Creamy Sausage, Potato and Spinach Soup Recipe
When the weather turns cooler I’m all about making a hearty soup. I find them to be a great way to feed your family, stretch some meat and have a complete meal in one pot. This creamy sausage potato soup recipe is an easy recipe I hope you make often this Fall!
A Warm Bowl of Soup
Technically some of you may call this zuppa toscana soup, but once I’m done with making a recipe my own, I’m not sure if that’s what we have here anymore. I went looking to create this recipe after realizing I had some Italian sausage I didn’t want to use in spaghetti, some potatoes I needed to cook, and a huge box of spinach that didn’t quite all get used in smoothies.
I also wanted to create this comfort food after some good memories at Olive Garden over the past several years. You heard that right. Olive Garden has become our somewhat healthy road trip food, especially when you’ve been driving long enough to not want fast food and really want soup and salad, forget the calorie count. We always ordered lots of both and felt like our bodies were a bit more full of vegetables afterwards. Making a soup that’s a nod to olive garden’s zuppa toscana for soup season just felt right.
Some Soup Season Variations
This recipe makes a lot. I always like to have leftovers and I also always like to stretch a meat in a recipe. You could double the sausage, but you then may not have enough room for the broth so just be aware of that. Soup works well for busy weeknights, lunches in a thermos and heats up well as leftovers. This with some bread and salad and we’ll be good!
I start most all soups with onion, celery and carrots which may be where I started heading down a different path than traditional zuppa tosacana, but I love the taste of all these things in soup and can’t help myself. I also used beef bone broth I had made but you can easily use regular beef, chicken stock or vegetable broth here as well.
When it comes to seasoning, season as you go with salt and pepper. This soup can handle it and you’ll know how salty your family will want it. Soup is very easy to adjust seasonings for. Realize last minute you don’t have fresh garlic? Use garlic powder. Want to try spicy Italian sausage in place of mild Italian sausage? That’s an easy swap.
Dairy Options
Want to go dairy free? Opt for coconut milk. You could also add regular milk instead of heavy cream, but here’s a case where I think heavy cream has it’s place. It’s made for soups and pasta’s when you want that extra creamy texture. I will say the soup separated once the leftovers were placed in the fridge, but it came back together just fine when reheated. I may have had an “appetizer bowl” before sitting down to type this, just to verify for you guys that it was still yummy.
All the Vegetables
Don’t have spinach? Add Kale. Don’t have potatoes? Add cannellini beans. Once you get the hang of soups it’s a good staple. I think soup may need to hit our meal planning each Sunday so we have some good lunches in the days ahead, and then maybe again on Thursday when I’m too tired for a big cooking day on Friday. All the meal planning tips for you guys!
There are so many ways to add lots of flavor to soups so that my recipe turns into a family favorite for you. Serve with parmesan cheese on top and maybe some crushed red pepper flakes. Warm up with a big bowl during the cold weather months to come!
Creamy Sausage, Potato and Spinach Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 package sweet Italian sausage casings removed (about 5 links)
- 1 onion chopped
- 3-4 carrot peeled and chopped
- 4 celery stalks chopped
- 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 3 tbsp. butter
- 2 tbsp. flour
- 10 cups beef broth
- 3-4 russet potatoes peed and cubed
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2-3 hand fulls of fresh spinach or one small bag
Instructions
- To start, remove the casings from your sausage and crumble in a large dutch oven until cooked through. Sausage already has a lot of seasoning and flavor which is great for the soup!
- With a slotted spoon remove the cooked sausage and cook your onion, celery and carrots in the sausage grease. Season with salt and pepper. Add your Italian seasoning and oregano.
- Once the vegetables are tender, about 5-8 minutes, add the butter and melt, then add in your flour to help thicken things.
- Add in your beef broth or other stock and then the potatoes. Bring to a boil and then simmer about 10 minutes of until the potatoes are fork tender.
- On simmer add back your sausage and add in your heavy cream and the spinach. Allow the spinach to wilt. Check the soup for seasoning and enjoy warm!
