Sausage, Potato, + Kale Soup

Soup season is officially here! There's nothing more comforting on a chilly evening than a delicious and hearty, hot soup for dinner.  It's also such an easy dish to make and you can enjoy the leftovers all week!  My husband can't get enough kale, so when I saw this recipe from The Candid Appetite for Spicy Sausage, Potato + Kale Soup, I immediately added it to my list of recipes to try. Pork sausage is also something we use a lot in our kitchen because it has so much more flavor and texture than other meats.  Meatballs, spaghetti sauce, and chili are some of our staple dishes that we always use sausage in.  Thanks in part to the sausage, this soup has amazing layers of flavor and you can whip it up in about 30 minutes or less!  I made a few adjustments from the original recipe to make the soup even quicker and easier to make!

Gather these ingredients for your soup:

1 lb. hot Italian sausage

4 tablespoons olive oil or butter

1 large onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 large bunches of kale (stemmed and chopped- I just bought the bag of already chopped kale and used that!)

1 lb. frozen shredded potatoes/ hashbrowns, thawed

4-6 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

salt

pepper

Use a large stockpot or dutch oven.  Place on the stove on medium to high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 clove minced garlic.  Add 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and then add your sausage.    

Cook your sausage on medium-high heat, breaking it up and stirring it with a wooden spoon.   When your sausage is browned and cooked all the way through, remove it and place on a paper towel and/or plate and set to the side.

Reduce your heat to medium and add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, your chopped onion, and remaining garlic.  Continue cooking, stirring occasionally.  Add 1/2 tablespoon salt, 1/2 tablespoon pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes.  Continue stirring and cooking until your onions have caramelized.

Slowly add your kale and cook until it has completely wilted and turned bright green.  Add your hashbrown potatoes and your cooked sausage.  

Next, pour in your chicken broth, turn the heat up to high, and bring the soup to a boil.  Once it starts boiling, turn the heat down to low and let the soup simmer about 5-10 minutes so that all the flavors can combine.  You may want to taste the soup now in case you want to add any more seasonings.

Finally add your heavy whipping cream and stir to combine.  If you want to make the soup lighter and cut calories, just leave out the heavy whipping cream.  It is a pretty healthy soup anyways but you won't notice a huge difference with or without the cream. I prefer it because it does give the soup a creamier, richer taste and texture.  

The hot sausage brings so much flavor to this soup but the potato and kale really balance it well and leave you with just the right amount of spice.  I prefer a thicker soup so I only used 4 cups of chicken broth, but you can certainly add more until you reach your desired thickness.  I love the extra texture that the thin hashbrown potatoes bring to the dish combined with the crispy sausage.  Top it with your favorite freshly shredded cheese (I used Parmesan) and a side of crunchy bread for a seriously delicious and comforting meal that is also so healthy!

Xoxo

Emily