Homemade White Bean and Kale Soup with sausage is an affordable, hearty, and comforting white bean soup recipe, with shaved Parmesan cheese!
Ingredients
2Tbspoil, plus more to garnish
1lbsweet Italian sausage, casing removed, 16 oz or 3 links
1yellow onion, diced
5-6clovesgarlic, crushed or minced
Salt to season/ taste
⅓cwhite wine
1small lemon, rind peeled into large strips (using vegetable peeler)
214 ozcans white beans, canallini or great northern, drained and rinsed
1tspblack pepper
4 ½cupschicken or vegetable broth
1bunchTuscan kale, stemmed, roughly chopped
½cfinely shaven or crumbled Parmesan to garnish, plus 1 Parmesan rind (optional)
1Tbsplemon juice
Olive oil to drizzle
Baguette, sliced
Instructions
In a Dutch oven or medium pot, heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium-high. Once hot, add the Italian sausage. Using a spatula, cut the links into irregular pieces and let sit, undisturbed—3 minutes. Once browned, stir the meat and finish cooking 2-3 minutes more. Remove the pot from the heat and remove the sausage from the pot, leaving behind any rendered fat.
Put the pot back on the heat and add 1-2 Tbsp more olive oil (more if needed). Add the onions, garlic, and white wine to deglaze, scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Reduce heat to medium-low and season with salt. Stir occasionally until softened—8-10 minutes.
Add in the sausage (and juices), lemon peel, white beans, black pepper, chicken stock, and Parmesan rind. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, 12-15 minutes. Add the kale, stir to combine, and season lightly with salt. Cover and let simmer 5-8 minutes until the kale wilts. Taste for salt once more, then stir in the lemon juice.
Serve warm with a drizzle of olive oil, a generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, and crunchy, buttered bread.