This Italian Sausage Soup made with sausage, pasta, peppers and spinach is so flavorful and satisfying, you’ll wish you had made a double batch!
Don’t forget the cheese when serving! We like both mozzarella and parmesan, just like grandma would have done. I sure think she’d love this recipe! Serve it with easy garlic knots and quick chocolate mousse.
Italian Sausage Soup
Italian Sausage Soup {Stove or Instant Pot}
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Italian Sausage Soup Ingredients
- Italian sausage – The recipe calls for sweet sausage, but you could certainly use spicy if you prefer a kick!
- Yellow onion – Diced or minced. White onion will work too.
- Sweet bell peppers – I love doing a mix of colors for this recipe, it just makes the soup look so beautiful.
- Minced garlic – Fresh garlic is always going to give you the most flavor, but pre-minced or even dried will work in a pinch.
- Chicken broth – Vegetable broth or even beef broth will also work. If you don’t have broth you can also use bouillon cubes or paste.
- Italian-style diced tomatoes – These are found in the canned tomato section. If you only have plain canned tomatoes, or prefer to use fresh, toss in a teaspoon of Italian seasoning as well.
- Spaghetti sauce – Whatever your favorite spaghetti sauce is! You could even prepare your own with our quick blender spaghetti sauce recipe or slow cooker marinara.
- Radiatore pasta – I just love the shape of this pasta! That said, you can use any shape you prefer or have on hand. Our market makes pasta buy one get one every few weeks, so we always have a curious collection of pasta shapes in the pantry.
- Fresh spinach – You can substitute frozen spinach if you like, but remember you’ll need far less frozen since it cooks down so much. Also, if you use frozen make sure to chop it well as it is known to be a little bit stringy. You could also substitute kale or even mustard greens.
- Optional – Diced mozzarella, grated parmesan, fresh basil.
How do you make Italian Sausage Soup? (Step-by-step)
⭐ First, brown sausage in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.
⭐ Next, add onion and peppers. Saute stirring occasionally. Add garlic and saute an additional few minutes.
⭐ Then, stir in broth, diced tomatoes, and spaghetti sauce. Bring to a light boil. Add pasta, lower heat, and simmer until just cooked. Turn off heat and stir in spinach.
⭐ Finally, add about diced mozzarella into the bottom of serving bowl and spoon soup over it. Top with grated parmesan and fresh basil and enjoy!
You can also make this in the instant pot! Check out our huge collection of instapot recipes for more great ideas!
Preparation
Can you make Italian Sausage Soup ahead of time?
You can make the soup ahead of time, but ideally you’ll want to add the pasta, spinach and cheese right before you serve. If you add them and then save it for later, the pasta will continue to soak up the liquid and the cheese may congeal.
Can I make it in the instant pot?
You can prepare this in the instapot! Do the cook the sausage, peppers, and onion in the pot on saute mode, then use manual for the soup, and stir in the pasta and spinach at the end. Scroll down to the detailed recipe card for complete directions!
Variations
🟢 Try it with different types of meat, like cooked chicken breast, ground turkey, ground beef, or even stew meat.
🟢 Go vegetarian and skip the meat entirely. Try adding some eggplant or extra greens.
🟢 Make it decadent by pouring a cup of heavy cream in at the end.
🟢 If you’re gluten-free try substituting the pasta for rice or even zucchini noodles!
Storage and leftovers
How long does Italian Sausage Soup last?
The soup will last 3 – 4 days in the refrigerator. Make sure it’s cooled, then store in a covered container. The pasta will continue to soak up the liquid as it sits, so you may have to stir in extra broth or water when reheating.
Can I freeze the soup?
You can freeze Italian soup made with sausage! If you are making it ahead of time, it’s best to freeze the soup before adding the pasta and spinach. If you’re freezing leftovers, just know that you’ll probably need to add extra broth or water
How to reheat the leftovers
Leftovers are best reheated on the stove top over medium-high heat. Stir frequently and add more liquid as needed. You can also reheat in the microwave at about 2 – 3 minutes on high power per bowl.
Complete your meal with our recipe suggestions
This is truly a meal in a bowl if you want it to be, but I love to serve heavy soups like this with something light like a side of tropical fruit salad or a bright lemon bar square!
More Italian inspired recipes
- Shredded Italian Beef Recipe
- Sausage and Peppers on Flatbread
- Sausage and Peppers Stuffed Shells
- Italian noodle salad recipe
- See all our Italian dinner ideas!
More delicious soups
- Meatball Soup with Frozen Meatballs
- Stuffed Cabbage Soup Recipe
- Loaded Potato Soup
- Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
- See all our easy soup recipes!
Other amazing instant pot recipes to try next
- Instant pot crack chicken
- Instant pot Mississippi pot roast recipe
- Instant pot bbq ribs
- Instant pot broccoli cheese soup
- Instant pot loaded potato soup
- See all our instant pot recipe ideas!
Suggested tools
- Santoku knife – My favorite knife for cutting vegetables! This knife is the perfect size and shape, handles great, and is super reasonably priced. Also, I just love that it’s fun and colorful!
- Garlic press – Need fresh minced or sliced garlic, but don’t want to peel or chop your garlic? This garlic press is the bessssssst. We’ve had ours for as long as I can remember (maybe a wedding present?), and I use it several times a week!
- Instant Pot electric pressure cooker – Hey there working parent! It’s me! Also a working parent! Can we talk about how hard it is to get a healthy dinner on the table during the week? So. Hard. Well, Imma tell you – this electric pressure cooker, and my gas grill are the saving graces in our home. A delicious roast with carrots and potatoes in 45 minutes? Yes, please! You’re seriously going to love this one! Check out all the instant pot recipes you can make on our site!
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How to Make Italian Sausage Soup
Italian Sausage Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet ground Italian sausage
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 2 sweet bell peppers mix of colors
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 can Italian-style diced tomatoes 14 ounces
- 1 jar spaghetti sauce 24 ounces
- 2 cups radiatore pasta
- 2 ½ cups chopped fresh spinach
- Optional:
- 2 cups diced mozzarella
- Grated parmesan to taste
- Fresh basil to taste
Instructions
STOVE TOP
- Brown sausage in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.
- Add onion and peppers. Saute 3 - 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and saute an additional 3 - 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in broth, diced tomatoes, and spaghetti sauce. Bring to a light boil.
- Add pasta, lower heat, and simmer until just cooked (about 10 minutes, or according to package directions). Turn off heat and stir in spinach.
- Add about ¼ cup diced mozzarella into the bottom of each serving bowl and spoon soup over it. Top with grated parmesan and fresh basil and enjoy!
INSTANT POT
- Brown sausage on sauté mode.
- Add onion and peppers. Sauté 3 - 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and saute an additional 3 - 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in broth, diced tomatoes, and spaghetti sauce. Set to manual 5 minutes then hit cancel and carefully quick release.
- Stir in pasta, return cover to pot and set to sealing. Allow pasta to cook with residual heat, about 10 - 15 minutes or until cooked to your liking . Turn off heat and stir in spinach.
- While pasta is cooking, add about ¼ cup diced mozzarella into the bottom of each serving bowl and spoon soup over it. Top with grated parmesan and fresh basil and enjoy!
SLOW COOKER
- Brown sausage in a skillet on the stove top.
- Add browned sausage, onion, peppers, garlic, broth, tomatoes, and spaghetti sauce to the slow cooker. Cover and cook low 3 - 6 hours or high 2 - 3 hours.
- About 30 minutes before you're ready to serve, stir in pasta. Cover.
- Add about ¼ cup diced mozzarella into the bottom of each serving bowl and spoon soup over it. Top with grated parmesan and fresh basil and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Cook time - Most electric pressure cookers take about 10 - 15 minutes to come to pressure. The inputted cook time will begin after the pot is pressurized.
- Natural pressure release - Hit cancel and walk away from the pot. It will slowly naturally depressurize. Depending on the contents this can take anywhere between 10 - 20 minutes for a full natural release.
- Quick release - Turn the dial at the top of your pot to allow the pressure to release quickly. Always use a long handled utensil for this to avoid steam burns. Do not quick release under cabinets or you may cause steam/water damage. If there is sputtering, quickly turn dial back to 'sealing' and allow it to naturally depressurize a few minutes before trying again.
Nutrition
Italian Sausage Soup {Stove or Instant Pot}
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katerina says
I would love a bowl of this amazing soup!! I can’t wait to try it!
Trang says
This is wonderful right now because it’s so chilly outside. Plus, this is also a great way to hide in some veggies for my kid!
Kimberly says
This is SO good and positively packed with flavor!!
Krissy Allori says
So hearty, delicious and easy to make. I almost always have these ingredients on hand too. Still chilly here most days so the more soup the merrier.
Joann says
Hi, I have not made this yet. But I do have a question. Can I omit the spinach (we don’t like it)? Thanks for any help you can give me. Have a wonderful and blessed Day.
April Woods says
Yes you can omit the spinach.
Andrea Charles says
Just reading the title made me salivate. Highly appreciate your timeless efforts in giving us readers such a detailed and elaborate recipe every time you put together a dish dear April. I followed the step-by-step guidelines of this article and I should say I did regret to have not made a double batch. It turned out to be so delicious and I will definitely make them again. Thank you and awaiting more such sumptuous recipes.
Emily says
This is delicious! My family loved it! I am not a fan of spicy foods, but since I used mild Italian sausage, I think I wouill add some red pepper flakes. Thank you for posting this recipe.
Terri says
Yummy! I added about a cup of sliced black olives, and next time I’ll add green olives too. Also added about 1-2 T of oregano & basil. 1 bay leaf. And before adding pasta, i let it simmer about an hour to get tons of flavor. After adding spinach, I did add a cup of heavy cream. So very good!
Terri Headley says
Delicious! Perfect for our dinner on this rainy day. I used the fire roasted tomatoes with garlic, and added a handful of fresh tomatoes from end of the garden season. I always save the rinds of Parmesan cheese to add to soups like this, and I did. I like to let soups simmer for a couple hours to get all the yummy flavors in. So it smells wonderful & just waiting to add pasta & spinach. But my sample tastings have been delicious!
Laurie Brett says
This soup is delicious!!!!!
Annette says
Made the soup without spinach as I didn’t have any, but added cannellini beans & couple shakes of Italian seasoning. Loved the flavor & the fact that u can add so many things to make it different. I did boil the pasta separately as I didn’t want it to soak up all that yummy broth. As with most Italian dishes, I’m thinking that the leftovers will be even more flavorful. So delish!!
Michele says
This is delicious! No need to add the spinach.
Mary M Hubbard says
This was my first time making this soup. I will definitely make it again. The flavor is so yummy.
Sharon Cader says
This soup is delish! So simple to make, I should have doubled it though. I could not find the pasta called for, but cheese tortellini by Barilla worked perfectly in its place. Salad & cheesy garlic bread completed it beautifully. I will be making this again and doubling it. Thank- you for sharing.
Louise says
Outstanding! Easy to prepare, full of flavor, full of veggies that add nutrition !
Fulmerrl says
Is this supposed to be a Keto recipe? Just wondered why there is pasta added? I’m new to Keto so maybe there are other ingredients that counteract that I just didn’t see. I really want to try this but also want to stick to my diet. Thank you in advance.
April Woods says
This is not a keto recipe.
Yvonne says
It was ok, a little to tomato taste to me. I did have to add Italian spices to enhance the flavor.
Marielle says
this soup is amazing!!! I added shrimps at the end…OMG. and so easy
April Woods says
Great idea! Yum!