Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup with Pasta

This Italian sausage vegetable soup is loaded with carrots, greens, beans, and pasta, and it’s one of my go-to dinners once the weather turns cool. I gave it a Southern twist by trading the usual spinach for collard greens, and I promise you won’t miss the spinach one bit.

Soup season is my favorite season around here. If you’re building up your collection, our Southern Vegetable Soup with Beef and Chicken Vegetable Soup belong on your list too.

A typical Italian sausage soup would have spinach and cannellini beans in it. Those are good, no doubt about that. But in keeping with our philosophy of “use whatever you have,” I made mine with collard greens and baby lima beans. If you’ve never worked with collards before, check out my guide on how to cut and clean collard greens.

Black-eyed peas would be great in this soup too, and you know we love them around here. Have you tried our black-eyed pea hummus? It will have everybody talking.

Jump to:

• The Great Thing About Soup
• Ingredients Needed
• How to Make Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup
• Pam’s Expert Tips
• What to Serve with Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup
• Storage Information
• Recipe FAQs
• Want more recipes with Italian flavor?
• 📖 Recipe
• Soups & Stews

The Great Thing About Soup

I did write up a recipe for this soup, and if you follow it to the letter, it will turn out delicious. But if I’m honest, in typical Southern food fashion, I usually make soup by adding a handful of this and a handful of that. Use what your family loves and what you already have in the pantry and freezer.

Besides the different bean and greens options mentioned above, you can give these ideas a try, or get creative and use what your family loves and what you have in your pantry and freezer.

• Italian sausage can be made from pork, chicken or turkey. We like it spicy, but the sweet kind is great too. Using chicken or turkey sausage keeps your soup healthier.
• Ditalini is the pasta you see in these photos, but we’ve made the same soup with spaghetti noodles, broken into short pieces. Any pasta you choose will be perfect!
• Parmesan was our cheese of choice, but any hard cheese is just fine.
• Have fresh tomatoes? By all means use them instead of canned tomatoes.
• Want more vegetables? Zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms, or diced potatoes are all good additions. Add potatoes with the carrots so they have time to get tender.
• Like a little heat? Use hot Italian sausage or add a pinch of red pepper flakes.

Ingredients Needed

• Italian Sausage - I like spicy, but sweet works great too. You can use pork, chicken, or turkey sausage. Chicken or turkey keeps the soup a little lighter.
• Chicken Stock - I like low-sodium so I can control the salt. You’ll add it in stages, so keep the carton handy.
• Beans - I used baby lima beans, but cannellini beans or black-eyed peas are just as good.
• Diced Tomatoes - Canned is what I usually reach for, but if you have fresh tomatoes, by all means use them.
• Collard Greens - I used frozen collards. Spinach, kale, or any other greens you have on hand will work.
• Pasta - I used ditalini, but I’ve also made this with spaghetti broken into short pieces. Any small pasta will be perfect.

For the full list of ingredients and quantities, scroll down to the recipe card.

How to Make Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup

1. Brown the sausage and onion. Remove the sausage from its casings, crumble it into the hot oil with the onion, and cook until the sausage is done and the onion is translucent.
2. Add the garlic. Stir it in and cook for about a minute.
3. Simmer the carrots. Add the carrots, Italian seasoning, and enough stock to cover everything. Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, beans, and greens. Pour in more stock to cover and cook until the greens are tender and the beans are cooked through.
5. Cook the pasta. Season with salt and pepper, add the pasta right to the pot, and cook according to the package directions.
6. Serve. Ladle it into bowls and top with chopped parsley or shavings of Parmesan if you like.

Pam’s Expert Tips

• Save your cheese rinds. Did y’all know about this? When you get to the end of a wedge of Parmesan, Asiago, or Romano, toss the rind in a baggie and freeze it. Whenever you’re making a soup or sauce with an Italian edge, throw a piece in the pot. It flavors the broth like nothing else can. Fish out what’s left of it before serving, which usually isn’t much.
• Taste before you salt. Between the sausage and the chicken stock, you may not need much salt at all.
• Keep an eye on the pasta. It keeps soaking up broth even after you turn off the heat, so if you won’t be serving right away, take the pot off the stove a minute or two before the pasta is fully done.
• Add stock as you go. The recipe calls for about 3 cups, but you may need a splash more to keep everything covered, especially once the pasta goes in.

What to Serve with Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup

This soup is hearty enough to be a meal on its own, but a simple green salad and a warm piece of bread for dipping never hurt. These breads are my favorites:

• Skillet Focaccia Bread with Herbs and Parmesan (our #1 choice)
• Homemade Crescent Rolls, not from a can
• Asiago Cheese and Black Pepper Biscuits
• Sweet Potato Biscuits

Storage Information

Like any pasta and sausage soup, this one is at its best the day you make it, because the pasta keeps drinking up the broth as it sits. If you know you’ll have leftovers, you can scoop the pasta out with a slotted spoon and store it in a separate container so it doesn’t get mushy.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Reheat on the stovetop over medium low heat and add a splash of stock if it’s thickened up too much.

To freeze, leave the pasta out. If you know you’ll want to freeze some, ladle that portion into a container before you add the pasta to the pot. Let it cool completely and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, bring it back to a simmer, and cook a fresh batch of pasta right in the pot.

Recipe FAQs

Want more recipes with Italian flavor?

• Italian Cream Sauce for Chicken
• Amazing Chicken Gorgonzola Recipe
• Keto Parmesan Crusted Chicken
• Baked Brie Cheese with Sundried Tomatoes and Pesto
• Gourmet Grilled Cheese with Prosciutto and Fig Jam

📖 Recipe