This simple but flavorful Italian soup with sausage, white beans and kale doesn’t require any pre-cooking or searing, making it a true slow-cooker meal.
“Okay mom, let’s play the smell game.”
I sort of cringed at the idea. Sweaty feet. Burnt toast. The 4th hole at the golf course that sits next to the water treatment plant and man does it reek when the wind blows.
Why do I immediately go to the dark side?
“Okay. What’s the smell game?” But of course I already know.
“It’s where we say the things we think smell the best. You go first.”
I thought for a minute. More like seconds. Immediately those gross smells vanished to make way for the good.
The smell of burnt pumpkins after being lit too closely to their lids on Halloween night.
Summer rain on black top.
The smell of Gardenias and tuberose.
Puppy breath. Only to be outdone by the nuzzle spot right below the ear in the crook of the neck of a newborn baby that’s a mixed perfume of milky baby lotion.
And of course, the obvious at our house. Food cooking in the kitchen.
From steaks grilling to cookies baking, food that’s cooking in the kitchen just might possibly be the most universally loved smell of all.
It’s one reason I love cooking in the slow cooker. It’s perfume lingers on low for eight hours or on high for four.
The other reason I love the slow cooker is for sheer ease. And this recipe is really one of the easiest. And deceptively so.
About the Recipe
This is a true slow cooker meal with no need for frying or pre-cooking. It’s cooked in two stages to ensure freshness. First, the dried beans are cooked with the veggies on low for 8 hours for a perfectly cooked bean. With this recipe there’s no need for soaking your beans before but if you really need to, go ahead and soak the beans overnight in water. This article explains more about slow cooking beans.
The meatballs are simply made from Italian sausage that’s rolled into mini meatballs. The fat in the sausage balls keeps them from needing a sear before cooking as it acts as the glue holding the meat together. For presentations sake, if you want a browner meatball, you could sear them before, but seriously, they’ll taste the same.
I used baby kale leaves in this recipe but curly kale or swiss chard would be tempting alternatives. I also added butternut squash simply because I had it in my fridge and figured, why not? Add other vegetables as you see fit, or as you need to empty your refrigerator’s crisper drawer.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Bookmark this recipe and leave a comment below, or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
- 16 ounces dried Great Northern beans
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 cups diced butternut squash
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 large cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 4 bay leaves
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 4 cups baby kale leaves
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- Shaved Parmesan cheese
- Pour the dry beans into the base of a 6 quart slow cooker with the chicken broth, carrots, celery, onion, butternut squash, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook on low for 8 hours. Meanwhile, form the sausage into small meatballs and refrigerate until ready to cook.
- Take ½ cup of the soup broth and pour into a small bowl. Whisk in the tomato paste until smooth and then add back to the slow cooker. Add the baby kale and then the sausage meatballs and cook for 30-45 minutes or until the sausage is cooked through and the beans are tender. Adjust seasonings to taste.
- Serve with shaved parmesan cheese scattered on top.
Have a great day guys, and get in the kitchen to cook something good!
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Your favorite smells are awesome – I love the pumpkin one…and it might just be making me a little excited for fall. Along with this soup which is basically fall in a bowl! I just so happen to have two packages of baby kale in the fridge right now (I’m a little obsessed with it).
I always thought that salt should be added after cooking beans as it inhibits the beans getting soft. This has been my experience as well.
Hi Mike, I thought so too, but after reading the article I linked to from The Kitchn, i decided to try it and they turned out great. You could always leave the salt for later if you prefer. I just like how it flavors the beans.
You are right. I cooked chili beans last weekend in the crock pot and they cooked 8 hours. Do not add salt. They will never get soft if you do!
Thank your for clarifying this Melinda and Mike.
You cannot go wrong with this recipe. Honestly, add almost any other veggie, and you will be fine. I added potatoes instead of squash, but you could do both!
I’ve been looking for the perfect recipe to break in my slow cooker and this is it! My sister and brother in law (and nephew!!!) are coming into town this weekend and get in late — totally making this for t hem.
I’m craving a cool October nights so I have every excuse to make a cozy soup like this one. Love these flavors!
Awesome!!! It looks very tasty.
This is definitely my kind of soup. I make something similar but on the stovetop. I am definitely trying this in the slow cooker. And I am also one of those people who is tempted to sear the meatballs first, but I am going to try it without now!
The smell game sounds fun! I love how easy slow cooker soups are, such an awesome smell to come home too as well!
Any idea as to how many people this recipe serves or how many cups it yields when you’re done?
I’m wondering the same thing!
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Awesome!!! It looks very tasty.
The pictures look very nice, thanks
This soup is phenomenal I just made it for first time today and it won’t be the last!! Thank you so much its delish!! And smells awesome! thanks again!!
Thank you Felicia. So glad you enjoyed it!
Made this tonight and the family loved it. Forgot to put the tomato paste in, honestly it was great without it. I probably cooked it a bit to long, but the butternut squash really cooked down. Gave it a bit more thickness like a chowder. The combo of the sweet squash and the savory sausage was delicios. My 7 yr old says this one’s a keeper!
What the nutritional value of the recipe for the soup
Hi Debbie, I don’t provide nutritional analysis but if you’d like to find out, you can try an app like My Fitness Pal.
Made this recipe yesterday and everyone loved it. It did take a long time for the sausage to cook. Next time I would brown the sausage in a pan before adding. My soup thickened up a lot… might be that I added higher amounts of veggies. I will definitely make this again!!
I will definitely have to try this. It looks Dee-lish!!!
This was a hit! I came home from work and was drooling in my garage from all the yummy smells. Will definitely make again.
Wow, this looks amazing. I’ve only just recently stumbled across your article and its amazing!!!
Looks tasty and simple! Does this freeze well?
Should I cook sausage meatball before putting in crock? Or will it cook in 40 min?
How many servings does this make? Looks delicious!
I cannot wait to make your Tuscan white bean soup ….the butternut squash sounds so wonderful & I appreciate allowing me to print it out to add to my soup collection … Thank You !!
Excellent info here, I am currently doing some research and found exactly what I was looing for.
Thank you for sharing!
Keep your work!
Awesome!!! It looks very tasty.
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“Slow Cooker Tuscan White Bean and Sausage Soup” is a Great Post
I will do it for my wife.
Thank you for sharing!!
Slow Cooker Tuscan White Bean and Sausage Soup it’s more testy recipe .
Can I use frozen kale and frozen butternut squash?
Hi Patricia, I think that would be a great idea.
Oh this recipe is so amazing Heidi! Thank you so much for sharing this. I’ll try to make it tomorrow!
What other meat could you use? We don’t eat pork anymore.
Hi Elizabeth, you could use hamburger, ground turkey or chicken with 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds and a pinch of red pepper flakes mixed in.
This looks awesome. Could spinach be used in place of kale?
Wonderful soup! Just had this tonight. Do you think that this would freeze well?
Do the beans not need to soak overnight beforehand???
I personally like chicken. Can I use chicken in this recipe?
Wow, this looks amazing. I’ve only just recently stumbled across your article and it’s amazing!!!
After reading this recipe. It drive me hungry!
Happy family after serving the Tuscan Bean and sausage soup for dinner. Did some variations and got all thumbs up! Instead of regular sausage, I cut up sweet italian chicken sausage and just added it in about 45 minutes towards the end. Also, because some of my family are not fans of kale, I used 2 cups spinach and 2 cups kale instead of all 4 cups of kale. Overall the soup came out thicker than the photo in the recipe. Even with these tweeks it was just so yummy and the house smelled wonderful all day as it cooked in the slow cooker.
This looks awesome.
I have made this soup many times, but usually on the stovetop as I don’t always remember to set it up for the slow cooker. In those instances I just use canned beans. Wonderful soup! Tomorrow this is being made in my Instant Pot!
Great!
Awesome!!! Thank you for sharing!!
good article ; a lot of quality informations and really good content
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Awesome recipe! Looks very tasty. Thanks for sharing. I will try to make one.
did a variation of this, i.e., no kale, just onion, tons of diced garlic, 1 can of Campbell’s tomato soup, large cardboard container of chicken broth, the hottest pepper sauce on earth ..used 5 drops a few cups of water, the smallest pasta on earth i.e., a couple of handfuls, red lentils – about a cup, one diced potato, 3 raw and sliced hot Italian sausages, bit of salt, celery see, coriander seed, black pepper, pinch of oregano, big pinches of dried dill. I think that’s it. Tasted and adjusted as I went. Slow cooked on high a couple hours, then on low a couple of hours, then back on high for an hour or so. All my soups are done in this fashion, but I got great ideas from this recipe, so thank you so much. One problem – it is way too full of fat, so gonna refrigerate and skim that off before I have tons of it as I will need a doctor if I do not do so. Louise in Ottawa, Canada eh?
Louise again, sorry, forgot to mention I did not put beans in this recipe, probably will do that next time.
I may not agree with you on this matter, i can explain the reason if you want.
Thanks
This looks very tasty and I will try it this week. This blog motivated me to start my own how to and review blog. myblog
This looks amazing. I love slow cooker recipes, but smelling delicious food cook for so many hours makes me snack like crazy!
I loved reading this article.
I made this today on the stove instead of crock pot. I used canned beans and just browned sausage (did not form into balls), it is delicious. I really enjoyed it and will definitely be making it again. I have a similar recipe where you use sweet potatoes instead of squash which is also very good.
Awesome!!! Thank you for sharing!!
Thanks for the nice recipe. Good pictures with easy to follow step.
Why do people make an entirely DIFFERENT recipe and then review it as if it were the one posted???? Get a grip! If you change it completely from a bean soup and then don’t even put the beans in it, it isn’t the same soup, it’s your variation and therefore should not be reviewed as the one posted. I really find that frustrating and down right insulting to the person who posted the original recipe.
I made this soup yesterday and it was delicious! Since it’s only the two of us, I had plenty leftover to freeze.
I actually made my mom to do this for, i loved the smell! Great recipe, thank you!
good food is good for health so this post is helpful for us
Currently I’m craving for soup and was searching for a tasty soup. I think this is what that I want to try. Thanks a lot!
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Can’t wait to try this out for my friends and husband. Look delicious. Thanks for your sharing this recipe. Will be back with reviews.
I tried this recipe yesterday Heidi. A new taste and I like this food.