Creamy Parmesan Italian Sausage Soup
This creamy parmesan Italian sausage soup is my husband and I's favorite pork-based soup! We recently got a package of cold-smoked Italian sausage at a local farm up the road, so I knew I had to make something special with it. So I created this creamy, savory soup full of parmesan, spinach, and, of course, sausage!
Ingredients
- 1/3 lb. bulk Italian sausage (mild or hot)
- 1/2 of a yellow or white onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup vegetable broth (low sodium)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 cup half and half
- 1/3 cup small pasta (elbows or similar sized)
- 1/4 cup spinach, chopped (regular or baby spinach)
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat a medium-sized pot on medium heat for about 2 minutes until hot.
- Add in ground sausage and cook for 7-8 minutes on medium-heat until browned. While it’s cooking be sure to use a spatula or spoon to chop it into crumbles. (It will stick a little on the pan but once we add the broth it’ll deglaze.)
- While this is cooking, fine dice your onion and chop the spinach so it’s in small pieces as well.
- Remove sausage from pot and leave any grease in.
- Add diced onion and minced garlic cloves to the pot. If you need, add 1 tsp of avocado or olive oil.
- Cook for 2 minutes on medium until onions are translucent.
- Add in vegetable broth and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
- Then turn heat down to low-medium and add in salt, pepper, half and half, pasta, spinach, and cooked sausage.
- Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes until pasta is el dente (soft with a bite). Uncover and stir occasionally while cooking.
- Once the pasta is cooked, uncover and stir in grated parmesan. Enjoy with extra Parmesan grated on top if desired!
Notes
Slow Cooker Version
- Dice the onion and bell pepper.
- Add all ingredients into your slow cooker (including uncooked sausage)
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-7 hours.
- Break the sausage up into small pieces and serve with extra parmesan!