Tuscan Sausage and White Bean Soup
For a great, quick weeknight dinner, this Tuscan Sausage and White Bean Soup cannot be beat. The simple flavors combine into a rich, hearty, healthy soup.
Wow. It’s 2014. I’m sure I’ll still write 2013 on my checks for approximately the next 11 1/2 months (am I the only one who still uses the archaic form of checks to pay for things??) but since time cannot be stopped, I think we should welcome in 2014 with this soup.

It’s healthy (did you see my sidebar link for 187 of my favorite healthy recipes?), hearty and so perfectly perfect for a snowy, cold January.
I recognize not all of you live in a frozen tundra like I do; soup is mighty delicious in all weather, but I’m not going to lie, if you are eating this where the temperature is 5 degrees or higher, I hope you sweat profusely while you eat it.
I, for one, will drown my frosty sorrows in this soup and feel better about my harsh, Northern climate in no time.
I have said it before and I’ll say it again: I eat my way through January in order to cope with the blizzards, icy temps and general post-holiday blahs.
My warmer-weather-jealousy could be validated by this picture I snapped a few weeks ago on my way to church at 9:15 a.m. It pretty much speaks volumes:
Which basically means you’ll be getting some super awesome recipes this month (with a sprinkling of lighter, healthier food thrown in there, promise) and I’ll contemplate a rigorous exercise plan.
For a great, quick weeknight dinner, this soup cannot be beat. The simple flavors combine into a rich, hearty soup full of white beans, lean sausage, spinach and tiny little pasta shells. Something for everyone, I’d say.
And talk about counting your colors; this soup is loaded with pretty vitamins. All joking* aside about drastic winter temps, this soup really is perfect for a cold, blustery night.
I hope you have a great start to the new year!
*I wasn’t really joking.
What to Serve With This
- A really, great dinner roll (for homemade, I’d suggest French Bread Rolls or Buttery Cornmeal Crescents)
- Fresh fruit or a light fruit salad like this Honey Lime Fruit Salad
- Cottage Cheese
One Year Ago: Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps {Quick and Delish}
Two Years Ago: Buffalo Chicken Bites
Three Years Ago: Chocolate Chip Cheeseball
Tuscan Sausage and White Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet Italian chicken sausage (see note)
- ½ cup chopped carrots
- ½ cup chopped yellow onion or leeks
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 cans (14.5-ounces each) diced tomatoes
- 1 (15-ounce) can Great Northern or Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ tablespoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ cups uncooked shell pasta
- 9 ounces spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook the sausage over medium heat (remove the sausage from the casings, if needed) until browned, 3-4 minutes, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks. If your sausage is really lean, you may need to use a teaspoon or so of oil so it doesn’t stick to the pan.
- Add the carrots, onion, and garlic, and continue to cook, stirring often, until the sausage is cooked through, 5-10 minutes. At this point, if there is excess grease, drain it before proceeding.
- Add the broth, tomatoes, beans, basil, salt and pepper.
- Bring the soup to a boil. Add the shell pasta, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, until the pasta is tender, stirring occasionally to make sure the pasta isn’t sticking.
- Stir in the spinach and simmer for another minute until the spinach is wilted. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from a recipe found via Pinterest, original source here
Mel, this recipe is another KEEPER! Love, love, love this soup! Whole fam enjoyed it & hubster went back for a giant 2nd helping. I used chicken sausage & forgot the beans & spinach…but the soup was still soooo yummy! Can’t wait to make it again the “right” way 😉 Thank you!
I made this recipe for dinner this week. The store didn’t have sweet Italian sausage, but they did have spicy sausage. Turned out great! My husband loves spicy food, so it was perfect.
Mel- I made this soup last week and it was so delicious and yet so easy to make! I knew I would have leftovers, so I cooked the pasta separately and added it to each individual bowl. I took some to my MIL and she raved about it! I think I may add some halved, sliced zucchini when I make this again. I think it would be a nice addition to this absolutely amazing soup!
Made it and loved it- even the picky one ate it. Thanks!
I just love your recipe, its look yummy ,I must try it.Thank you.
I made this today and we loved it. I added some tortellini and used less ditalini than the 1-1/2 cups. It was perfect. Thanks so much!
I made this soup this week and we loved it! I used reduced-sodium broth and no-salt-added tomatoes AND left out the teaspoon of salt. It still tasted awesome! Also, I used 1.25 lbs of turkey sausage & added some extra carrots (but kept everything else the same) and we had 9 servings. 🙂 I had leftovers for lunch 3 days in a row – yum…
Mel, I made this last night. It was a hit with the kids and delicious with Parmesan cheese. I doubled the carrots and onions and made it with pork sausage. I also added 2 c. chicken broth and 8 oz. tomato sauce. just reminds me why your blog is a “go-to” for fabulous recipes. Thank you! Thank you!
Our temp here in Maryland was about 6 degrees yesterday, and it was miserable. I can’t imagine -31 degrees! And I’m sure that didn’t factor in the wind chill! Thankfully, this Article Vortex is getting out of here and our temps are on the rise. I think I have everything to mKe this soup for dinner. It looks so delicious, Mel!
Yum! Easy and great taste! I added a little extra noodles and my family loved it. Super filling and makes enough for 2 meals, I love that!
We loved this soup! Made it for dinner tonight and it was awesome! Even my two young picky boys ate it up! I just adore your site and recipes. Keep em coming girl! You rock!
I loved this soup! It made a huge pot and I shared with a neighbor couple.
Delicious! And came together so quickly. I just used some bulk Italian sausage that I had on hand and it was great. Took longer to defrost the sausage than to cook the whole soup – my kind of dinner! Thank you!
Fantastic! Simple to make, not too time consuming and excellent flavor! I faked the sausage with a pound of ground turkey cooked with 2 t fennel seed, 1 t salt, 1/2 t pepper, 1 t oregano, 1 t garlic powder and a dash of allspice. I was just trying to use what I had on hand! Thanks for the great recipe!
Wonderful soup! I put some barley in instead of the pasta and let it simmer until it was cooked. I also used Swiss chard I had frozen from my garden in place of the spinach. Kale would have been great, too! My husband loved it!
This recipe was just what I needed on this cold day! We had it for dinner tonight and it really hit the spot, so delicious. I am excited I have some really yummy leftovers for lunch tomorrow 🙂 thanks for another great one!
-12 here in Indy with wind chills at -40. I made this for dinner, halving the recipe and using fire roasted diced tomatoes, and it turned out awesome! Thanks!
So delicious not to mention so nutritious! We loved it. Thank you bunches!
I am making this for dinner tonight. Only a high of 0 today in St. Louis. Hope everyone stays nice & warm!
What a wonderful recipe! Great for a quick and easy dinner. I used kale instead of spinach and my daughter said it actually tasted “not bad” (the kale, not the soup overall, which she liked). For anyone with celiac, I used Tinkyada pasta in it, and it held up well.
Oh, so good! I used Sweet Italian sausage, half the amount of spinach, and it is great! Oh yeah, a few splashes of Tabasco were added. This is a keeper!
I made this today but only used half of the chicken stock to make more of a stew/casserole and it was awesome! Great dish for a day of cold rain and fog.
Just made my family the Tuscan Sausage and White Bean Soup, It was delicious and it is another keeper! Thank you for sharing all the wonderful recipes with us all.
I made this today. It was quick, tasty, and filling! I used ditalini rigati instead of shells and went with onion instead of leeks. I think I would stick with that (despite loving leeks). I was cooking just for two and we have 5 large servings left – they’ll make great lunches this week. Thanks!
This soup sounds incredible! The temperatures tonight are supposed to dip down to -45 with the windchill…I’m thinking this soup would warm us right up! Pinned!! 🙂
I’m looking forward to making this today- nice way to transition out of the sugary and rich holliday foods back into more reasonable meals. My area of southwest Michigan is being hit with a severe snowstorm right now so it is a great time for homemade soup, and homemade bread.
Oh my goodness! Just the right amount of spiciness to warm you on a cold night. We will definitely make this again!
This is as good as it looked. My husband really loved it and a friend asked for the recipe! Thanks for another great one, Mel.
Made this tonight and my whole gang (5) raved about how good it was even my super picky 17yr old son! The hubby ate it at dinner and took another bowl with him to work tonight at the ice rink (he is a zam driver and is frozen to the bone by the time he gets done). Thank You for another great recipe!!!
This was awesome! Made it exactly and seriously loved it. Perfect on a col winter day.
It’s so warm in Barcelona, like no winter at all. I run around in a sweater most of the time. But I miss cold winter days when you need to eat warm soup to feel warmer.
I’m drooling over this! And now I will stop complaining about 20F temperatures. 😉
Have you tried freezing this soup? I am not sure about the spinach or pasta quality.
Looks tasty! Cant wait to try it. Think I could use frozen spinach? I already have some in my freezer…
Hi Katrina, sure, I think frozen spinach would work ok – I would thaw it and drain it and add it in very close to the end of cooking time.
I used frozen spinach with it last night. Thawed and drained it and put it a few minutes at the end. Used cheese tortellini instead of shell pasta. Came out great
This looks amazing! We moved from Oklahoma to Utah a few months ago, and it’s super cold in both places!!! I think we’ll be having this tomorrow for dinner.
Do you think this could be made in the crockpot if you don’t add the noodles/spinach til later and pre cook the sausage?
Chelsea – definitely worth a try especially if you do as you say and add the noodles and spinach later (and precook the sausage). Good luck!
Wow, as a former New Yorker now living in NC I can sympathize with the temperatures. That is super cold. Bone Chilling – literally! This soup sounds wonderful. I love tomato broth and all the veggies, beans and sausage sounds wonderful!
I ran to the store to buy the ingredients for this soup and made it tonight for dinner. My somewhat picky husband declared it ‘a keeper’! Hooray! Thanks for sharing it!
It’s going to be 102F where I live in summery Australia tomorrow – other places inland will be up to 122F. Even though it’s freakin’ hot, I think I could eat this soup. It looks fantastic!
It was high of 6 here in Iowa today. Lots of negatives this week. For lunch I had tomato soup. Dinner your broccoli cheese soup. I feel better, for now.=)
I live in the U.P. of Michigan and we are having the same awful temps (it’s -4 right now..but FEELS like -18. Blech). This soup looks wonderful for this week.
I recently stumbled upon your site and just love it! I check it out at least once a day when I have free time to look and your older posts. I have made a few things and they all have turned out great. I can’t say that about some of the other sites I routinely visit. The Chewy Pretzel Bites were my kids favorite. I feel a little guilty reading todays post. You are freezing while I’m looking out at the Pacific Ocean complaining about it being a chilly 65 degrees. Still a good soup day for me. Happy New Year!
Ugh. I live in Wisconsin and I feel the same about January (pretty much the same about Feb and March too…) This soup will be on my table for Sunday dinner! It looks so delicious, I’m thinking some crusty rolls and a salad too. Mmmm. I love your recipes and look forward to your help getting through January!
This looks amazing. I love to make and eat soup in the winter time!! I will make it without the pasta to make it gluten free.
Just cold and wet in Seattle but we still love our soup! I for one am ready for something healthy and can’t wait to try this!
Kathi
I just tried a white bean soup and it is incredible! It will defiantly warm you up on a COLD day!
This looks great. Can’t wait to try it. Living in Northern Alberta I know exactly how you feel about the winter weather, as it’s -29F here and has been for the last week now.
This looks delicious Mel! I thought we had it cold here in Oregon but, um, I’ll shut up now. 🙂 I typically make soup without a recipe per se but many pots end up very similar to this. Subbing kale for the spinach is also delicious. Happy new year and crank up the heater!!
Looks like Friday is my day for this delicious-looking soup when it will be 24 here in DC. I feel for you with -31. I miss snow, but not the Chicago cold.
This looks absolutely delicious! I’m trying to get in as much soup as I can before the weather starts to heat up. Perfect for a chilly day!