Description
This cozy Italian Sausage Soup with Gluten-Free Pasta is made with simple ingredients like chopped onion, celery, carrots, leeks, and baby spinach for something green, plus your favorite store-bought sausage and the cutest, tiny pasta! It’s like an Italian Wedding Soup with crumbled sausage instead of meatballs. The pasta is cooked separately while the soup simmers away so that it doesn’t get overly soft, and the recipe comes together in just under an hour. It’s brothy and light, yet deeply satisfying for the ultimate warming meal that’s perfect for the whole family.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound raw Italian sausage, loose or casings removed
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 carrots, diced – 2 heaping cups
- 2 large stalks of celery, diced – 3/4 cup
- 1 leek, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced into half moons
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup gluten free stelline or orzo pasta
- 5 ounces baby spinach
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Grated parmesan to garnish (optional, or substitute with a plant-based parmesan)
Instructions
- Brown the sausage. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large soup pot. Add the sausage and press into a flat layer, searing one side for 2 minutes to promote browning. Reduce the heat to medium and break up the meat into bite-sized pieces. When sausage is cooked through, remove to a plate or bowl using a slotted spoon, leaving as much oil behind as you can.
- Cook the vegetables and aromatics and add the broth to the soup. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of oil, or add a little more olive oil if there isn’t enough in the pot. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, leeks, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and sauté for about 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent and the leeks are tender. While the vegetables sauté, bring a small pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Add the cooked sausage back into the pot and pour in the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-12 minutes, until the veggies are tender.
- Cook the pasta. While the soup is simmering, cook the small pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- Finish assembling the soup. When the veggies are tender, turn off the heat and add the baby spinach. Stir until spinach has wilted. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. If you’re serving it all at once, you can add the pasta into the pot and stir to combine. Otherwise, scoop a little cooked pasta into each bowl before ladling in the soup to help prevent the pasta from getting overly soft and/or soaking up too much broth. Serve hot, garnished with pepper and grated parmesan (or dairy-free parmesan, if desired), and enjoy!
Notes
This soup should keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Another type of green can be used instead of baby spinach. Escarole or kale would both be delicious.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
