Sausage Potato Soup is Italian sausage browned in the pot, then onion, celery, and potatoes simmered right in the drippings and finished with cream and Parmesan. It’s thick enough that a spoon stands up in it. Fifty minutes, one pot, serves 6.
The Soup I Make When It’s Dark at 5 O’Clock
October in Alberta is when the light starts quitting early and I stop pretending I’m going to cook anything ambitious.
This is the answer. One pot. Sausage browns first, the vegetables cook in what it leaves behind, potatoes go in, and 50 minutes later there’s dinner for 6 and enough left over to hand off.
It’s thick. I want to be clear about that. This is not a soup you sip from a mug while contemplating the leaves changing. You eat it with a spoon, sitting down, and then you’re done for the evening.
The smell of a pound of Italian sausage browning brings everyone in. Remo turns up. Jack Ryan is already standing on my foot because Jack is always standing on my foot, but he arrives with a professional interest in the situation. Solo stays outside doing his rounds, which is the only reason there was any left.
Yukon Golds, not russets. Russets dissolve and you end up with wallpaper paste.
The Secret Is in the Drippings
Brown the sausage. Then lift it out with a slotted spoon and leave absolutely everything else in that pot.
I know the fat looks like a lot. Leave it. That fat and those browned bits welded to the bottom are the entire reason this soup tastes like anything. Pour them down the sink and you’ve made potato soup with some sausage floating in it, which is a sadder dish with a longer cooking time.
Everything after this cooks in those drippings. The onion and celery soften in it. The flour picks it up. The broth lifts the stuck bits off the bottom and spreads them through the whole pot.
The sausage goes back in at the end, not the beginning. Twenty minutes simmering in liquid turns it into little rubber pellets and there’s no coming back from that.
Ingredients in Sausage Potato Soup
- Italian sausage (1 pound, casings removed): Mild or hot, your call. Hot gives it a warm background burn. Squeeze it out of the casings like toothpaste and break it up as it browns.
- Unsalted butter (2 tablespoons): Goes in with the drippings. Between the two you’ve got enough fat for the flour.
- Onion and celery (1 large onion, 2 stalks, both diced): The base. Give them the full 5 to 6 minutes. I know you want to move on. Six minutes.
- Garlic (4 cloves, minced): One minute and no longer. It’s sitting in hot sausage fat and it will turn on you.
- All purpose flour (¼ cup): Into the fat for a minute or 2 until it stops smelling raw. This is why the soup is thick and not sad.
- Chicken broth (5 cups, low sodium): Low sodium, please. Between the sausage and a cup of Parmesan there’s a salt situation developing.
- Yukon Gold potatoes (2 pounds, diced): They hold their shape and go creamy at the edges. Russets break down into paste. I’ve made that mistake so you don’t have to.
- Dried thyme (1 teaspoon): Thyme and sausage have been together a long time. Don’t interfere.
- Smoked paprika (½ teaspoon): Smoked, not sweet. It backs up the sausage and puts a low hum of smoke under everything.
- Salt and black pepper (½ teaspoon each): Start here. Taste at the very end, after the cheese, when you actually know what you’ve got.
- Heavy cream (1 cup): Full fat, in at the end, heat down low.
- Spinach or kale (2 cups, chopped): The only green thing in the pot. Let it have this.
- Parmesan cheese (1 cup, grated): From a block. Pre shredded is coated with stuff that keeps it from clumping in the bag, and that same stuff keeps it from melting in your soup. It sits there in little threads, refusing. I will say this in every recipe I ever write.
- Fresh parsley (2 tablespoons, chopped): On at the end. Fifteen seconds of effort and the bowl looks like somebody cared.
How to Make Sausage Potato Soup
Brown the sausage: In a large pot over medium high heat, cook the sausage, breaking it up as it goes, until it’s browned. Lift it out with a slotted spoon and set it aside. Leave the drippings. All of them. We’ve been over this.
Soften the onion and celery: Add the butter to the pot, then the diced onion and celery. Cook 5 to 6 minutes until soft, scraping the bottom as you go to get those browned bits up. Stir in the garlic for 1 minute and no longer.
Make the roux: Sprinkle in the flour and stir for a minute or 2, until it coats everything and stops smelling like raw flour. It’ll look like paste. It’s meant to.
Add the broth and potatoes: Pour in the chicken broth slowly, stirring as you go so it stays smooth. Add the diced potatoes, thyme, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Bring it to a simmer and cook 15 to 18 minutes, until a fork goes into a potato without a fight.
Bring back the sausage and greens: Return the sausage to the pot. Drop the heat to low, then stir in the heavy cream and the spinach. Two to 3 minutes is all the greens need to wilt.
Finish with Parmesan: Stir in the Parmesan until it’s melted and smooth. Keep the heat low from here. Let it boil now and the cream and cheese will split on you, and no amount of stirring brings that back.
Serve: Ladle it out, scatter the parsley over the top, and get it to the table.
Tips
- Leave the drippings. Yes, again. It’s the whole post.
- Don’t boil it after the cream and cheese go in. Low heat, gentle stirring. Cheese and a hard boil have never gotten along.
- Grate your own Parmesan. Three minutes with a box grater versus a soup full of little threads that refuse to melt.
- Taste at the end, not the beginning. The sausage, the broth, and a cup of Parmesan all bring salt, and by the time they’re all in the pot it’s usually sorted itself out.
- Cut the potatoes roughly the same size so they finish together. Not perfectly. Roughly.
Substitutions and Variations
- Kale instead of spinach works and holds up better. Give it an extra minute or 2 to soften.
- Hot Italian sausage if you want heat, mild if you don’t. Breakfast sausage works in a pinch but you’ll miss the fennel.
- Vegetable broth in place of chicken broth is a straight swap.
- I haven’t tested these, so treat them as suggestions rather than part of the recipe, but this soup would take sliced mushrooms cooked down with the onion, or a drained can of white beans stirred in at the end.
Leftovers and Storage
Airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It thickens overnight, which I consider an upgrade, but loosen it with a splash of broth or milk when you reheat.
Warm it gently on the stove over low heat, stirring. Don’t let it boil or the cream will split.
Don’t freeze it. Cream and potatoes both come back from the freezer with a texture nobody ordered.
What to Serve With It
Crusty bread. That’s the answer. You’re going to want to get every bit of this out of the bowl and a spoon only takes you so far.
A green salad with a sharp vinaigrette if you want something to argue with all that cream.
And if you’ve got more than you can get through, my system is to text the neighbors and deliver it by golf cart. Soup travels better than you’d think.
Try These Recipes Next
- Fried Cabbage with Sausage and Bacon
- Cheesy Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
- Sheet Pan Maple Mustard Sausage and Potatoes
- Sheet Pan Sausage and Cabbage
- Italian Wedding Soup
Sausage Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 5 cups chicken broth, low sodium
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups fresh spinach , or kale, chopped
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium high heat, cook the 1 pound sausage, breaking it up, until browned. Lift it out with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pot. That browned sausage and its fat are the flavor base of the whole soup, so do not drain them away.
- Add the 2 tablespoons butter to the pot, then add the diced onion and celery. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until softened, scraping up the browned bits. Stir in the 4 cloves minced garlic for 1 minute more.
- Sprinkle in the ¼ cup flour and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, until it coats the vegetables and loses its raw smell. This thickens the soup into something rich and creamy.
- Slowly pour in the 5 cups chicken broth while stirring to keep it smooth. Add the 2 pounds diced potatoes, 1 teaspoon thyme, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 to 18 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Return the browned sausage to the pot. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the 1 cup heavy cream and the 2 cups spinach, cooking for 2 to 3 minutes, until the greens wilt.
- Stir in the 1 cup Parmesan until melted and smooth. Do not let it boil once the cream and cheese are in, or the soup can break.
- Ladle into bowls and finish with the 2 tablespoons parsley.
Recipe Notes
- Keep the drippings. Lift the browned sausage out with a slotted spoon and leave the fat and browned bits in the pot. That’s the flavor base for everything that follows.
- Add the sausage back at the end. Simmering it in liquid for 20 minutes turns it rubbery.
- Use Yukon Gold potatoes. They hold their shape and go creamy at the edges. Russets break down into mush.
- Grate your own Parmesan. Pre shredded cheese is coated with an anti caking agent that resists melting and leaves the soup grainy.
- Don’t boil after the dairy. Once the cream and Parmesan are in, keep the heat low. A hard boil will split it.
- Taste at the end. The sausage, broth, and Parmesan all bring salt. Season after they’re all in.
- Storage. Airtight in the fridge up to 4 days. It thickens overnight, so loosen with broth or milk when reheating. Freezing isn’t recommended, cream and potatoes don’t thaw well.
Nutrition Information
Frequently Asked Questions
You can, but they break down into mush. Yukon Golds hold their shape and go creamy at the edges, which is what you want.
It boiled after the cream and cheese went in. Once those are in the pot, keep it on low and don’t let it bubble hard.
Yes, and it’s so much better on day 2. Reheat gently and loosen it with a splash of broth.
You can, but it’ll be a much thinner soup. The flour is why this is thick enough to eat with a spoon instead of drinking.
Either. Hot gives it a warm background heat that works well against the cream. Mild keeps it friendly for everyone at the table.
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