ziplock bags and freeze for up to 3 months.

Tools you will need

To make this soup, you’ll want a large stove pot with a lid, a cutting board, knife, and spatula.

Ingredients you will need

• 16oz chicken sausage links – I like using Sabatino’s Chicken Sausages from Costco. They’re pre-cooked and have an Italian seasoning that pairs well with the spices in this soup.
• 7-8 small red peppers – You can also use 3 large red bell peppers.
• 15oz can white beans – You can use cannellini or great northern beans for this.
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast – This could be replaced with parmesan if you prefer; the nutritional yeast is meant to keep this recipe dairy-free.
• 4 cups coconut milk – You can use full-fat or light coconut milk.
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 3-4 cups spinach – Can be fresh or frozen.
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp red pepper

How to make Sausage White Bean Soup

Place a large pot on the stove and heat to medium heat.

Cut the sausages into bite sized pieces. Add to the pot with 1/2 cup of chicken broth, and cook until they are slightly browned, about 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and mince the garlic. Chop the red peppers finely.

Add the garlic and peppers to the pot with the spices, and the nutritional yeast, and cook until softened and aromatic, about 2-3 minutes.

Drain the white beans and add them to the soup along with the rest of the chicken broth, coconut milk, and the bay leaves.

Cover, and cook the soup for 15-20 minutes until heated through. Stir in the spinach, and cook for a minute or two so that it wilts. Serve with your favorite sourdough bread!

Mix it up!

Don’t have all the ingredients you need to make this soup? Here are a few easy swaps you can make that will still taste delicious!

• Use ground chicken or pork instead of pre-cooked sausages.
• Switch up the veggies – tomatoes, carrots, onions, spinach, or potatoes are all great options.
• If you can tolerate dairy, replace the nutritional yeast with parmesan or shredded mozzarella.
• Replace the white beans with chickpeas or lentils if you like.

Let me know if you have a fun variation on this recipe in the comments section below!

Did you enjoy this recipe?

If you’re looking for more healthy dinner ideas, be sure to head over to the Kitchen Counter! Here are a few dairy-free recipes you might enjoy:

• Cream of Turkey Soup
• Chicken and Chickpea Soup
• Curried Carrot Soup
• Tuscan Chicken Pasta
• Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
• Mediterranean Chicken Stuffed Bell Peppers

If you make these this recipe and enjoy it, let me know in the comments section below! You can also tag me on instagram @oldfashionedinspiration with a picture of your creation.