This week I organized my freezer to see what I have on hand so I can make a meal plan for the week. In exploring the bottom of my freezer I discovered several different types of sausage that I had bought some time ago and never got around to using. I found kielbasa, andouille, and ground pork sausage. I used to use these for special occasions like happy hour in which I would serve the sliced sausage on a platter with other finger foods. Now I’m not doing that because of the pandemic. To use up the sausage I decided to try it in a soup.

I decided to use the ground pork sausage to make a sausage and vegetable soup. I use carrots, celery, zucchini, tomatoes, white beans, and green beans for this recipe but you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand. The green beans I have were frozen from last summer’s harvest. If you use something frozen like this, be sure to thaw it in the refrigerator the night before you plan to use it. I also had to strain out excess water from the beans.

The sausage, herbs, garlic, onions, and vegetables make this a very flavorful soup. The color of the soup is beautiful and it delivers big bold flavor. This is both healthy because of the vegetables and filling because of the sausage and beans. Most of the work for this recipe is the chopping the vegetables; otherwise it’s easy to make.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 lbs. regular ground pork sausage
• 1 cup yellow onion, small dice
• 1/2 cup celery, med. dice
• 1/2 cup carrots, med. dice
• 1 tbsp. jalapeno, minced
• 1 tbsp. garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. chicken base
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp. dried basil
• 1 tbsp. dried oregano
• 1 1/2 – 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 medium zucchinis, 1/4 inch sliced (4 cups)
• 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 28 oz. can water or 3 1/2 cups
• 2 cups cut green beans (frozen), thawed
• 1 14.5 oz. can white beans (great northern or cannellini)
• 1/3 cup Italian parsley, chopped

Instructions

To start off, heat a tbsp. of oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Brown the sausage, then remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Keep the fat in the pot.

Add onion, celery, jalapeno, and carrots to the pot. Sauté for 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic, then sauté for a minute, stirring frequently.

Add bay leaves, basil, oregano, chicken base, 1 tsp. salt, and black pepper, then cook for another minute. Add zucchini to the pot and cook for a couple minutes.

Add sausage and tomatoes to the pan, then fill the tomato can with water. Pour the water from the tomato can into the pot. Stir and bring to boil. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, then add green beans and white beans, including its juices. Stir gently, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.

Taste for seasoning. You might have to add another 1/2 tsp. or 1 tsp. salt if preferred. Turn the heat off and stir in the chopped parsley. You can serve the soup with your favorite type to bread, simple salad, or grilled cheese sandwich!

Serves 8-10

Did you make this dish? I’d love to know how it turns out! Feel free to like this post and comment or use the hashtag #globaldinein on Instagram