This Sausage Kale Soup Recipe is a cozy fall soup made in the slow cooker. This Sausage Kale Soup is a delicious make-ahead crockpot dinner recipe that only takes 15 minutes of hands-on preparation! It's paleo-friendly & gluten-free!
There is something about the cooler fall weather that compels me to break out my slow cooker and make hearty, cozy soups, like this chicken pot pie soup, vegetable soup and tortellini soup!
This particular Sausage Kale Soup recipe has become a fall staple in our house! It's loaded with fall vegetables, bursting with flavor and is my favorite, fix-it-and-forget-it, kind of recipe! That takes 15 minutes to prepare. Then you get to enjoy the aroma all day long while it cooks in the crockpot.
My kids really love this recipe too! No joke - and because it's too funny not to share - my son refers to this sausage kale soup as, "that one soup that looked gross but tasted really good."
If they'll eat a recipe that has SO many veggies without batting an eye, then you know we have a winner!
Sausage Kale Soup: Ingredients & Substituions
So, let's chat about the ingredients I used in this Sausage Kale Soup recipe, and possible substitutions that can be made!
- Smoked sausage. I used a 14 oz package of smoked sausage. Use your favorite sausage variety, and be sure to choose one that fits your dietary needs. You could use Italian sausage, but I just love the flavor of smoked varieties!
- Minced Garlic. If garlic isn't your favorite, you can substitute a dash of garlic powder for the minced garlic.
- Olive Oil. Any neutral oil works well in this recipe. If you don't have olive oil on hand my next recommendation would be avocado oil. The purpose of the oil is to brown the sausage.
- Vegetable Broth. You can use chicken broth in place of vegetable broth.
- Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes. Use any variety or flavor of canned diced tomatoes that you like.
- Kale. My husband actually said he enjoyed the kale in this recipe, and basically couldn't taste it at all. When I mentioned that I might try it with spinach he begged me not to, because he doesn't like the texture of cooked spinach. If you do like spinach in soups, feel free to use it in place of some or all of the kale, although kale is my favorite green to use in this sausage kale soup! 😉
- Sweet Potatoes. You could substitute red potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes, Russet potatoes or butternut squash if you don't love sweet potatoes.
- Celery, Carrots & Green Beans. We loved this combination of vegetables, you can choose your favorites. Or you can buy a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and toss it in the crockpot. I used frozen green beans (for the sake of ease and time), but you could use chopped fresh green beans!
- Italian Seasoning. Use fresh herbs and spices instead of dried Italian seasoning if desired.
How do you make sausage kale soup?
As always, we will walk through the tips and tricks for making this recipe.
Brown the sausage & onions
Add olive oil, diced sausage, onion and minced garlic to a skillet and cook until it the sausage is browned (about 10 minutes).
Add all the ingredients to Crockpot (Slow Cooker)
While the sausage is browning, add the rest of the ingredients in this Sausage Kale Soup recipe to the container of your slow cooker. Stir until everything is evenly distributed.
Once the sausage is finished browning, add the contents of the skillet to the ingredients in the slow cooker and stir again. Try to scrape all the little bits of oil, onion, and garlic out of the skillet for maximum flavor!
Cook
Next, cook the soup until the sweet potatoes are tender. There are two different settings/cook times that can be used to make this Sausage Kale Soup Recipe:
- Cook on Low. If you want to prepare this recipe in the morning and let it cook all day long, I recommend cooking it on low for 6 hours.
- Cook on high. If you're like me, and often don't remember to prepare dinner until after lunch, cook on high for 3-4 hours.
Store/Freeze
Store any leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
FAQs about this recipe
The sweet potatoes take the longest to cook, so you will know the soup is finished when the sweet potatoes are tender and fully cooked.
If you want this soup ready quicker, chop your veggies (including the sweet potatoes) into smaller pieces. Remember, smaller, more thinly cut vegetables will cook faster!
The kale is added with the rest of the ingredients in the beginning of the cook time. Since it's a tougher green than spinach, it takes longer to cook and become tender!
I used this 6 quart slow cooker and everything fit inside very nicely (as you can see in the photo below). I don't recommend going smaller than this, as you might not be able to stir it very easily.
If you only have access to smaller crockpots, you could always divide the recipe evenly among two smaller slow cookers and cook it that way!
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Sausage Kale Soup with Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 14 oz smoked sausage diced
- ½ tsp minced garlic
- ½ onion diced
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 4 cups 1 quart vegetable broth
- 2 15 oz cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 3 kale leaves chopped
- 2 small sweet potatoes about 4 cups
- 2 stalks celery diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 large carrots diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 cups green beans fresh or frozen, chopped into 1” long pieces
- 2 TBS Italian seasoning
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add 1 TBS olive oil in a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat.
- Add olive oil, diced sausage, onion and minced garlic to the skillet and cook until it the sausage is browned (about 10 minutes).
- While the sausage is browning: add vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, chopped kale, sweet potatoes, celery, carrots green beans, and Italian seasoning to the pot of your slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Add browned sausage, onions and garlic to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours, or low for 6-8 hours until the sweet potatoes are fork tender.
- Serve warm!
Video
Notes
Ingredient Substitutions
- Smoked sausage. I used a 14 oz package of smoked sausage. Use your favorite sausage variety, and be sure to choose one that fits your dietary needs. You could use Italian sausage, but I love the flavor of smoked varieties!
- Minced Garlic. You can substitute garlic powder for the minced garlic.
- Olive Oil. Any neutral oil works well in this recipe like avocado oil or canola oil.
- Vegetable Broth. chicken broth can be used instead.
- Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes. You can use any variety or flavor of canned diced tomatoes that you like.
- Kale. You can use spinach in place of some or all of the kale, but you'll need to add it towards the end of the cook time, as it cooks very quickly.
- Sweet Potatoes. You could substitute red potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes, or Russet potatoes.
- Celery, Carrots & Green Beans. We loved this combination of vegetables. Feel free to change it up to suit your tastes. Or you could buy a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and toss it in the crockpot! I used frozen green beans (for the sake of ease and time), but you could use chopped fresh green beans!
- Italian Seasoning. Feel free to use fresh herbs and spices instead of dried Italian seasoning! But you will need to play with the amount to suit your tastes!
Store/Freeze
Store any leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.Nutrition
If you love this recipe, try these:
- Easy Tortellini Soup is made in 30 minutes!
- A bowl of this hearty vegetable soup is comforting and nutritious.
- Skip the can and make this homemade tomato soup - it's the BEST!
- Try our chicken noodle soup!
- This Chicken Pot Pie Soup is made in the slow cooker and a go-to for me on chilly, busy days.
- We adore this butternut squash soup - it's seriously the best!
- These homemade croutons or cornbread croutons are great additions to any soup!
- This Chicken and Rice soup is easy and delicious!
- Try any one of our chili recipes: chicken chili, turkey chili and beef chili!
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Jesse
Made it exactly as the recipe stated. Exactly what I was looking for. Great!
Susana
Yes, I made this recipe, it’s simple and fulfilling, my son and my husband love them. Thank you
Abby
I love this for how nutritious it is, but it also tastes good too. It's easy to make, colorful in presentation, and makes a great freezer meal.
Stacy B.
I was a bit hesitant because of the kale, (I'm usually a spinach-adder to my soups.) but I found this soup delish! I will cut the sweet potatoes smaller next time because it took about an hour longer to get them soft. I'll definitely make again!
Catie Kilpo
We were intimidated by the Kale, but this is AWESOME! Easy soup with great flavor!! The Smoked Sausage is a MUST!!!