Sausage, Sweet Potato and Kale Soup
This easy Sausage, Sweet Potato and Kale Soup is full of flavor and good-for-you veggies. Made with simple ingredients and ready in under an hour, it's hearty, comforting, satisfying and a perfect soup for fall and winter!
Servings: 6 (a little over 1½ cups each; recipe makes about 9½ cups total)
Estimated Calories: 348
Ingredients
- 1 pound bulk Italian sausage, mild, sweet or hot (I use mild); if you can only get links, remove the meat from the casings before cooking
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups chopped onions, about ½-inch pieces
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup dry sherry, optional
- 4 cups cubed peeled sweet potatoes, I do about ½-inch cubes (about 2 large sweet potatoes)
- 6 cups chicken broth or stock, see Notes below
- 4 cups chopped kale, stems removed
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat (I use a 5-quart pot). Add the Italian sausage and cook until no longer pink and lightly browned in spots, stirring and breaking it up into smaller chunks as you go, about 5 to 6 minutes.
- Add the onions; cook, stirring often, until the onions are beginning to soften, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic; cook, stirring constantly, for one minute.
- Add the sherry; cook, stirring frequently, until the sherry has mostly evaporated, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the sweet potatoes and chicken broth; stir to combine.
- Increase the heat and bring to a boil; then reduce the heat, cover the pot and simmer until the sweet potatoes are nearly fork-tender, about 5 to 10 minutes (depending on the size of the cubes).The sweet potatoes will continue to cook after you add the kale in the next step, so you want them just shy of fork tender in this step so they don't get too mushy after cooking with the kale.
- Add the kale; stir to combine. Cover the pot and continue simmering until the kale is wilted and slightly softened, about 5 more minutes.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding salt and pepper if needed.
- Ladle into bowls and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- For the chicken broth, I use 6 cups of water mixed with 6 teaspoons of Better Than Bouillon roasted chicken base (I think it has really great flavor). You can, of course, use your favorite chicken broth or stock, either store-bought or homemade.
- If you are using the sherry, be sure to get one that you would enjoy drinking. I don't recommend using cooking sherry, as it can sometimes be overly salty and have a different flavor.
- Wait until the soup has finished cooking to add any salt. You may not need any, depending on the saltiness of your sausage and chicken broth/stock.
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