Italian Chicken Sausage and Cabbage Soup: Perfect Fall Soup Recipe

I’m so excited to launch my new blog series: Four Soups to Fall For This Autumn. Over the next several days, I’ll be sharing a healthy twist on some favorite fall soups. They are easy to make and comforting without all the guilt. Kicking it off with my Italian Chicken Sausage and Cabbage Soup! This is the perfect fall soup because it’s so comforting and packed with ingredients, yet incredibly healthy!

In this soup, you’ll get a daily serving of your vegetables, a bit of protein from the chicken sausage and white beans, and bites of fall with the parsnips and butternut squash. Sounds amazing and healthy, doesn’t it? This soup is so healthy without sacrificing any flavor! I promise! The best thing about this soup is the fact that it takes only 30 minutes to whip together! It’s the perfect soup for a busy weeknight meal! 

The recipe below is for a large batch of  soup because I like to eat it throughout the week and freeze what’s leftover after a few days. This soup freezes well and make for a great grab and go lunch during a busy week. It would also serve a large crowd for a college GameDay – at a tailgate or home football party. I served this soup with a glass of cider on a crisp fall Sunday as football was playing in the background and it was the perfect day! 

The great thing about this soup is the fact that you can play with the flavors as much as you want. You can add less or more of anything in the recipe below without impacting the flavor profile too much. For example, you can add green beans, sweet potatoes, zucchini….really any vegetable your heart desires. You can also add pasta or quinoa to this if you’d like to make it a little heartier. Simply keep the basics of garlic, onions, celery, broth and tomatoes and play with the rest of the ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken sausage
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes
• 15 oz tomato sauce
• 6 cups of chicken stock
• 2 cans of white beans
• 4-5 cups of cabbage, chopped
• 4 cloves fresh garlic, finely diced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 5 carrots, diced
• 1 cup butternut squash, diced
• 3 parsnips, diced
• 1 Parmesan cheese rind
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp thyme

Directions:

In a large soup pan over medium heat, add the olive oil , onions, and celery. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Remove the chicken sausage from the casings and add to the onion mixture. Break the sausage a part into very small pieces and cook until the sausage is no longer pink. Add the dried herbs, Parmesan cheese rind ( you can find some at specialty food stores or just reserve your own when you buy a fresh brick of cheese) and dried herbs and mix everything together well. Now add the tomatoes, sauce, and stock. Bring the soup to a boil and then turn the heat to low. Add the vegetables and cabbage and simmer until the vegetables are fork tender. Finally add the white beans and cook another two minutes. Ladle a large serving into a soup bowl and top with freshly grated Parmesan or fresh herbs!

NOTE: This recipe makes a large batch of soup. I like to have it for lunch and dinner throughout the week. It also freezes well. I like to divide the soup into single serving portions in a freezer bag, so I can grab and take for lunch during a busy week. 

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