Kale and white bean sausage soup is easy to toss in the Instant Pot, set the timer, and have dinner ready to go. Hearty, filling, and delicious, it’s the perfect cozy family dinner.
One of my favorite soup recipes is my White Bean Soup with Garlic and Kale.
I love that it’s SO fragrant on the stove, and it’s a completely different flavor profile than our other standby soups (Minestrone, Tomato Basil, and Tortilla Soup).
But sometimes we want a bit of meat in our soup. Especially for those who aren’t always the biggest fans of beans. So, I decided to tweak my yummy bean soup recipe and make an Italian sausage soup recipe.
The result was hearty, filling, and delicious!
INSTANT POT SAUSAGE AND KALE SOUP
The beauty of making this Instant Pot sausage and kale soup with white beans is that you don’t have to soak or precook the beans beforehand. You literally can put ALL of the ingredients into the Instant Pot, set the timer, and walk away.
- The beans come out perfectly tender.
- Your sausage will be cooked perfectly through.
- The kale will be sufficiently wilted, and yet not mushy.
- And the broth will be flavorful and absolutely delicious!
- It’s gluten-free and dairy-free too!
It’s frugal, cooks in one pot, and hands off. It can’t get better than that!
SAUSAGE SOUP RECIPE INGREDIENTS
Another perk of this sausage soup recipe is that you probably have everything you need to make it already in your kitchen.
- Navy Beans. Navy beans have a mild, muted flavor. Great Northern beans also work well, or you can substitute another small white bean. Cannellini beans are little big for me in this soup, but you could make it work.
- Sausage. I used spicy turkey sausage links, but ground Italian Sausage soups are yummy too. Pork sausage or beef sausage are good too.
- Chicken Stock. I use Homemade Chicken Stock or chicken broth.
- Garlic Cloves. Although “garlic” isn’t in the recipe name, there’s still PLENTY of garlic in the recipe. Smashing the garlic cloves instead of using minced garlic helps really draw out the flavor in the soup.
- Seasonings: Bay Leaf + Oregano + Salt + Pepper. Kick it up with a little red pepper flakes!
- Kale. You can use all types of kale, including dinosaur kale or curly kale. Collard greens or other sturdy greens like Swiss chard or turnip greens work too.
- Olive Oil + Butter. These add richness to the soup. Don’t skip them!
- Tomato Paste. A bit of tomato paste also enhances the finished broth without making the soup overly tomato-y. Don’t forget to freeze any extra tomato paste for future recipes!
Psst! Want to kick this up a notch? Try finishing this recipe with a pinch of finishing salt! I love Ava Jane’s Kitchen because it doesn’t have microplastics (gross, right?) and it’s SO GOOD! Plus, you can get a free 8oz. bag of sea salt (just pay shipping and handling!)
KALE AND WHITE BEAN SAUSAGE SOUP INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1. Rinse and sort the beans, discarding any misshapen or discolored beans.
Step 2. Place all ingredients in the Instant Pot.
Step 3. Place the lid on the Instant Pot, lock it, and make sure the steam release valve is sealed.
Step 4. Press “soup” and use the “-“ or “+” button until you reach 45 minutes. This automatically defaults to high pressure.
Step 5. When the Instant Pot is done, use an oven mitt to turn the steam release valve to “quick release.” When the steam stops venting, carefully open the lid. Discard the bay leaf.
Step 6. Ladle up a big bowl of kale and white bean sausage soup and serve hot.
Cool sausage soup completely before storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 4 months.
NAVY BEAN KALE SAUSAGE SOUP RECIPE TIPS
- If you want to use sausage links, place them in the pot with all the other ingredients and cook as directed. After cooking, pull the sausage links out, slice them on a cutting board, and stir the chopped pieces back into the soup.
- To use ground Italian sausage in soup, use the sauté function on the Instant Pot to brown the sausage with a teaspoon or so of olive oil. Crumble the sausage as it cooks, and when it’s done, turn the Instant Pot off to add the remaining ingredients. Then cook according to the recipe!
- Most greens will cook with the soup. The only exception would be using spinach. Cook the soup as written (minus the greens) and add the spinach at the end. Give it a quick stir and close the lid. Let the soup sit for 5 minutes, and the residual heat from the soup will wilt the greens all by itself!
SERVE WITH SAUSAGE KALE AND WHITE BEAN SOUP
Sausage kale soup is a yummy one pot meal, but you can also add a side to make it stretch even further! Bread or salad are great options. Try one of these:
- Sweet Kale Salad
- Potato Buttermilk Bread
- Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread
- Easy Dinner Biscuits
- Spinach Salad with Apples and Cranberries
- Rosemary Olive Oil Bread
- Or even a spread of fresh veggies like carrots, red peppers, cucumbers, and celery.
MACRO-FRIENDLY SAUSAGE SOUP RECIPE
This sausage soup recipe is a great choice for a nourishing meal, but you can also adjust it to fit your nutrition goals.
Add more produce: Toss in a chopped onion, diced celery, some sliced mushrooms or carrots, cauliflower florets, or double the greens. Serve with a side salad for even more produce.
Add more protein. There’s plenty from the sausage and the beans, but if you want even more, double the sausage.
Don’t stress about the carbs! Yes, beans contain carbs. One serving of this soup will give you 14.5g of carbs, which fits perfectly fine into your daily needs. Navy beans also contain complex carbohydrates, which your body digests more slowly than simple carbohydrates, creating more lasting energy.
WHITE BEAN SAUSAGE SOUP FAQS
Does Instant Pot sausage kale and white bean soup freeze well?
This sausage soup freezes and reheats beautifully and the taste is enhanced as it sits, so feel free to make a double batch. Or make a big batch for a very inexpensive way to feed a crowd on just one pound of meat!
What type of Instant Pot is best for making kale and white bean soup with sausage?
I have the 8-quart Instant Pot DUO and LOVE that it can hold so much food! If you have a 6-quart Instant Pot, just make sure you don’t go past the fill line (you should be fine with this recipe, though!).
I don’t have an Instant Pot. Can I make sausage soup in the slow cooker?
Probably, although I haven’t tested it. I would cook the meat separately and add it toward the end of the cooking time, but the beans and everything else should cook fine on low all day.
Can you use canned beans for this Instant Pot sausage and kale soup?
The longer cooking time for this soup is mainly to make sure the beans are fully cooked and tender. Canned beans are already cooked, so I would honestly skip the Instant Pot and just simmer everything on the stove until it’s warm and the sausage is cooked through.
MORE EASY BEAN SOUP RECIPES
- Garlic White Bean Soup with Kale
- Easy Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili
- Northern Beans and Ham Soup
- Red Lentil Vegetable Soup
- Tortilla Soup
- Classic Minestrone Soup
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Kale and white bean sausage soup is easy to toss in the Instant Pot, set the timer, and have dinner ready to go. Hearty, filling, and delicious, it’s the perfect cozy family dinner.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
- Category: Main Meals
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry navy beans (208g)
- 2 quarts chicken stock (I used homemade chicken stock) (1920g)
- 4 large garlic cloves, smashed (12g)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup chopped kale (130g)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil (14g)
- 2 Tbsp butter (28g)
- 1 tsp dried oregano (1g)
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste (16g)
- ½ lb sausage (I used spicy turkey sausage links) (227g)
- salt & pepper, to season to taste
Instructions
- Rinse and sort beans, discarding any misshapen or discolored beans.
- Place all ingredients in the Instant Pot.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, lock it and make sure the steam release valve is sealed.
- Press “soup” and use the “-“ or “+” button until you reach 45 minutes.
- When the Instant Pot is done, use an oven mitt to turn the steam release valve to “quick release.” When the steam stops venting, carefully open the lid.
- Serve hot.
Notes
- If you want to use sausage links, place them in the pot with all the other ingredients and cook as directed. After cooking, pull the sausage links out, slice them on a cutting board, and stir the chopped pieces back into the soup.
- To use ground Italian sausage in soup, use the sauté function on the Instant Pot to brown the sausage with a teaspoon or so of olive oil. Crumble the sausage as it cooks, and when it’s done, turn the Instant Pot off to add the remaining ingredients. Then cook according to the recipe!
- Most greens will cook with the soup. The only exception would be using spinach. Cook the soup as written (minus the greens) and add the spinach at the end. Give it a quick stir and close the lid. Let the soup sit for 5 minutes, and the residual heat from the soup will wilt the greens all by itself!
I used a two-year-old (dry) bean mix for this, and I tell ya – I’ve never made better bean soup in my life! My husband didn’t remember me making bean soup, to put this in perspective, and we’ve been married 26 years ; ) Yes, I’ve made bean soup, but it’s never been this delicious. I flash-froze kale from the garden and used that for the kale (it’s December as I write this), plus some sausage patties from the farmer, chopped up. Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous.
I forgot to add 5 Stars to this recipe. Can that be added on the back end of the website?
I wanted to make sure that it was hearty and filling so I doubled the meat (hot Italian ground sausage) and tripled the amount of kale. Rather than adding salt (since I used canned stock), I used a half teaspoon of black pepper. Liberal amount of garlic. I decided to brown the sausage first but otherwise did everything else the same. It turned out to be so flavorful and one of the best things I have made in the Instant Pot. I was surprised that with such simple ingredients would produce such a rich taste. Thank you for the recipe. For those wondering, the 2X version of the recipe fits nicely in a 6 quart IP.
Thank you for sharing! We are so glad you loved this Instant Pot white bean and sausage soup recipe!
To cook beans faster you need to soak them, minimum 4hrs, preferably 8 or overnight. I’m able to do this if the soup is good.
Although i expect I may have a problem with the taste of sausages. Not the best flavours in America.
That’s why I’d gladly switch to meatballs, but I’m afraid they will fall apart with so long cooking time….
Maybe I’ll try to cook the beans, and in the middle of the process add meatballs and kale.
Kale btw looks sad even in pictures above.
What changes would you make if using a can of navy beans? not cook as long – but will the sausage be cooked? I also just got the IP and am just learning!
Hi Ashley! Honestly, I’d skip the IP and do it stove-top. Almost every IP recipe that I’ve seen calling for cooked beans has the beans added AFTER the IP is done, so in this case, it would just be easier to dump in a pot, turn the stove on medium and cook until the sausage is done!
So when I made it I made it to fit what I had on hand.
No tomato paste
Double garlic (because I have a problem)
Pinto beans
Deer sausage
I set my cooker to 40 min and added thick sliced mushrooms and cooked for 2 min (soup setting) after the 40 min.
Turned out great and can’t wait to try it the original way!
I’m glad this turned out well for you Tanna! And I think we all need a garlic problem. 😉
I made using 1 qt stock, 1/2 bay leaf, 1/2 tsp oregano, 3/5 pound hot Italian sausage links, 4 kale leaves (about 3 cups chopped), 1 tsp salt, otherwise measurements (and cooking time) as specified in recipe.
Beans were nicely done.
Kale was cooked to DEATH, mushy, falling apart, gray-green.
Sausages were almost falling apart, but texture wasn’t too bad.
Smelled good, tasted not especially great.
It was a VERY thin soup — needed more beans and more kale, even with my having reduced the stock by half and tripled the kale, compared to what the recipe specified!
I’m sorry you didn’t like the recipe Michelle. We love it, and it’s worked out every time!
Hi there. Which IP do you use? I have a 6 quart and am wondering if this will work in my pot. Sounds so good!
Hi Amy! I have this 8 quart pot: http://amzn.to/2yYH6zQ, but this recipe should work just fine in the 6 quart.
Wow! This was delicious. I was surprised at how perfectly the beans cooked in such a short time. I used chicken sausage and spinach because I had those on hand and it was perfect! My kids ate it all!
Yay! I’m so glad you all enjoyed this! ♥
Are the whole sausage links raw when you put them in the instant pot? And they cook all the way through? Or do you have to precook them?
Yep – raw into the soup and they cook in the IP!
It did and it was yummy! I have the Lux…do you think that matters for the soup function?
Maybe? I’m not sure if IP changed that function from different models… I figure they’re always improving though. I’d just make a mental note that next time to just do “manual” on high for 45 min instead. 🙂
After 45 minutes on the soup function about 1/3 of the beans are not thoroughly cooked. I used White Northern Beans instead of Navy beans. I omitted the sausage because we wanted to go meatless. Do you think that changed the cooking time? I’m not a big cook but I would’ve thought if anything the cooking time would be less without the sausage. Any thoughts?? And btw way the flavor is amazing! I also used homemade broth. I’m not going to rate the recipe poorly because I think this is my fault…I have it on the high manual setting now for 15 minutes and I think that will be plenty….
Hi Elizabeth! I don’t think taking out the sausage would effect the cooking time, but perhaps the different beans did? So strange… I tested this and it worked without any issues. The high setting should get that squared away. Glad it tastes good!!
Navy beans are a lot smaller than northern beans that would be your time difference. Still tasty with northern beans I am sure. You could switch to a canned version if you are wanting the soup to cook faster in the future. I would bump the time down if you switch to canned. Say 20 min cooking time then check it.
I don’t have money for an instant pot right now. Is it ok to use my 7 qt slow cooker? Is there much difference besides the time it will take? Thanks! It looks delicious!
Hi Sharon! I honestly can’t say. I have no doubt the recipe will work WITHOUT the meat, but I haven’t tested it WITH the meat. If you’re savvy with the slow cooker, I say go for it. If not, perhaps cook the meat separately just in case! Thank you for the compliments!! It tastes just as good as it looks! ♥
Trying this today! It took 23 minutes to come to pressure so I’ll have to make note of that for next time. It smells so good though!
Oh yes, this is a keeper for sure!
This sounds good, and is obviously gluten-free. Gotta try it!
Thanks Melissa! I hope you like it as much as I do. 🙂