As a registered dietitian and mom, I know how important it is to find meals that are both nourishing and easy to pull together on busy weeknights. This Kale, White Bean, and Sausage Soup is one of my go-to recipes.

It’s packed with protein, fiber, and flavor with a rosemary and Parmesan infused broth. Whether you’re cooking for a family or just for yourself, this soup will surely be one of your go-to meals.

A white bowl filled with a hearty soup containing white beans kale and sausage soup.

What you’ll love about this recipe
Key ingredients and substitutions to make the soup
How to make Sausage Kale and White Bean Soup
Expert tips from a Registered Dietitian on offering soup to picky eaters
Foods create connection and memories
Did you make the soup?
More family friendly recipes
We’re Elizabeth & Anna!
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What you’ll love about this recipe

I love this Kale, Sausage, White Bean Soup for so many reasons. It’s quick, easy, and economical to make.
It’s also wonderful because you can easily make a big batch and have enough leftovers to use for lunches and still freeze some for those nights you need a ready-made meal. And most of all, it’s warm and comforting.
This White Bean, Sausage, and Kale Soup will warm you up during a wintery weekend. Serve it with bread and a simple salad like my Favorite Everyday Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette and you’ve got yourself a comforting, hearty meal!

If you like making soups and stews you’ll also want to try our Black Bean Taco Soup and Slow Cooker Beef Stew.

A wooden table presents the perfect setup for crafting a hearty white bean sausage and kale soup: a bunch of carrots, kale, garlic, rosemary, cheese, sausage, chicken broth, and canned Great Northern beans. Every ingredient promises freshness and flavor ready to be unleashed.

Key ingredients and substitutions to make the soup

Canned white beans: cannellini (navy beans), or great northern beans will do. Cannellini beans are larger and have thicker skin, while great northern beans are smaller with a thinner skin. What’s important here is you use the white bean you like best.
Kielbasa: Any brand works. You could also use Italians sausage if you prefer.
Fresh rosemary lends a warm brightness to the soup.
Chicken stock or broth: My current favorite is Better Than Bullion. It’s concentrated stock. You only use what you need, so no more partially used boxes or cans of chicken stock lurking in the bag of the refrigerator.
Hunk of Parmesan cheese: I put a 2″x2″ hunk of Parmesan cheese in any chicken stock or veggie stock based soup. It gives soups a rich, nutty depth of flavor.
Kale: If you don’t want to use kale, you can substitute fresh spinach.

How to make Sausage Kale and White Bean Soup

Sliced sausage on a wooden cutting board with a knife in view, perfect for enhancing your white bean sausage and kale soup. A whole sausage lies off to the side on the board. A green textured cloth is partially visible on the left, adding a touch of color.

1. First, slice the sausage lengthwise and then crosswise. I usually use turkey kielbasa because I like the flavor of it in this soup. You can use any kind of sausage you like.

Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil in a dutch oven and add the sliced sausage. Cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally until they start to brown.

A wooden cutting board with chopped onions, whole carrots, and a clove of garlic. A hand is slicing an onion with a knife, prepping ingredients for a hearty white bean sausage and kale soup. A bowl of onion skins is in the background.

2.While the sausage is browning, peel and dice a small onion and peel and chop 2 cloves of garlic.

Close-up of a wooden cutting board with chopped carrots, perfect for adding to a hearty white bean sausage and kale soup. A hand skillfully slices the carrots with a knife. Nearby, a vegetable peeler and bowl of carrot peels lie next to fresh kale leaves in the corner.

3. Next, peel and cut 6-8 carrots. That’s my FAVORITE peeler in the photo there. I love that thing! My mother-in-law sent it to me recently. How have I never owned one this nice before!? It’s an OXO Good Grips Y-Peeler.

Sliced sausages on a decorative plate with a green and blue pattern, reminiscent of ingredients for a hearty white bean sausage and kale soup. The plate rests on a wooden surface next to fresh carrots, leafy greens, and rosemary.

4. Remove the browned sausage from the pan and place it in a bowl and set aside.

A cooking pot on a wooden surface holds sautéing chopped orange carrots and diced white onions, laying the flavorful foundation for a hearty white bean sausage and kale soup. The vegetables are evenly spread across the bottom with lightly browned edges.

5. Add the onions and garlic along with 2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper to the pot and sautée on medium heat for about 4 minutes. Be sure to stir them a few times. Next, add the chopped carrots and cook, stirring occasionally for another 5 minutes.

A metal colander filled with white beans, perfect for a comforting white bean, sausage, and kale soup, sits on a wooden surface. Fresh rosemary sprigs lie to the left, and a textured green cloth is partially visible above the colander.

6. Then, add 32 ounces of chicken stock, 3 cups of water and 3-15 oz cans of white beans. Be sure to drain and rinse the beans before adding them to the pot.

Cheese wedges and chopped herbs on a wooden cutting board with a knife and sprig of rosemary accompany the hearty aroma of white bean sausage and kale soup. Dark leafy greens provide a rich backdrop.

7. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat. While you’re waiting for it to come to a boil, chop 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary. And cut a 1 x 3 inch hunk of Parmesan cheese. Add the parmesan and rosemary to the pot. Once it comes to a boil, turn it down to medium heat and let it simmer.

A green colander brimming with kale leaves rests on a wooden surface, while to the right, a glass bowl holds chopped carrots and vegetable scraps—perfect ingredients for a hearty white bean sausage and kale soup. In the background, whole kale leaves are artfully arranged.

Add the browned sausage back to the pot. Then add the washed and torn kale.

A pot of white bean, sausage, and kale soup simmers on the stove. Leafy greens and diced vegetables float in the rich broth. The pot is a striking blue with a clean white interior, perfectly showcasing the vibrant medley of ingredients within.

8. Simmer this pot-of-yum for 10 minutes.

A clear glass bowl of hearty white bean sausage and kale soup brimming with carrots and vegetables, served with a ladle. Fresh leafy greens are arranged beside the bowl on a rustic wooden surface.

9. Now remove the piece of Parmesan. Taste the soup for season and adjust if it needs more salt. To cool the leftover soup, carefully transfer it to a large bowl. Leave a metal spoon or ladle in the bowl and stir the soup occasionally (this releases heat) as it cools.

Three blue-patterned bowls brim with white bean sausage and kale soup, each teeming with hearty slices of sausage, vibrant kale, and tender carrots. A silver spoon accompanies each bowl, elegantly resting on the wooden surface.

Expert tips from a Registered Dietitian on offering soup to picky eaters

Do you have a picky eater? Does your child eat soup? Mine do: now, at least. But they didn’t when they were younger. If my memory is correct (and sometimes it isn’t!) my girls didn’t like mixed-texture foods, like soups, especially when they were toddlers and preschoolers.

My 10-year-old still doesn’t love soup. She tends to eat just the broth. When she was younger, I would give her a bowl of broth and put the other soup ingredients in their own dish or on a plate.

I don’t worry if she just eats the broth because I know she gets some of the nutrients from ingredients like the kale cooked in the broth.

Foods create connection and memories

I have quite a few positive soup-related memories that contribute to my love of soup. Tomato soup and open-faced cheese sandwiches are the first food I remember cooking at my preschool when we made lunch for our parents.

Making that lunch is such a fond memory of mine. I am certain the experience is one of the reasons I have always loved to cook. We even made those placemats with wax paper and leaves. Remember those?!

Anyway, my mom used to make tomato soup and cheese toast for us when we would have a babysitter. And my grandmother, who I loved dearly, and who was an amazing cook, used to make a Russian Cucumber Soup made with tarragon, cucumbers, chicken, and sour cream that I loved. She served it with homemade bread or biscuits and salad. That meal was one of my favorites!