I love soup, and not just when it is cold out. Soup is a great alternative to dinner instead of having to prepare many different items to comprise one main dish. And while most people don’t think of soup as a main course, I don’t see why it can’t be.
To me, there is no other meal that makes you feel warm like a bowl of soup. Other times, when I feel like eating light, a bowl of soup is the perfect meal that really hits the spot. It doesn’t make me feel too full or slow me down. And when it comes to soup, all you need is a little imagination to get yourself out of the “chicken noodle soup rut” that most people are in. That’s why soup is so amazing. Today is a hearty soup loaded with veggies and pasta, and tomorrow you can eat a different one that is light and fresh tasting. Don’t get me wrong, I love chicken noodle soup as much as the next guy, but variety is the spice of life!
Today I wanted to go one step further and health-a-fy a classic so you will not only be ridiculously satisfied when eating it but not feel guilty afterward. All without sacrificing any flavor, and in fact, kicking it up quite a few notches! So let’s make some Chicken Sausage and White Bean Soup.Keep reading at https://katienicholl.com/
This recipe typically uses pork sausage and tomatoes, but I thought I would give it a try with a less fatty sausage and roasted red peppers to update this classic soup. I also opted to use spinach instead of kale (the green typically seen in this soup). Why do you ask? Well, as much as my daughter loves Kale Chips she does not like the actual vegetable in soup. However, she does love spinach, and anytime I can get a dark green veggie on her plate is a small victory for me and my wife.
You will notice that in a good amount of my recipes I use roasted red pepper sauce (or purée) instead of tomatoes. This is because my wife has a tomato allergy so we use roasted red pepper sauce to replace whatever recipe calls for tomato sauces, paste, or purées, and it always works out deliciously. In fact, my recipes come out way more flavorful than the originals that have tomato in them. I always get a kick out of when we have company over and they are not only amazed by the brighter flavor of my dishes but blown away when I tell them the ingredient that gave the dish its unique quality was actually roasted red peppers.
As far as the health aspects of using roasted red peppers as my purée base goes, just know that bell peppers are loaded with vitamin C. In fact, bell peppers have more vitamin C than an orange does.
Yet, I also managed to healthy-up this classic soup another little bit by using not only the roasted red peppers but also by cutting down on the fat content of regular pork sausage by using chicken sausage instead. Is there still fat in a chicken sausage? Yes, but nowhere near what you would find in a pork sausage.
The spinach and the beans in this soup also add a good amount of health as well. Spinach is a super veggie and is loaded with iron, while the beans have iron and fiber as well as a slew of other goodies on the nutrition side.
Basically, my version of this delicious, satisfying winter soup has oodles of vitamin C, iron, fiber, protein, thiamin, and folate (to name but a few). What I love most about this soup is that when you are eating it, healthy food is the last thing you’re thinking you are eating, because all you will care about is how delicious it is and if there is enough for a second bowl!
Chicken Sausage and White Bean Soup
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive Oil
6 Chicken Sausage Links; casings removed
1 large Sweet Onion; ½ inch dice
2 cloves of Garlic; minced
½ tsp Smoke Paprika
3 cups of Low Sodium Chicken Stock
1-14oz jar of Roasted Red Bell Peppers; packed in water only and puréed in a blender until smooth
1-16oz can of Great Northern Beans (or navy beans); drained and rinsed
3 giant handfuls of fresh leaf Spinach
Salt and Pepper to taste
Method:
In a large soup pot over medium heat, heat up olive oil and start to put sausages in without the casings. As it is cooking, break up the sausages with a wooden spoon. Cook until sausage meat is done; about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove sausage form the pot to a holding bowl.
In the same pot over medium heat, sauté the onions for about 3 minutes to soften and pick up the brown bits from the sausage (you may need to add one more tsp of olive oil if your sausage was very dry for the onions to cook).
Add the garlic and sauté for another minute.
Add the sausage back to the pot along with any juices.
Add the red pepper purée, stock, and beans; raise the heat to high and bring to a boil.
Adjust flavor for salt and pepper and then reduce heat to low, cover and let soup simmer for 45 minutes.
After 45 minutes turn off the flame, add all the spinach and stir to wilt, and combine.
Serve
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