This recipe for Italian Sausage and Black Bean Soup is one of those perfect meals for a cold day. It’s pretty simple to make, requires minimal ingredients, and can be made and frozen ahead if desired.
The inspiration for this recipe
When I was a kid, I remember my mom making something similar to this with a ham bone, white beans, and tomatoes. It was always one of my favourite meals in the winter time! In the creation of this recipe, it was those fond memories that inspired me to take what I had (pork sausage and black beans) and come out with this delicious variation. I am pleased with the results!
What is the best kind of sausage to use?
As you might have guessed, I use Italian sausage. I often opt for mild sausage, since I want to keep it not-too-hot for the kids, but a yummy hot Italian sausage would work well for this as well. Just maybe omit the red chilli flakes if you go for the heat up front.
Cooking your own beans
Side note, black beans are one of my favourite legumes, and I like to keep a bag of them (dry) in the cupboard for meals like this one. The best thing about them is that so long as they’re dry, they pretty much never go bad, and they don’t take up too much space in the cupboard.
If you’ve never cooked your own beans before, you can check out This Tutorial to see my quick-cook method for dry beans!
Is this Italian sausage soup easy to make?
Very much so! This is one of those “Super simple” recipes that I whip out of my back pocket when I need a quick meal. There aren’t a lot of ingredients, and those it does have don’t require a lot of work.
How to serve this soup
My Italian sausage and black bean soup is the best with a fresh Homemade Roll, Mock Sourdough Bread, or Easy French Bread. Cornbread would be another great option!
Can I have the recipe?
Yep, you’re almost there… scroll down!
Italian Sausage and Black Bean Soup
I created this recipe during the quarantine days of covid-19. It's been a delicious, simple, comforting recipe to make for those long, cold days.
Ingredients
- 2 Italian sausages hot or mild, whichever you prefer
- 5 cups water
- 1 medium onion
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 sm-med potatoes washed, peeled and chopped
- 2 med carrots washed, peeled and chopped
- 2 cups black beans cooked
- 1 can diced tomatoes (1 can = 796mL or 28oz)
- 1 handful fresh parsley* washed and chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1-1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
- 1/4 tsp chili flakes optional
Instructions
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In a med-large sized pot, combine the sausages and water with about 1 tsp of salt and 1/4 of the onion. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook until the sausages are cooked through (about 30 minutes).
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Remove the sausages from the broth, discard the onion, and cut the sausages into small pieces. Pour the broth into a separate container.
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Chop up the remaining 3/4 of the onion and fry in a bit of oil in the base of the pot till transparent or just starting to brown. Add the broth back in, and bring it to a boil.
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Add the potatoes and carrots to the broth, and cook until just starting to soften. Now add the sausage pieces, black beans, and diced tomatoes, and the remaining ingredients. Bring the soup back to a gentle boil.
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Reduce the heat to a simmer, season to taste with salt and pepper, and allow the soup to cook 30 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Serve.
Recipe Notes
Tip: Unless I really plan how I'm going to use it, one bunch of fresh parsley is the kind of thing that's likely to go bad in my fridge before I can use it all up. So, I just wash whatever I don't think I'll get a chance to use up fresh, and then I freeze it for soup! If you have a lot, just divide the washed parsley into "Handful portions," and put it in ziplock bags for an easy addition to whatever soup you happen to make.
Used in this recipe:
- Ingredients (see recipe above)
- Medium/large heavy bottomed pot
- Cutting board
- Vegetable peeler
- Quality chef’s knife
- Paring knife
- Can opener
I hope you enjoy this recipe! As always, if you make it please tag me on Facebook @naomicakes or Instagram @naomicakesofficial… I would love to see how yours came out!
–Naomi
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