It is difficult sometimes to think of delicious and interesting dishes to make for dinner. You would think that it comes so easily and so naturally to me, constantly being around food and all. The truth of the matter is that even for me, a self-proclaimed foodie, it is rather tough at times to create new and exciting recipes for dinner. There are days when I am all out of ideas and absolutely nothing comes to mind. There are no creative juices left, and I am left to ponder the age old question. “What are we having for dinner tonight?” Sure it would be easier to eat out and not have to worry about cooking, but that even becomes stressful. Where do I go for dinner? What shall I eat? There are so many choices out there that it becomes overwhelming and suddenly staying in, cooking a simple dinner at home in my own kitchen, sounds very appetizing once again. And I am back to where I started. I will then force myself, as a last resort, to go to the grocery store and see what looks good. At times I will think of something to cook, there on the spot, as I surround myself with what the market has to offer on that particular day.
I am often asked how is it that I come up with my recipes? Where do I get inspiration? How do I even begin to formulate ideas, brainstorm, and test out my recipes? I think it is nearly impossible to say that a recipe is completely thought up or originally invented by one particular person, especially nowadays. After all, how many ways are there to make a soup? They pretty much all start the same way with mostly similar ingredients; veggies, stock, and some sort of protein. Cooking or baking is not necessarily about inventing a recipe from scratch all on your own—because I think although completely doable—it would prove to be difficult in some way, shape, or form because yours would inevitably be similar to someone else’s out there in the world. It is only logical. It is okay to draw inspiration from someone else’s recipe. It is when you begin to change ingredients, swap out amounts, add here and take away there, that it really becomes your recipe. It starts to take shape and become a piece of you. Then, and only then, when you have perfected your new dish and have made it several times can you call it your recipe with pride.
My ideas come from other food blogs, magazines, books, online research and friends and family. Sometimes I even formulate ideas based solely on images I find online. I will stumble upon a delicious looking photograph on the internet and begin to research recipes, combining ingredients and methods from all different sources to make the recipe my own. Then finally when I get around to testing out a recipe and actually making it, I will change things as I go along. Adding seasonings or ingredients that I know will go well together or enhance the overall flavors. That comes from experience of trial and error. In this day and age, we all take inspiration from someone or something. A dish we once tried at a restaurant. A recipe we stumbled upon online. A magazine article with a simple and easy dinner idea. A cookbook we have booked marked all throughout, vowing to trying out some of the dishes inside. It is rather simple to formulate ideas, if you think about it. After all food is all around us. Why not start creating your own kitchen masterpieces?
This is probably the easiest recipe on the planet. It seems silly to even photograph it and post it up on the site, BUT it is probably one of the most tastiest of soups I’ve ever had. So it is worth putting it up after all. A mere 40 something images, this is probably my shortest post to-date. Yay for firsts! And if it isn’t, let’s pretend it is. I’m too lazy to check my facts.
We start by heating up a large heavy duty pot. I like to use a dutch oven, any large pot will do.
Turn the heat up to medium-high.
We begin with spicy Italian sausage.
Two notes. First off, I’m using a spicy chicken sausage, but if you want to use the traditional pork variety, by all means use that instead.
Second note, if you’re not much of a spicy food person, feel free to use the sweet Italian sausage or a mild sausage. The choice is up to you. No matter what you decide on, it’ll taste just as wonderful.
Okay I lied, there are three notes, lastly if you find the sausage in a package, just remove the casing before you cook the sausage. I found mine at the butcher counter, by the pound. Saves me a step.
Drop the sausage into the hot pot, and begin to crumble it with a wooden spoon.
It doesn’t have to be a wooden spoon, you can use whatever utensil you’d like to use really, I just find it easier to crumble the sausage with a wooden spoon. It’s sturdier.
Continue to cook the sausage, breaking it up and stirring it constantly, until it has browned and crisped.
Once the sausage is done, using a slotted spoon, transfer the browned sausage to a bowl or plate. Set aside.
We have to cook some onions and garlic and the sausage will get in the way.
Resist the urge to grab a spoon, or in my case a slice of bread, and eat the sausage.
You can try a tiny bit, you know to make sure it’s good, but that’s it.
It needs to go into the soup, remember that.
Okay in the meantime move the pot from the heat, or just turn it off while you cut the veggies, you don’t want the pot to burn.
You’ll need a very large onion. I had two small ones, so I cut up two. But one large onion will do if you have that on hand.
If you have tiny onions, chop about three of them. This recipe isn’t very precise so you can wing it. I’m making cooking dinner easier on you.
Cut off the ends of the onion, cut it in half and peel away the skin.
Give it a rough slice and dice. Again, this isn’t supposed to be precise at all. This is a rough soup, let’s be kitchen roughians. That’s not a word at all. I’m making up words, folks.
It’s a rustic soup so whenever you hear the word “rustic” I give you permission to hack away at the veggies. Relieve some stress. Take out your problems and frustration on the onion.
Do the same thing to a couple of garlic cloves. I’m putting three into the recipe when I write it up, but if you like garlic add more. If you don’t like garlic, get some help, I kid I kid, just add less.
Okay, place the pot back over the heat, or turn on the flame if you turned it off. Allow the pot to heat up over medium heat.
Don’t worry about all the crusty stuff at the bottom of the pot. And don’t you dare clean the pot before adding the onions or even think about getting a new one out. All that crispy goodness at the bottom is nothing but pure unadulterated flavor! That flavor is going to give the soup such depth.
Just add a pat of butter. How much is a pat? As much as you’d like. Meh, I used about two tablespoons.
Allow the butter to melt, not burn or brown. Add the chopped onions and minced garlic.
Give it all a good stir to evenly coat in the butter. As you stir and the onions begin to cook and “sweat out,” all the bits of sausage at the bottom will lift up. That’s the flavor.
Sauté the onions and garlic for a bit, once they begin to soften add the seasoning.
Freshly cracked black pepper, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes (which is completely optional).
**Note: The sausage is spicy already, but I like spice so I’m adding a bit more to the soup. If you are using sweet Italian sausage and still want a little kick, add a tad of the crushed red pepper flakes. If you’re just opposed to spicy all around, then you can omit it.**
Stir in the seasonings and continue to cook the onions and garlic until they are caramelized, about 5 more minutes.
Let’s turn our attention to one of the other main ingredients; the kale.
**Tip: Kale is my life at the moment. I’ve been making kale chips which is the easiest snack to make. Cut up the kale. Wash it. Dry it. Place it on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place in a 350º F oven and bake, turning occasionally, until the kale gets crispy. Remove from the oven and eat. Presto: kale chips.**
But we aren’t making kale chips. The kale is going into our soup. So forget about that thought. Get it out of your mind.
Kale is sold in big bunches with large stems. Normally the stems are too thick and you can’t really eat it, so just strip off the leafy greens from the stems. Give it a wash and completely dry.
I cheated and bought the sack of kale that is already cleaned, stemmed and cut. Let’s be lazy together, get the bag too folks.
It’ll save you a lot of time!
Anyhow, I digress, add the chopped kale to the cooking onions and garlic. It’ll seem like too much kale for the soup or for the pot itself, add it in batches and allow it to wilt down. It’s just like spinach when it cooks, it’ll wilt down to practically nothing.
As the kale cooks, let’s turn our attention to one of the other main ingredients, the potatoes.
Russet baking potatoes, the kind with the brown skin. That’s what I had on hand so that’s what I’m using.
Plus I think they hold better in the soup without overcooking quickly and becoming mush. You can peel the potatoes if you want to, but why would you want to? That’s where all the nutrients are. And also I’m too lazy to peel potatoes, it’s probably the worst job in the kitchen. Time consuming and tedious. Leave the skins on thank you very much.
Just give them a good scrub and slice them. I cut them in half, longwise first, and then do “half moon” shapes that are about half of an inch thick. Just make sure they are all the same size so they cook evenly.
Okay back to the kale.
Once it is completely cooked and wilted down, it will look bright green, just like this:
I like to throw in a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg at this point.
Why? Because nutmeg enhances the flavor of greens. Don’t add a lot where people will be able to pin point it and say “Wow there is nutmeg in here!” Translation, “Woah! You over did it with the nutmeg. It’s stuck in my throat. Can I have some water?”
You don’t want that.
Just a pinch will do.
Add the sliced potatoes.
Also throw in the browned sausage from earlier, if there is any left from your snacking.
Stir everything together.
And now for the broth. I’m using chicken broth.
**Note: Feel free to use homemade chicken stock or even store bought stock if you’d prefer. I think that all the other ingredients already have tons of flavor so chicken broth does the job. It blends in nicely. Also I had broth on hand and not stock BUT my logic makes sense. Use whatever you’d like. I wish I could be like Ina Garten or Martha Stewart and say “Oh yea I always have homemade chicken stock on hand.” Well I don’t. I don’t have that kind of time or patience. Who does? Store bought is just fine by me. Just make sure it’s low-sodium that way you can control the salt that goes in.**
I added about two whole boxes of broth. Which is about 6-8 cups? Somewhere in between there. I’m guesstimating. Again, lazy to fact check.
Allow the broth or stock, let’s just call it liquid, to come up to a boil.
You can place a lid on it to speed up the process. Once the liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat and allow it to simmer away until the potatoes are cooked and soft.
Be careful not to over cook or over boil the soup as the potatoes can easily become mushy, since they are sliced thin.
You see how rich and dark brown the broth has gotten? That’s all the flavor from the bottom of the pot. At this point you can taste the soup and see if the seasoning is right. It might need a bit more salt, pepper, or crushed red pepper, you decide. Add to your liking.
Once the potatoes are cooked perfectly, and your stomach is growling so much out of hunger and you’re about to punch someone if you don’t get a bowl of soup pronto, the soup is done.
There is just one more step which is completely optional.
All this low sodium chicken broth, chicken sausage and veggies is just too healthy for my book. It’s January, the perfect month for comfort food and not giving a damn about eating right. So I added some heavy cream. And by some I mean more than a splash.
You can use whole milk if you’d prefer, or just omit it all together. I like the rich texture the cream gives the soup, taking it over the edge.
Give the soup one final stir and you are officially done. Easiest dinner ever, right?
Serve it up in bowls and if you’re cool like me, you’ll have awesome bowls marked “soup” on them. If not, your soup won’t taste the same and you shouldn’t even bother making it. I’m kidding of course. It doesn’t matter what bowls you serve it in, it will still taste exactly the same.
I originally had this soup at an ok-restaurant with a friend of mine. As we sat there, drinking our wine and eating our soup, we started discussing how good the soup was and how simple it seemed. We vowed we’d try to make it at home ourselves. This is what I came up with. I didn’t have amounts exactly listed as I began experimenting. I just eyeballed the whole thing the first time around. Then as I continued to make it, I revised it here and added there. It eventually came together as you see it here. I still have to reiterate that this is probably the easiest recipe on here.
In the last post, Rosemary Parmesan Focaccia, I promised you a soup recipe if you recall, and here it is. This soup would be even better with homemade focaccia to dip. I don’t want to make you work harder, but come on, doesn’t that sound delicious? I think so. Warm, fresh out-of-the-oven bread with a hearty comforting soup like this, it doesn’t get any better than soup and bread for dinner. Enjoy!
- 1 pound spicy italian sausage (I used chicken but pork is good too)
- 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- 2 large bunches of kale, stemmed and chopped, about 4 overflowing handfuls
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 4 medium or 2 large russet baking potatoes, sliced
- 8 cups chicken broth or stock, 2 boxes
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Heat a large heavy-duty pot over medium-high heat. Once the pot has heated through, add the sausage, which you removed from the casing. Using a wooden spoon, begin to break up the sausage and allow it to cook, stirring occasionally, until it has fully browned. Remove the crisped sausage from the pot and transfer it to a plate or bowl. Set aside.
- Lower the heat to medium, add the butter or oil and throw in the onions and garlic. Stir, scraping down the bottom of the pot picking up the browned bits of sausage with the back of a wooden spoon, and cook until soft and translucent about 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes, if using. Continue to sauté until the onions have caramelized. Add the chopped kale in batches, allowing it to wilt down as it cooks. It might seem like a lot of kale but it will cook down, just like spinach! Add the nutmeg and stir. Cook the kale for another 3 minutes until it has turned bright green and completely wilted down. Throw in the sliced potatoes and cooked sausage.
- Pour in the chicken stock or broth and bring it up to a boil. Lower the heat and allow the soup to simmer until the potatoes are cooked tender and soft. Taste the soup for seasoning, at this point you may add more salt, pepper or red pepper flakes, if desired. Once the potatoes are fully cooked, stir in the heavy cream. Serve right away with some bread on the side. Enjoy!
This is like the soup at Olive Garden. I make it all the time. It’s a delicious, rustic soup.
That is the restaurant where I first tried it. After eating it, I knew I wanted to make it at home! 🙂
Omg I made this tonight and it is delicious! Very easy too. Thank you. I’ll be making it many more times!
It was seriously delicious!! My kids don’t like eating ANY green leafy vegetable, BUT your soup SCORED it!!!! Happy mommy and 3 little healthy monkeys!!! Yaaaaay!!!!
The only difference in how I make this soup is I add 1 lb of crispy bacon! Delish…
your pictures are so enticing I simply had to check out the recipe. I too make a soup similar but I love the added touch of nutmeg. I had stopped adding the cream but it looks so much richer this way. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you very much! It’s just a pinch of nutmeg, but I feel like it makes a world of difference. Cream makes everything better 😉 Thank you for reading!
I just started eating kale (made the kale chips!) but haven’t had it in soup yet, it looks amazing. I love hearty soups like that.
Thank you! I’m new to kale as well, and I’m now addicted. You must try out the soup and let me know what you think!
You just saved my night! I literally was thinking “what can I make that is delicious but easy”, and I stumbled upon your dish. I must add that you are quite funny too. Thanks for being a night saver.
I’m so happy you stumbled upon my recipe as well. I hope you were able to make it for dinner tonight. What’s more, I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you for the compliment, as long as I can make at least one person laugh with my incredibly awful jokes, then I did my job right 😉 Thank you for writing.
This soup looks so hearty and warming. It’s so cold in NYC right now, warm soup looks delicious.
Thank you very much. I’ve heard how cold it is in NYC right now. It’s been in the 80’s over here in LA, I’ll gladly switch with you so I can have some of this soup. I hope you give this a try, stay warm.
I’m so glad I ran into this recipe on Huffington this morning. This soup sounds perfect for the chilly weather. Great job breaking down the steps for those culinarily challenged, like myself! I know what I’m making for me and the Mrs tonight!
I’m even more glad you came across the recipe as well!! I hope that you and the Mrs. liked it!! Let me know how it came out. I’m also glad to hear that the photos and breakdown of the recipe helps. Thanks!
Love your pictures, recipe, and wit! You can cook for me anytime. No wait I have to cook it myself, don’t I. I see this dinner appearing in my near future. Thank you very much:-)
Thank you very much! Haha, if you’re in California I’ll cook for you anytime. If not, yeah unfortunately you’ll have to make it yourself! But let me know how it turns out! Hope you enjoy it 🙂
Thanks Jonathan! The soup was a huge hit! So spicy, but so many layers and full of flavor. Terrific recipe. I’ll be back for more of your genius ideas!
I’m so happy to hear that Mandy! I look forward to hearing what other recipes you try out!
Can’t wait to try this!
Thanks for the recipe! Had a bag of organic kale and wanted to make some kind of soup with it. Came across your recipe on pinterest and made it last weekend. Oh My Goodness! Me and my hubby loved loved loved it! Had it for dinner a times this past week. My husband couldn’t stop commenting on how good it was! Looking forward to making again! 🙂
You are very welcome! Thank you for trying it out and for the comment. I’m happy to hear that you and your husband enjoyed the soup. I hope you give some of the other recipes a try as well.
Very similar to my Zuppa Tuscana recipe.. ingredients only ( that’s the soup at Olive Garden ) except it also has Panchetta which really makes it !
where did you get those awesome bowls marked soup?! love them! thanks!
I got them from a local thrift store. I love them too!! Thank you!
oh my goodness, my mouth is watering! I am going to make this soup over the weekend for sure.
Great recipe! Long time soup-maker here–and I really loved the ease of this soup. I must admit, I doubled it, made a couple additions, and simmered longer (to blend flavors). Here’s the variation I tried: added cauliflower, carrots (along with the potatoes). Simmered unlidded on lowest heat for about an hour and a half (so as not to overcook/over-reduce). Added the cream–lovely suggestion. Then, also just before serving, added warmed spaetzle (here’s a basic recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/german-spaetzle-dumplings/ that I am certain you could cut or spruce in some creative manner) and a sprinkle of scallion before serving.
I am curious if you have ever tried to add something to bulk up the fibre like barley or lentils?
I have not, but I’m sure it will be great with barley! I’ll have to try it next time!
I’m with you in loving kale and this spicy soup. I always buy the long tuscan kale and eat it about 4 times a week. Nice to see yet one more comforting way to use it. Great picture on pinterest.
Thank you very much! I’m with you! I’m currently addicted to kale. It’s delicious on everything!
This looks fabulous! I had a sausage corn chowder in mind tonight but since I have some kale that needs to be used before I lose it, I’m sooo glad I found you (via Joy = ). Thank you!
Thank you so much! I’m soooo glad you found my blog as well!! I hope you enjoyed the soup last night!!
Johnathan, it was fabulous and I’ve been enjoying leftovers all week. Now for the Irish nachos… = )
I”m so glad you enjoyed it!!
I love your recipes! I stumbled upon you on Pinterest because I was looking for a Potato Balls recipe. Then I found THIS recipe and my God, you’re just amazing lol! I, too, am from southern CA and I love Porto’s! Thanks for your help!
Thank you very much! I’m glad you stumbled upon my site! Gotta love Porto’s, makes you a true South Californian.
This is one of my favorite recipes!! I substituted about 6 small zucchini for the potatos to make it healthier, and it’s just as hearty and delicious.
Wait a minute. Potatoes aren’t healthy?!? 😉 The zucchini sounds delicious!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this recipe!! One of my favorites found on Pinterest. I have tried other so called Zuppa Toscana copycat recipes and none compare to this, it’s even better than the original 🙂 I adapt everything a wee bit so I used chard instead of kale (it’s what I had), 7 cloves of garlic (I love garlic and a few of them were tiny hehe), red potatoes (I think I used 5 medium sized), added a little white wine. Oh, and I saved a few calories and forgot the cream! But it wasn’t needed, it was that good 😉
Good to know on the zucchini comment above too, I almost did that as well, but in addition to the uber healthy potatoes 😀
Add bacon in during the onion cooking and this is our recipe too 🙂 Except for a long time we left out the kale because grocers in our semi rural area didn’t carry it! Now that we’ve joined a CSA, I’m looking forward to getting kale as an excuse to make this.
Thank you so much for the recipe! I love that you posted pictures too! I love the Olive Garden soup too and I’ve tried making it a couple of times, except I used hot sausage and the soup came out kind of orangie colored, LOL! I’m sure yours is going to taste much better than mine, LOL! Guess what I’m making tomorrow??????
This is the best soup ever. I have made my own version and it is good too. I loved reading your descriptions and your photos were excellent! They made me want soup for dinner.
My daughter makes this soup but browns bacon w/sausage….. BEST SOUP!
Golds or red potatoes are a good option for those of us that are diet controlled diabetics and just can’t give up all potatoes. Lower glycemic index. I think I might try it with butternut squash this winter too, just to change things up.
Thank you for the information! Always appreciated! I love the idea of butternut squash soup.
I am a big fan of soup and this one just shot to the top of my Favorites list. It is close to 100 degrees here in Texas, but the pictures looked so appetizing that I had to try it. I am so glad I did! I used kale from my own garden and my husband could not get enough. Thank you so much! I just discovered your website too and can’t wait to try more of your recipes – they all look fantastic. I’ll be in for treat if they all taste as good as this one.
I was just looking for recipes to use the overabundance of kale in my garden! This looks delicious. If I make a double batch, do you think it will freeze ok? Thanks.
This looks amazing! Beautiful photography too! LOVE!
Hi there, Do you think this soup would hold up well in the freezer or do you think the potatoes would get to mushy? I’m getting ready to go on maternity leave and am trying to stock my freezer with yumminess! Thanks so much!
First off, congratulations! And yes this would be great stored in the freezer. I suggest undercooking the potatoes though, so that when you go to reheat it, you can finish cooking the potatoes. That’ll help you avoid mushy taters! Good luck!
Hi Jonathan, I must thank you…..thank you for ……making me laugh out loud with your humor as I read every word of this glorious recipe. I cannot tell you how much I needed to laugh tonight and I found you so very, very unexpectedly! My eyes are puffy from a very rare crying spell but you have lifted my spirits immensely! I’m obsessed with this soup at Olive Garden and I’m soooo happy I now know how to make it myself!….all because of YOU!! Xoxo
Jonathan – this soup rocks. I did it this first real autumn weekend after a long cold hike and it really did the trick. We don’t have fresh Kale here in Germany yet, that needs the first really cold nights for harvesting, but even with froozen kale it was awesome. Thanks. And I will definetly try the chips once the fresh season started ….
Delicious!
Wow just took my first bite… this is fantastic! Thanks for this recipe!!
This soup looks ad sounds delicious! And it’s easy to make! Great idea! Thanks for posting this recipe–I’m gonna give it a try!
I made this last night and it was amazing!! My favorite Pinterest find yet! And my husband was crazy about it too.
I tried this and it was a hit! I will prepare it again. Thanks for the recipe
I made this (with a few of my own touches) and it was beautifully spicy, hearty and delicious!!! A definite keeper according to all who ate it! I added a can of cannellini beans, some oregano & a bay leaf while simmering, then a half cup of fat free half & half at the end. So YUMMY. 🙂
I make this all the time with my students to sell. It’s really the Zuppe Toscana recipe from Olive Garden. Very easy and delicious. You can also substitute fresh or frozen spinach if you can’t find or don’t want to use kale.
Made this for my husband and I, and it was a Hit!! Perfect for a rainy Saturday!! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
-Jess
Oh my goodness, I’m making this right now and it smells like heaven! I’m a vegetarian, so I used Gimme Lean veggie sausage (it tastes EXACTLY the same) and veggie stock. I also used about 10 golden potatoes, and threw in a few sprigs of rosemary while it’s simmering. I can’t wait to taste it after I add the cream. It’s a dark, rainy cold day here in Indiana, so this is going to be perfect for tonight. Thanks so much for a fantastic recipe.
Oh, and a small tip if anyone is making this veggie: when you fry up the Gimme Lean sausage, make sure to really overcook it until it is VERY dark brown, right before the burning point. The veggie sausage soaks up a lot of liquid, so this will help prevent the sausage turning to mush once it’s in the actual soup 🙂
OMG!! Just finished making this about 5 min ago. I LOVE IT! and yes it’s 11:20 p.m. here near Buffalo, N.Y COLD and rainy! I wanted a nice soup to take for lunch tomorrow. I boiled a few of the diced potato’s, and mashed them up and added them to the broth. Any Idea’s if you think It may be too spicy? It’s perfect for me and my H, but I’m afraid the kid’s will think it’s too spicy. More cream? More broth maybe? Anyway I can’t wait for lunch tomorrow!
Maybe ease up on the crushed red pepper? Or use a less spicy sausage? And if you feel like it needs crunch you should add the kale in the last few minutes so that it cooks some but still has that wonderful crisp.
Thank you for taking time to do this!!! I’m using this for supper this week!!! Yay!
Made this tonight. It was so good! Thank you!
I haven’t tried this version. but I do love the Portuguese “Caldo Verde” version. which is onion, potato, kale and a small amount of Chorizo for the flavouring. I’ve not tried it with cream, I use chicken stock and season accordingly with salt – black pepper and garlic when browning off the onions, I will give the cream a try…. It’s such a nurturing soup for a cold night.
Just made this and wow! It’s the best soup I have ever made. The recipe was so easy to follow and I loved the pictures. Thank you for sharing. I will definitely make this again.
I have those same awesome soup bowls 🙂
My friends and I get together in upstate NY at least once a month. We’re always looking for something different to do so we are planning a soup-off in a couple of weeks. I’ve been all over the web searching for a good and easy recipe to make. I think this is the one! It sounds delicious and I will probably try it out before our contest in 2 weeks. I gotta win the Ms. NY Soup Maker sash or whatever prize we come up with. I’ll let you know how it goes. Thanks for posting this!
I just made this recipe today! I decided to add carrots and quinoa which gives it more substance for a lunchtime soup! I also used one carton of regular organic chicken broth and one carton of low sodium organic chicken broth which ended up with an optimal amount of saltiness. Thanks for sharing this recipe! I will definitely incorporate it into my collection of recipes!
Made this amazing soup twice already–and my husband LOVES it! Such a perfect recipe for cold nights, and tastes even better the next day(s)! The second time around, I added a can of cannellini beans to the soup and it did not disappoint. Thanks for sharing such an easy but gourmet tasting soup! Our new favorite 😀
I was a bit confused by the “Italian sausage”, so I looked it up and it seems to be an American thing? I’m from Denmark and I’ve never heard of it before and I don’t think that we have anything similar (since I guess that it has a specific flavor to it that’s not just the taste of ground pork/chicken). Which spices do I need to make it myself? Sorry for perhaps sounding like a total idiot, but it’s really just completely new to me 😀
You do not sound like a total idiot!! I wasn’t aware that Italian sausage was an American thing, but it definitely makes sense now. You can add dried fennel seeds, oregano, black pepper, garlic powder, crushed anise seed, paprika, minced onion and red pepper flakes! You’ll get the same flavor. I say about 1/2 teaspoon of each depending on how much you’re making. Hope that helps!!
Thank you so much!
It’s not an American (US) thing…. We have Italian sausage in Canada too. It might be a North American thing, because I don’t know if South America has any.
Just finished cooking up a pot of this and it is delicious! I always use a potato masher to break up sausage for uses such as this, works even better than a wooden spoon.
Found this on Pinterest via Buzzfeed. Really gorgeous pics and a great idea for chunky soup – my family’s favourite kind.
Okay, this is about the best recipe and description I have ever read!!! I enjoyed it very much and felt like you were right in the kitchen, talking me thru it!! I am going to have to run to the store now to get what I need to make this. Thanks a lot, wasn’t planning on going out today!!!!
Made this soup for our soup-off this past weekend. It was a giant success and I won by a landslide! 5 of us made different soups. This recipe was the bomb! This will now be a regular soup for rainy weekends and also when having guests in my home. Thanks for posting this recipe!
Fantastic recipe! Tried it tonight and just loved it! Thanks for sharing!
Made this last night. I used butternut squash instead of potatoes for added nutritional value and was absolutely delicious!!!! I also used some Parmesan rinds for added flavor which I learned from an Italian chef. Will make over and over, again and again. Thanks for posting!!
Made this soup tonight and it is delicious! perfect for a cold night! I skipped out on the cream but I love ths spicy kick! Also, your pictures are gorgeous!
I made this tonight along with some home-made focaccia and it was amazing!!! Thanks so much for sharing – I know this will become a fall/winter staple in our house!!
Meghan xo
Does anyone know what adjustments might need to be made for a crock pot (even easier!) I just made another soup so I already know garlic and onion can go in raw, but can sausage? And how long before potatoes would get mushy? I’d put kale and cream in about 15 minutes before I wanted to eat it, just need info on sausages and potatoes. Any help/ideas would be appreciated!
Does it freeze well?
I’ve never tried freezing it, but a few readers have without the cream and they just reheat and stir in the cream before serving!
I’m making it tonight! I can’t wait to try it.
This was a hit at my house! Will be making this one often. Thank you!
i tried this soup but I did it with chicken and spinach instead of sausage and kale. Lets see how it turns out! I’ll let you know 😉
Just made it this week, me and the hubby absolutely loved it! Left out the cream (but can see why that would be delicious as well) and added a can of northern beans. Yum yum yum!!! Thank you.
This looks gorgeous!! I recently made a slow cooker soup with beef sausage and beet greens, and a whole load of other veggies I found lurking in the crisper of my fridge. Sausage meat and greens are a beautiful combo, and your idea to add potato makes it a proper meal! The cream sounds delish, and for those who want to avoid the extra calories, a dollop of Greek yogurt would work beautifully too (not sure if this has been mentioned already, I admit I didn’t read all 90+ comments!).. Thanks for sharing.
Your soup looks fabulously delicious. The weather here (Australia) is above 90 deg F so I won’t be making it soon, but I’ll give it a try in a few months. Please could you consider not spacing out the ingredients list quite so much so that the recipe will print on a single page.
I have made the soup today and it looks delicious. Thank you for your nice and easy recipes.
Greetings from Holland.
I found this recipe on Buzzfeed and wanted to try it ASAP. After driving around town to find a grocery store that had spicy Italian chicken sausage, I was ready to go. Unrelated, I’m also ecstatic they didn’t have caraway in them (blech). Minus the onion (I’m allergic.), I followed this recipe to a T. I have one thing to say… HOLY WOW Batman!!! It was as delicious as my mind and stomach hoped it would be. Every aspect was perfect. The mixture of spices was amazing. The fact that baking potatoes were recommended did not escape me either. The way they melted in my mouth was absolutely perfect. If any other kind would have been used, they would have been too hard and not made sense with everything else. I love the fact that kale was in there too. It’s the only green I can stomach and it added so much to the dish. The broth was uh-mayzing. I had about a dozen spoonfuls before I even moved on to the solids. I could have left everything else out and just drank the broth as the meal, it was that good. Honestly, this is the best soup I’ve ever had. I applaud you for your creativity and seriously hope you do more recipes in the future. Bravo!!!
I enjoyed your humorous instructions. Thank you! Been making this soup ever since I first tried it at the Olive Garden. May I suggest keeping a few hands of raw kale reserved; chop some of it up as an enrichment as you serve the soup, keep the rest to add to tomorrows tossed salad as a tasty alternative to spinach.
This was totally delicious! I made a few minor adjustments for our household and it is by far the best soup I have had to date! I also blogged about it and linked back to you for the recipe! (:
Absolutely delicious! My husband said it’s the best thing I’ve ever made. High praise indeed! Thanks for such a wonderful recipe.
Hello I tried your Potato and Kale soup tonigt.I think it came out wonderful. I added sauted mushroms, a touch more chicken broth, and used a half of a cup of evaporated milk.I also used spinch instead of kale.Thankyou Linda
Delicious! Added carrots, because I had some that needed to be used. I also forgot to add the cream at the end, but the soup was so rich even without it. Thanks for the recipe!
Just made this the other night for dinner, and wow, is it DELICIOUS! Will definitely be making it again.
My husband is not a fan of kale yet, but he is heading in that direction thanks to this recipe. Thank you!
We’re slowly turning your husband into a kale lover, and I’m all for it!
This recipe was amazing, enjoyed by all, even my youngest who is a picky eater! Thank you!
I immediately thought of Olive Garden as soon as I saw the pictures and title of the recipe. That is an interesting tip on the nutmeg, nutmeg enhances the flavor of greens. I have been making kale chips for a few months now after seeing the recipe in a Paleo book, we love them. My husband prefers the chips with garlic salt. I have pinned this recipe to make this fall and I’m now following you on Pinterest Now I’m going to check out your rosemary bread.
Thank you so much for your wonderful, informative site!
Just discovered your blog (thanks to another family member) and oh my what a treat! I can’t wait to try this soup. For now I’m gonna check out some of your other goodies on here…
Awesome! Delicious! And easy.
I just made this soup today with the help of my brother. I was so excited to make it lol!!:)
I did make a few changes. I used mild Italian sausage and I added red and green peppers and also added alot more garlic. I also doubled everything but left the kale as is. It came out great!!:) I will most definitely be making it again.
This was absolutely delicious! Just spicy enough! I used andouille sausage and low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth, and skipped the cream. Compliments to the chef on a great recipe, and I truly enjoyed your humorous commentary! Thank you for sharing!
-Meghan
This is seriously one of the best recipes I have ever found. I am a horrible cook and I nailed this recipe last night. So easy to make and freaking delicious! Thank you so much for helping me add a new “Favorite Recipes” card to my recipe box.
Used the essence of this recipe tonight but pretty much threw in what we had on hand, left over browned hot breakfast sausage, chorizo, spinach, zucchini, couple mushrooms, cauliflower instead of spuds, parmesean to finish. Very good and, check it out, with our tweaks it’s a yummy low carb dish.
Love this recipe! I make it with fingerling potatoes and red kale from my garden. Thanks for the inspiration!
This is now one of my family’s favorite recipes. Ever since I started growing kale in my garden, and it grows year round (in Utah,) and even keeps growing under the snow, we can have this fresh any time of the year! I bring it to faculty luncheons, family get-togethers, and everyone loves it. I don’t measure anything, either, but it always turns out better than I’ve had at a restaurant.
My favorite part of the process is after putting in the liquids and the sausage stuff from the bottom of the pan mixes with it – it is the best smell ever! If I’m not hungry already, that convinces my mouth that something awesome is coming.
I’m ready for more easy recipes just like this one – especially ones that include easy to grow garden goodness. Happy cooking!
Absolutely delicious! I did thicken it a bit with some milk and flour…personal preference. The fam went crazy! Unbelievable…. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you so much! And thank you for giving it a try! I’m so glad your family liked it!
Hello! I’m so excited to try this. Quick question, I’ve been eliminating dairy but always love a good creamy soup- would you suggest coconut milk or almond milk as a dairy-free alternative? thank you!
Funny! I love the joke about not bothering to make the soup if we aren’t cool enuff to have those bowls.
Cooking this now yay!
Pretty pictures. I have been making a soup that was adapted from your recipe, had spinach instead of kale. I love the soup but the spinach was too mushy for my liking. I clicked on “thecandidappetite” and discovered the original recipe had KALE. Much better. Beautiful soup. It is -25 F today. For sure need something warm.
I tried a much-inferior version of this. Ran across your site by Googling “kale and sausage soup.” All I can say is “wow.” I’ve made it three times already and I’m not really a cook. The difference is (1) wilting the kale (2) nutmeg, and (3) WHIPPED CREAM. Inferior recipe used canned milk. AAR, thanks much; great website.
Gracias por la receta Jonathan deliciosa. Y me encanta tu manera de escribir muy fresca y gaciosa. Saludos desde Mexico
I had a bunch of extra kale and wanted to make a soup with it. I looked up Kale Soup on Pinterest and saw this recipe! It looked so delicious that I wanted to try it…specifically because it had nutmeg in it and I wanted to see how that would turn out!
Ironically I actually forgot the nutmeg (I don’t have any and went to buy some at the store but forgot)…. but it turned out incredible anyways.
FYI usually I hate when people say “I followed this recipe exactly except I changed this, this and this,” resulting in an entirely different dish – so I hope I don’t sound like that:
I used this soup as a framework (which is more sticking to recipes than I usually do at all) – I actually followed the directions on cooking everything. I did use red potatoes instead of russets, and I did use whole milk instead of whipping cream. I think for eating it by myself I’d rather cut down a little on the calories, but when I make it for company I will add the whipping cream.
I didn’t use any salt at all because I used dry chicken bouillon that I mixed with water.
Honestly, this is one of the most tasty soups I’ve ever had. After every bite I literally say “THIS IS SO GOOD!”. I’ve told so many people about this (even the employee at the gym) and I only made this yesterday.
The ONLY thing I would change to this recipe is: After adding the sausage back into the pot (and before adding the potatoes), sprinkle some flour over the sausage/the rest of the stuff in the pot and stir it around thoroughly. Then add the potatoes and the broth etc etc. That way you don’t end up with the butter or oils from the sausage (cuz though it’s drained, there’s always some) floating on the top of the soup.
Like I said, one of the most delicious soups I’ve tasted. I can’t wait to try this again (and add nutmeg this time!!!).
I made this for my Fiance and I last night. Oh my gosh it was so darn delicious and easy. It’s now one of our favorite dishes and I’m going to be making it non stop. Good Job and thank you 🙂
Seriously! This soup was so delicous perfect rain and chilly day soup
The Hubby actually made this last night (I picked it out fully intending to make it…but with a new baby sometimes the best laid plans don’t work out), and in his words, “This soup would make a soup hater like soup.” A) The fact that he could make it, and B) the fact that he loved it, makes this a winner! And will be added into the rotation.
I’m so glad it was a hit! Also, proud of your husband! Congrats on the new baby! You’ll have to have your husband try some more recipes from the site. I feel like all the photos are really helpful!
I think I’ve made this recipe about 5 times already. We love it so much! Thanks!
I’m so glad to hear that you love it!! Thanks for making it, Sabrina!
I have a kale hater in the family (I know, I know…but she’s my daughter, so I can’t cast her out or anything); would substituting spinach work in about the same amounts? I’m not much of a cook (at all), so I don’t know much about which substitutions work well. Happy Holidays!
No worries at all. My mom is a kale hater as well so whenever I make this soup for her I use spinach or Swiss Chard! Either will work! Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!
Yesssssssss. My boyfriend is super particular about what he likes for dinner and this totally made the cut. He said we can add it to our regular meal rotation. #winning
I loved it as is, just added a stalk of celery since I had it on hand. Thanks for the great meal.
I’m so glad we were maybe to find something your boyfriend liked!! That makes me happy. I’ll have to try it with celery next time!
I make this soup at LEAST once a month, if not more. It’s become a staple in my home. THANK YOU!!! ♡
I have made this soup several times in the past few months, and crave it frequently. It is one of the best recipes I’ve ever made – not just as far as soup goes, either!
Love this recipe. Its my “go~to” soup during the Fall & Winter months.
Used 1/2 & 1/2 instead of heavy cream, added Parmesan and crumpled cooked bacon….. This is now a favorite soup! Would be perfect with fresh baked bread.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made this soup. I live alone and I always freeze the leftovers for other nights when I don’t want to cook. It is my favorite soup and much better than Olive Garden’s version. I didn’t have any fresh potatoes last time but had some dried potato slices and it worked great! I’m going to always keep those on hand for the times I don’t have fresh potatoes!
This is my all time favorite soup EVER! I actually skip the heavy cream to keep it Weight Watchers friendly. It is SERIOUSLY amazing. LOVE LOVE LOVE! Thank you for sharing your amazing creations with us!
I just made this soup for the umpteenth time and had to come on to say thank you. I’ve made it so often I don’t even need the recipe! I love this soup! Thank you!