Easy Sausage Potato Soup
- PREP 10min
- COOK 40min
- TOTAL 50min
You will love this easy sausage and potato soup recipe with Italian sausage, potatoes, garlic, and kale. The soup is comforting and ultra-flavorful.
For the best potato soup, use Yukon Gold potatoes. They have thin skins, so it is not necessary to peel them. They also become buttery and soft when cooked. The red pepper flakes add heat to the soup. You may want to eliminate the red pepper flakes if you use hot (spicy) Italian sausage to make the soup.
You Will Need
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound fresh Italian sausage links, casings removed
2 cups chopped onion, 1 medium onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic, 3 cloves
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, depending on spice preference
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
1 ½ pounds potatoes, cubed, 2 to 3 medium
5 cups chicken stock or broth, see our chicken stock recipe
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup heavy cream or use half and half
4 cups chopped kale leaves with ribs removed or use baby kale
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, optional (2 ounces)
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sausage. Cook, breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon until crispy, about 10 minutes.
Add the onions and cook, stirring every few minutes, until they begin to soften; 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper. Cook the garlic and spices around the pan while stirring for about 1 minute.
Add the bay leaf, thyme, and potatoes. Pour in the stock. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook until the broth reaches a simmer, but before it begins to boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover the pot with a lid, and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through, about 15 minutes. As the soup cooks, stir every once in a while. If the soup simmers more aggressively, turn down the heat a bit.
Uncover the soup and remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Stir in the cream, kale, and parmesan cheese. Add a small pinch of nutmeg, and then taste the soup for seasoning. Adjust with more salt and pepper as needed.
Reduce the heat to low, cover with the lid, and cook until the kale is wilted and soft, about 5 minutes more.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Cream is best, but if milk is all you have, here are our tips for using milk in soup while preventing it from curdling: Use warm milk and don’t boil the soup. Before adding the milk, warm it slightly in the microwave or on the stove. Adding the milk warm prevents it from curdling when hitting the hot pan. It’s also important to not let the soup boil aggressively. You want it to cook at a low simmer, which also prevents the milk from curdling.
- For a creamier and thicker soup, grab a potato masher and just before adding the kale, mash some of the potatoes in the pot.
- The kale softens in the soup over time. If you like extra soft and tender kale, leave the lid on the pot and keep warm for 10 to 15 minutes more.
- For a lightened up version, replace the pork sausage with chicken or turkey sausage and substitute the cream/milk for additional stock.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.