Fragrant broth, creamy, earthy beans, and savory sausage make this White Bean Sausage Soup a delicious meal.

Each day, as the temperature gages steadily climb upward and my energy levels dip downward, I feel as though the fear and anxiety about the incoming scorching heat is somewhat akin to the characters in George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones creation feel about the impending winter season. “Summer is coming.” While my demons are not quite the soul-less horrors in that creep (or thrash) in the night to wreck havoc and destruction, anyone with a demyelinating disease such as MS or NMO can tell you that any residual symptoms are greatly exacerbated by temperature extremes and humidity. While I am fortunate that my own residual symptoms from my Transverse Myelitis attacks are very minimal in the greater picture, heat and humidity are my nemesis as it ridiculously ramps up my chronic fatigue. Each day, I can feel it coming - a little less energy physically, a little more of a mad rush to restock the freezer full of emergency freezer meals and meal prep that is easy during the week. This Winter Vegetable Salad has been made the rotation for two weeks in a row as the prep time yields a TON of vegetables for our two person household to consume for lunches and pair with simple proteins for a quick dinner. While there are other parts of the country still shivering with frigid temperatures, here in the Southwest I am seeing everyone bounce back and forth from the winter comfort foods to the lighter fare that the spring and summer season bring with them.

Hearty because of the beans and sausage, the broth is delicate, light, and intensely flavorful which lends itself to the soup category rather than stew.

April is an interesting month. I have always considered it an incredibly transitional month, especially having grown up in New England. It is the month where the flowers truly start to stand proud and tall (provided there is not a sneaky little snowstorm to bury them once again), the month where the dregs of the astute winter beauty starts feeling a bit frayed all around the edges. The beginning of this April was the mark of my being stable (in remission) for two full years after being diagnosed at the end of 2015 with NMO (Neuro Myelitis Optica). This is a quiet, yet triumphant, victory for myself, as the way my personal disease course was going before I found a combination of preventative medications that work for me to help keep me stable was that my attacks were becoming more and more frequent, and more severe as time went on. NMO is a lifelong disease, and I do not take it for granted that I will stay in stability as I know there is always the possibility that my body may rebel against itself again. However, I tend to approach living with NMO at this point as something akin to living with Diabetes, or living with a severe (Epi-Pen level) food allergy. This approach is more for living with the residual symptoms I have leftover (in addition to the vision loss) that become exacerbated by certain triggers - if I know it tends to trigger something, I tend to work around it or avoid it if I can. Obviously this approach will not help me if I am in the midst of an active attack but I know what to do to enrich my everyday life in the meantime :)

One of the beautiful things about having lived with NMO for three years now is that I have really learned how to be flexible, adapt, and plan for the fluctuations my body has in everyday life. One of the things I found after the vision loss and with the fatigue was that utilizing my oven was an extremely practical and so helpful during the summer. Setting those timers was crucial, but being able to pop something in the oven and walk away was crucial to ensure that I could cook something fresh without overly triggering the fatigue. Sometimes I utilize the Crockpot, though I have been eyeing an Instant Pot, and one of my favorite things to do is create my own freezer meals from my favorite recipes or recipes that I know my husband is especially fond of. That way, if I know I am not hungry/able to cook that night, my husband can still feed himself well without having to resort to takeout. :). Soups, stews, and pastas have all made it to our pretty little freezer, and I try and rotate all the things out on a regular basis so things do not get freezer burned.

Even when the summer has made its grand entrance, I will still crave fragrant soups in addition to the usual salads and BBQ fare. This White Bean Sausage Soup is completely delicious and satisfying, and freezes beautifully to allow us to partake in it without having to babysit it over a stovetop. I do think it has a better depth of flavor cooking it over the stovetop than in a Crockpot because you can sear the skin crispy on the sausage and then caramelize the onions to boost the depth of flavor and texture. All in all, it is a pretty fantastical soup that both my husband and I can agree is a meal, which is a rarity in this household.

This White Bean Sausage Soup freezes really beautifully for future meals.

This White Bean Sausage Soup is one that makes a spectacular freezer meal after the initial lunch/dinner that you have eaten it. While I have had many a heated discussion of whether or not soup actually classifies as a meal (clearly it does), this particular one is incredibly flavorful and filling, and makes scads and scads of soup. Since it is full of beans in addition to the meat and vegetables, it tends to lean towards “Stoup” rather than a true stew or true soup as the broth stays relatively thin. This works out in my advantage, as I tend to love the broth more than the stuff in the soup, and my husband loves the stuff more than the broth.

Top this soup with a bit of shaved parmesan and fresh parsley and you are good to go!

This soup comes together relatively quickly, and I have used both loose sausage and link sausage in it before. I prefer the sliced link sausage in this particular soup because of the texture the skin gets when you sear it off quickly in the Dutch Oven before you slice it and add it to the soup. First you sear it off in a bit of grassy olive oil, which you then let the links rest as you prepare the vegetables in the soup. The olive oil is then flavored from the sausage as you start to bring those onions to the brink of caramelization, adding again depths of flavor to the finished broth. One of the things I absolutely adore about soups is how many depths and characters of each ingredient lend itself to the finished soup.

The broth in this White Bean Sausage Soup is incredibly flavorful and aromatic, with a bite of heat from the red pepper flakes. As the white beans cook down just a touch, they naturally thicken the broth just a tad and just become completely inundated with the spices and aromatics. The carrots add a bit of sweetness here and there as you eat, and the secret weapon is the umami from the two tomatoes you cook down so they melt away to nothing in the broth. Sausage is always ridiculously flavorful, and adds a depth and gaminess to each delicious mouthful. The spinach wilts down and becomes so slick and adding a different element of earthiness to complement the creamy earthiness of the beans. Topped with a bit of fresh parsley and shaved parmesan for a bit more of freshness and salty umami deliciousness, this soup is perfect by itself, as a side to a sandwich, or with a big hunk of crusty bread. Obviously, my favorite is crusty bread, because crusty bread is EVERYTHING with this soup.

Perfect with a piece of crusty bread, this White Bean Sausage Soup is a meal that transcends through all the seasons.

White Bean Sausage Soup

Author: Iris Anna Gohn

Servings: 8

This soup comes together pretty quickly, so I suggest you chop all the vegetables ahead of searing off the sausage so you can monitor the vegetables better so nothing gets scorched or burned. If you wish to make it in the crockpot, I highly, highly recommend searing off the sausage and then browning the onions, tomato, and garlic before adding everything else to the crockpot (minus the spinach - add that to 30 minutes before you are about to eat) so it helps the flavors develop better.

For food safety reasons, when you are cooling a soup do not dish it out and then shove it in the freezer. This lends itself to an environment for bacteria to grow which could lend itself to food poisoning. Let the soup cool down a bit before moving to the freezer. This soup freezes up to 3 months, and the vegetables and beans maintain their integrity pretty well unlike say, a cooked potato when reheated.

I should note again that I tend to use homemade stock rather than store bought. The salt amounts I have are a basic guide, but please do not feel afraid to add more if you use store bought broth, which tends to be a bit weaker in flavor than my homemade stock. If I do not have homemade ready to go, I use Better than Bullion (Roasted Chicken) as it keeps well once opened, and I can control the intensity of the broth flavor a bit better.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Package Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage Links, sliced (I used Jennie-O brand. Feel free to use pork sausage if that is your preference)
2 Cups Chopped Onion (1 onion)
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic (2-4 cloves garlic)
1 1/2 Cups Chopped Celery (3 stalks celery)
1 Cup Chopped Carrot (2 large or 3 small carrots)
1 1/2 Cups Chopped Fresh Tomato (2 medium Vine Ripened Tomatoes)
1 Tbsp Minced Fresh Rosemary
1 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 1/2 Tsp Sea Salt+ more to taste
1/4 Tsp Fresh Cracked Black Pepper + more to taste
2 Tbsp Flour
4 Cans White Beans, rinsed and drained
8 Cups Chicken Stock
6 oz. Bag of Baby Spinach
1/4 Cup + more for garnish Shaved Parmesan Flakes

Directions

In a Dutch Oven or large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. It will smell grassy and fragrant once the pan comes to temperature.
Carefully lay the link sausages in the hot oil and sear for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until a nice brown crust appears. You do not have to cook the sausage all the way through, it will finish cooking in the soup. Set cooked sausages aside on a plate to rest for 10 minutes.
Add the onions to the hot oil and sprinkle with a tiny bit of salt to help release the water and encourage them to brown. Adjust the heat down to medium and sauté until the onions start to brown, about 5 to 7 minute.
Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, roughly 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Adjust heat up just a bit and add in the celery, carrots, tomato, rosemary, red pepper flakes, flour, salt, and pepper. Cook the vegetables down for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the vegetables do not stick.
While the vegetables are sautéing, the sausage links should be cool enough to handle. Slice them on a bias into 1/4 inch rounds and add the meat to the pot. Add the rinsed beans to the pot at this time as well.
Give everything a good stir, then add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed, then reduce heat to medium low and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes. Vegetables should be soft but still have a bit of integrity to them. If needed, simmer an additional 15 minutes. I usually let it go the additional time as I really love when the vegetables get meltingly tender.
Taste and add the 1/4 Cup parmesan, then add the spinach. It will wilt down as it cooks.
Serve with a bit of chopped parsley and shaved parmesan.