Hearty Kale, Sausage and Butternut Squash Soup
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Soup
Cuisine: Cold Weather
Serves: 4-5 servings
Ingredients
  • ½ pound Italian Sausage (sweet or spicy, bulk crumbled or sausages cut into slices)
  • ½ onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced or grated
  • ½ large butternut squash
  • 2 cups loose packed baby kale or spinach, coarsely chopped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 thyme sprigs or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (more or less if you want to reduce or add heat)
  • ½ cup pasta of your choice (smaller works better)
  • 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon (a critical flavor component so don't skip)
  • grated parmesan cheese to top
Instructions
  1. Heat a large dutch oven on medium heat.
  2. Add sausage. If bulk, break it up into smaller pieces and allow to brown. If using sausages, place in pan whole and brown on both sides, then remove and cut into slices. Place slices back into pan to brown.
Making sure that the sausage is nicely browned will add extra flavor to the finished soup.
  1. Add diced onion and allow to soften while stirring occasionally.
  2. Once sausage is nicely browned, add garlic, stir and cook for another minute before adding stock.
  3. Along with stock, add bay leaf, thyme, tomato paste, chicken bouillon and crushed red pepper flakes.
  4. Stir to blend ingredients and loosen any browned bits of goodness from the bottom of the pot.
  5. Add pasta and butternut squash, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
If a creamier soup is desired, strain about a cup of the squash from the soup at this time and add to a blender with enough chicken stock or broth from the pot to keep it fluid. Return blended squash back to the pot and stir to combine.
  1. Add kale and simmer for another 10 minutes.
If your pasta has sucked up too much of the liquid from the soup, (as it did in mine!) you can always add a little more stock.
  1. Remove bay leaf and stems from thyme if you used fresh.
  2. Season with salt and pepper if necessary, garnish with some grated parmesan and enjoy!
Recipe by Cookin' It Real at https://www.cookinitreal.com/2015/11/05/hearty-kale-sausage-and-butternut-squash-soup/