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This hearty potato soup is loaded with savory smoked sausage and tender kale, creating a deliciously comforting bowl of goodness! It’s a creamy, flavor-packed soup that comes together in just 30 minutes – perfect for a cozy weeknight dinner. Serve it with warm garlic breadsticks for the best comfort meal!
Meet your ultimate winter bestie: this smoked sausage, kale, and potato soup recipe! It’s loosely inspired by zuppa toscana – cozy, comforting, and like a warm hug in a bowl. Perfect for those chilly days and nights when you need a little extra comfort!
Because cold weather and soup just go together, this creamy crab and wild rice soup made its appearance a few times in the past several weeks, along with my tortellini soup. But today’s potato soup might just be my favorite of the three!
Oh, who am I kidding? I can’t pick a favorite! But I am excited to share this creamless creamy sausage and potato soup with you guys – I know you’ll love it as much as I do. It’s simple to make, comes together quickly, and is good for you, too.
Ingredients
Here’s the list of ingredients you will need to make this cozy potato soup with smoked sausages and kale. It’s not a long list, but each item is a flavor powerhouse! Let’s take a look:
- Butter and Olive Oil: For sauteing.
- Onion: I use yellow onion, but any kind will do.
- Garlic: Finely chop a few cloves of fresh garlic, or substitute garlic powder.
- Smoked Sausage: Such as kielbasa – I used Eckrich brand. Slice the sausage into 1/4-inch rounds.
- Kale: Tear the kale leaves into bite-sized pieces.
- Salt and Black Pepper: To season and flavor the potato soup.
- Fresh Rosemary: Or a small amount of dried rosemary.
- Dried Thyme: This pungent herb helps balance the richness of the sausage.
- Potatoes: Wash and cube the potatoes.
- Broth: I use low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth, but regular chicken broth is fine, too.
- Soy Milk: For a creamy finish. You can also use whole milk, half and half, or heavy cream.
How to Make Potato Soup with Smoked Sausage and Kale
I have mentioned a couple of times how easy this soup is, but seriously you guys, it has three steps! Four, if you count actually eating it. Here they are:
- Saute the Aromatics, Sausage, Kale, and Seasonings. To start, set a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the butter and olive oil. Once those are hot, stir in the diced onion, garlic, sausage, kale, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. Let these ingredients cook for 8 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.
- Add the Potatoes, Broth, and Soy Milk. Next, add the potatoes to the pot, along with the chicken broth and soy milk. Bring the soup to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Let the soup cook for 10 to 14 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Finish the Dish. Take the potato soup off the burners, and taste it for salt and pepper. Add more if needed, and discard the rosemary sprig. Ladle the soup into bowls, and serve it warm with a side of skillet bread for dipping.
Can You Leave the Skins on Potatoes in Potato Soup?
Potatoes with rough skin, like russet potatoes, should be peeled before adding them to soup. However, if you use waxy potatoes with delicate skin, like red potatoes or fingerling potatoes, you can peel them, or just scrub them and leave the skins on.
Recipe Tips
There are lots of ways to customize this easy potato soup recipe, and I’ve collected a few of the best right here. Check out these tips to help you achieve the yummiest soup ever.
- Sausage Substitute: For a more zuppa toscana feel, use browned Italian sausage, just as in this Italian sausage soup recipe. Sweet, mild, or spicy – it’s your call!
- Green Options: Kale is a favorite in this recipe, but you can also use other greens if you need to. Fresh or frozen mixed greens, collards, or mustard greens can be substituted, and each will add its own unique flavor and texture.
- Veggie Additions: Want more veggies? Feel free to stir in sliced or diced carrots, celery, or leeks right into the pot.
- Dairy Version: If you’d like to use regular dairy instead of the soy milk, try using half and half or whole milk in the recipe. Make sure to add this at the end of the cooking process, though, or it may curdle! Stir it in right before you ladle the potato soup into bowls.
- Add Parm: Drop a parmesan rind into the soup for extra flavor, or sprinkle grated parmesan into your bowl.
Serving Ideas
Need some side dishes to make this a meal? Honestly, I could make a meal out of this hearty soup all by itself, but a fresh, crunchy salad is great alongside a hot bowl of potato soup. This Macedonian shopska salad is made with feta, tomatoes, cucumbers, and more – it’s so tasty!
Simple no-knead olive bread is always a hit with cozy soup. You could also serve it with lavash bread or cornbread casserole and see how addictive this meal can be.
If you want more protein, add a hearty serving of chicken to your dinner plate. This recipe for juicy stove top chicken breasts delivers tender, flavorful perfection every time.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- You can store this in your refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Make sure to cover it tightly or transfer it to an airtight container to keep it fresh.
- You can also store it in your freezer for up to 2 months and thaw it in the refrigerator before reheating it. Pro tip: when you freeze liquids, always leave a little room at the top of the container so the liquid can expand.
- To reheat, put the desired amount of potato soup in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until all of the ingredients are warmed through. You can also just use your microwave.
More Easy Soup Recipes
- Chorizo, Rice, and Bean Soup
- Cream of Zucchini Soup
- Ham and Bean Soup
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Asian Chicken Noodle Soup
- Easy Split Pea Soup with Ham
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Potato Soup with Smoked Sausage and Kale
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 package (14-ounces ) smoked sausage, (such as kielbasa or andouille), sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
- 4 cups torn kale leaves
- salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 cups cubed potatoes
- 4 cups low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
- 2 cups milk, I used Soy milk, see notes below for more options
Instructions
- Melt butter and heat olive oil in a soup pot set over medium-high heat.
- Add diced onions, garlic, sliced smoked sausage rounds, kale, salt, pepper, rosemary sprig, and thyme; stir to combine and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in potatoes and cook for 1 minute.
- Add chicken broth and half & half (or milk); bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and continue to cook for 10 to 14 minutes or until potatoes are fully cooked and tender.
- Remove from heat.
- Taste for salt and pepper and adjust accordingly.
- Remove rosemary sprig.
- Ladle soup into bowls and serve.
Equipment
Notes
- Sausage: I like to use either Polish Kielbasa or Andouille Sausage for this particular soup recipe. However, you can also use Italian Sausage, chicken sausage, turkey, and so on.
- Leafy Greens: Kale is a favorite in this soup recipe, but you can also use any fresh or frozen mixed greens, such as collards or mustard greens, or baby spinach.
- Vegetables: If you want to add carrots, celery, and leeks, go right ahead.
- Dairy Options: To lighten things up, I used soy milk, but you can use any milk you have on hand. You can also use Half & Half or Heavy Cream; make sure to stir in the heavy cream right before the end of the cooking process and stir well so it does not curdle.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Is it possible for the cards to be listed in the nutrition facts?
I really would like to know for the sausage, kale, potato soup.
Hi Joy! The carbs were listed, but I couldn’t find them, either. So sorry about that. It should be about 24 grams of carbs.
This had potential, but the broth was very thin and we ended up eating the kale, sausage and potatoes and throwing most of the broth away! I will make again but will add extra potatoes and then remove some to be blended and added back to the soup for texture. I think some corn cut fresh off the cob would be another nice addition.
Ugh. SO sorry to hear that. 🙁 I really hope it works out for you the next time around. It’s a delicious soup – can’t really figure out why the broth was so thin. In any case, thank you for chiming in. Have a great day!
Could you freeze this soup?
Hi! Yes, absolutely. I do it all the time. Make sure to cool it completely, pour it into a large ziploc bag and freeze it.
I pull it out the night before I want to use it and thaw it out in the fridge. Hope that helps! 🙂
Do you think you can use spinach instead of kale would like to try it but don’t like Kale
Hi Angela! Yes, absolutely. I’ve used Spinach in this soup a few times and it’s just as good. Hope you’ll enjoy it, too! 🙂
I made this dish the other day in my Instant Pot and we really enjoyed it! I sometimes try your recipes but usually don’t get to leave a comment… Just wanted to say we love your recipes! 🙂
Hi! Would mind telling me how you did this in the Instant Pot? How long and did you do NPR or QR? THANK YOU!
My husband took one look at this on the stove and refused to eat!!!! Ha-Ha luckily I had him try ONE bite!!!! It was all over with after that!!! He even took leftovers to work today!!!
YESSS!!! haha 😀 That’s so awesome! Was it the kale that turned him off, initially?
It was just the “looks” he said! Ha- he judged poorly though!!! He will never do that again!!
I cooked this for dinner tonight and OMG it was soooo good! I had to alter the recipe to account for me not having all the ingredients but still turned out delicious. I used, light cream instead of milk and added some minced jalapeno for a little kick. Thank you for sharing :)!
I just want to climb into this bowl of soup (awkward much??). Seriously though. Yum.
One of my favourite soup combos though I usually use hot Italian sausage links which I take out of the casing, crumble and fry. Next time I go shopping for the dish, I’ll keep an eye out for kielbasa, which I love.
Yep, I’ve had it that way, too, and I love it! But I also like it with the kielbasa.. the smoky flavor that it adds is pretty amazing. 😀
This looks great! Do I have to use soy milk or can I substitute fat free half and half or plain almond milk?
Hi Stephanie! Yep, you can use whichever milk you like best. I have used skim milk, I’ve used half and half, and it worked out perfectly each time.
Thank you! I’ll be making this for dinner tonight then!
I’m not a great cook but I followed your recipe step-by-step and the soup turned out amazing! I used Whole Milk. Very clear instructions and easy to make. It was very delicious! Will definitely be making this again. Thank you!