My family loves this sausage potato soup recipe made with Italian sausage, potatoes, and kale. It reminds us of Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana, only lighter and just as delicious.
This sausage and potato soup is a dream for busy nights. Thanks to flavorful Italian sausage, you only need a short list of ingredients, and it comes together quickly.
Hearty, comforting, and incredibly flavorful this simple soup keeps well for leftovers the next day. For more like this, try our potato leek soup or creamy potato soup.
Key Ingredients
- Italian Sausage: Use sweet or hot Italian sausage. I usually reach for sweet Italian and then adjust the spice level with crushed red pepper flakes.
- Potatoes: I highly recommend Yukon Gold potatoes for their buttery texture and how well they hold up in the broth. Baby red or white potatoes also work beautifully.
- Onion and Garlic: These add so much flavor to the broth. I don’t add other veggies to keep the ingredient list short.
- Spices: Italian sausage already brings flavor from fennel and other spices, but I like to add more spice with oregano, red pepper flakes (optional), a bay leaf, and fresh thyme.
- Broth: Use a good-quality chicken stock or homemade broth. For store-bought, choose low-sodium and darker-colored stock for more flavor. Boxed bone broth is an easy shortcut that adds richness, or use homemade bone broth if you have it.
- Kale: Kale adds color, texture, and a bit of nutrition. You can also substitute spinach, Swiss chard, or other hearty greens.
- Cream and Parmesan Cheese: A splash of cream and some grated Parmesan stirred in at the end make the broth velvety and rich. Both are optional but add so much flavor.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Sausage and Potato Soup
Tip 1: Brown the sausage. The secret to this soup’s flavorful broth is browning the sausage in the pot before adding any other ingredients. It brings out the flavor and helps render a bit of fat, which the onions and garlic will cook in a bit later.
Tip 2: Soften the onions. So that they are sweet and tender, quickly sauté the onions and garlic in the pot with the browned sausage for a few minutes. This takes away their raw bite, making them really delicious in the soup.
Tip 3: Add spices, broth, and potatoes. Next comes the broth and potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are tender. When they are, your soup is almost ready!
Tip 4: Add kale and cream. When your potatoes are tender, stir in the kale and cream and allow it to cook for a few minutes until the kale is tender and bright green. The splash of cream makes the broth silky. It’s optional, but really delicious.
More Easy Soup Recipes
- Easy Chicken Sausage Soup
- Chicken Vegetable Soup
- White Bean Soup
- Or, see all of our soup recipes!
Easy Sausage Potato Soup
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
You will love this easy sausage and potato soup recipe. It is comforting and incredibly delicious. For the best texture, use Yukon Gold potatoes. They have thin skins, so you don’t need to peel them. The red pepper flakes are optional and add a bit of spice to the soup. If you use hot Italian sausage (spicy), you may not need them.
You Will Need
8 ounces bulk Italian sausage or links with the casings removed (226g)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced, 1 tablespoon
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ to ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
1 ½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed, 2 to 3 medium (680g)
5 cups chicken stock (1182ml)
¼ cup heavy cream or half-and-half, or more to taste (60ml)
4 cups chopped kale leaves with ribs removed or use baby kale
½ cup shredded parmesan cheese, optional, 1 ounce (28g)
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Directions
1Brown the sausage: Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until browned and slightly crispy, about 8 to 10 minutes.
2Cook the onions: Add the onions and cook, stirring every few minutes, until they soften, 5 to 6 minutes.
3Add garlic and spices: Stir in the garlic, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ¼ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring often, for about 1 minute until fragrant.
4Add potatoes and stock: Add the bay leaf, thyme, and potatoes. Pour in the stock, then increase the heat to medium-high and bring the soup just to a simmer (avoid a full boil). Reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5Add cream, kale, and cheese: Uncover the pot and remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Stir in the cream, kale, and parmesan cheese. Add a small pinch of nutmeg, then taste and adjust with more salt and pepper as needed. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the kale is tender and wilted, about 5 minutes more.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight and reheat gently on the stovetop. Potatoes may soften slightly after freezing. The cream may separate when reheating, so do it over low heat or leave it out when freezing and add fresh after it has reheated.
- Thick and creamy soup: For a creamier and thicker broth, grab a potato masher and mash some of the potatoes in the pot just before adding the kale.
- Kale: The kale softens in the broth 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.
- Lighter soup: For a lightened-up version, use chicken or turkey sausage and substitute the cream for additional stock.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Delicious. My daughter used to work at Olive Garden and recognized it immediately! Said this recipe is fresher tasting.
Oh, I’m so happy she noticed the similarity and that ours is a little lighter/fresher. Glad you enjoyed it, Carla.
We loved this soup! I used turkey sausage instead of Italian sausage and half and half because I didn’t have heavy cream handy. My husband said it need to be put on regular fall and winter soup rotation. I highly recommend giving this recipe a try.
That’s amazing, Deb. So happy you enjoyed it so much!
This was a great recipe! Creamy and satisfying. I did lighten up the ingredients but it came out even better than I expected. Just the right amount of seasonings. I served it with a glass of Cabernet and a roll! Bon Apetit!
It was wonderful. The flavor was great with just the right amount of heat. I used 1/2t red pepper flakes. It will be lovely on winter nights. I will be making this again.
Made this yesterday for my 7yo grandson who chose the recipe and it was a hit ! He loved it. Could not find kale here in France so we went for baby spinach and Pecorino Cheese. When he finished he said “next Time we’ll do the salmon with capers”. Ok let’s do that!
This was the first trying to make this recipe and my wife and I simply love it.
This soup is delicious! I omitted the red pepper (at least this time) because my son is still coming around to spicy foods. I panicked when I realized my Parmesan went bad, but it ended up being so delicious without the cheese. Thank you for the recipe!!
I made this today for lunch. Not something I’d usually cook but I wanted to try and it turned out good! I skipped the cheese, and used spinach instead of kale. Just a tip: I made half dose and found the broth too much compared to the solid elements in it; so I suggest to either reduce the broth a bit or add more potatoes and sausage.
Thanks so much for the feedback! We’re so glad you enjoyed the soup and appreciate you sharing your tip on the ratio of broth to sausage and potato. YSoup consistency is all about personal preference, so that’s a perfect way to adjust it.
this is a great recipe. i’ve printed it for the book!
This was amazing! Best of all, it’s one of those recipes that is very easy to make your own. I added carrots and celery and used homemade seasoned ground pork along with homemade broth and it was DEVINE! Thank you for this recipe! It’s definitely a KEEPER for many years to come. Love your blog. So many tasty recipes.
Seen this recipe and it looked so yummy. I made it this weekend and my family and I love it. I am going to keep this one for soup making season for years to come. You can bet on that.
Just made this for 2 extremely picky eaters, along with your soft flat bread and they loved it. I followed the recipe exactly. So delicious!
I plan on making this tomorrow. For dairy free do you recommend no cream or substituting a non dairy milk?
Hi Linda, You can simply leave the dairy out all together, use your favorite non-dairy unsweetened milk or scoop out about a cup or two of the cooked potatoes in the soup with a little broth and blend it until it’s smooth. Then stir it back into the pot. This will naturally thicken the soup and give it a rich, creamy consistency. It’s a fantastic trick!
i used this recipe as cited. it was easy to make, delicious and filling. my family loved it!
Just found this site keen to try these soups
I had some breakfast sausage in the refrigerator that I needed to use up, and also some potatoes, so I went searching on Google for a recipe that combined sausage and potatoes in a soup and lo and behold I stumbled upon your recipe. It sounded so good I got out in the snowy weather just to buy kale! The only addition I made was adding smoked paprika to the spices. For some reason it just sounded good to me so I threw it in there. This soup is so delicious I will be making it again for sure! Thanks!!
I just wanted to thank you both for the great spare rib recipe, we just love it. Always turns out. Thanks so much
Linda, Bill
I had some potatoes on hand and was craving soup! This was so easy to put together, love one pot meals. I try to be dairy free so I swapped out 3/4c lite coconut milk with .5 c water for the milk. Came out perfect !
I just made this soup yesterday for dinner. We loved it! I used everything in recipe as written. It’s going to be my new “keeper”soup. Thanks again for another great recipe. Your recipes have never ever failed me. Always delish.
Hi. I love your recipes!! I’m not a big food blog person but I stumbled upon you guys a year or so ago and just found everything you make to be delicious, simple and just what the doctor ordered haha. I’ve made several of your dishes and made this soup last night and it was KILLER. So delicious and so flavorful. The only thing I added was a little bit more sausage (one more link). This is such a fantastic recipe and seems well suited for having guests over. The women will be satisfied with the kale and the men with the sausage haha. Thank you for the recipes! Keep ‘me coming!
I love easy recipes that are nutritious! I will be making this tonight. I plan to use Louisiana Andouille uncured All Natural Smoked Sausage, and all the ingredients as noted in the recipe. This is a similar recipe from “Recipes for A Small Planet”- ‘Luscious Potato Soup’; which my daughter Holly adored, it was a Vegan recipe made with Non-Instant, Instant Milk, Brewer’s Yeast, Spring Onions, & Celery; all other ingredients remain the same, minus the Kale. Thank you for this perfect Fall recipe.