Hearty Veggie and Sausage Soup Recipe — A healthy meal makeover full of vegetables, and spicy chicken sausage. Perfect for a cool weather lunch or dinner!
This post is sponsored by al fresco. All opinions and thoughts are my own. I was not compensated for my time.
October is hands down my favorite month of the year.
Fall is in full swing. There’s apples to be picked. Pumpkins to be carved. And reese’s peanut butter cups to be eaten. The birth of yours truly has nothing else to do with it either. 😉
But it does hold a new place near and dear to my heart for the fact that it is breast cancer awareness month, and my Nana is now a breast cancer survivor.
That’s why I’m team (pink)-ing up with al fresco in the #fightbackbetter in an effort to help those battling cancer as well as their families.
Like many others, my Nana went through many rounds of treatment from surgery to radiation, coming home though tired and worn with a smile on her face.
While I can proudly say she is now cancer free, pumping her full of antioxidant and heart warming foods can never hurt.
Soup is something I always think of with my Nana. She famously makes ah-ma-zing soups, and loafs of freshly made-still warm bread to sop it up with.
Split pea, chicken noodle, and corn chowder are crowd favs, but her sausage soup is one I make and enjoy most often.
It’s easily a clear out the crisper drawer kinda soup, which I typically take full advantage of when I have a fridge full of half dead peppers and kale to save from the trashcan.
The key to it is using a spicy kinda sausage. I’m usually one for sweet sausage (especially the apple variety!) but the spicy is a must in this soup.
It adds so much flavor to the soup without being too kick in the mouth spicy so much that I don’t have to add any other spices or herbs to jazz it up.
So I loaded this one up with plenty of antioxidant-rich vegetation, and left out the usual orzo to make it enjoyable for paleo or gluten-free eaters. I did manage to keep all the comfort and soul warming in there, and hey, I may even have been a little heavy handed with it.
And as I arrived with sausage soup in hand, Nana of course countered with homemade chicken soup, a hot cup of tea, and good company. What a one-upper.
Hearty Veggie and Sausage Soup
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 (14 ounce) package Hot Italian chicken sausage
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 1 large sweet potato, chopped
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 summer squash, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (10 ounce) package frozen leaf spinach, thawed
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (8 ounce) package sliced button mushrooms
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
Instructions
- Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat.
- Remove sausage from casing, and cook in stockpot until browned.
- Add onion, sweet potato, carrots, and bell pepper to pot, and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add squash and garlic, and cook an additional 2 minutes.
- Add spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, and stock, and bring to a boil.
- Reduce to a simmer, and cook and additional 5 minutes.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Soup
You can help out with those battling cancer, by simply using the hashtag #fightbackbetter, which al fresco will donate a meal to the Ellie fund in Massachusetts to breast cancer patients and their families every time it’s used.
I made it super easy for you by tweeting with the link below!
That’s a lot more sausage soup than my little dutch oven can handle.
Make it a great day!
Hover over image to pin for later!
What’s your favorite recipe from your grandparents?
Do you know anyone battling breast cancer, or is a breast cancer survivor?
Emily,
Thank you very much for sharing nana’s story and soup recipe.
Every time I visit,she has something on the stove,or in the oven!
The kettle is always ready for a hot cup of tea as well.
Most of all though, she is well…
XO, Mom
This soup looks amazing! Pinning this for the colder weather, for sure!
Thanks Katie! Definitely good for those chilly fall & winter nights!