Kale, Sausage, & White Bean Stew

I’m always playing around with recipes. And let us say ‘recipes’ loosely.  To begin with, I rarely follow a recipe, then when I make something really good, I can’t remember how I made it!  Luckily, this one was so good that immediately as I was eating I wrote down exactly what I’d done.

This Kale and Sausage stew is the perfect cozy fall evening recipe, AND it is super simple and quick.  Case & point, I made it on Sunday night after traveling all day and arriving home around 7:30pm. It was travel-all-day-want-something-fast-to-shove-in-my-face kind of easy.

I save time by buying pre-chopped kale and pre-cooked italian sausage links (both from Trader Joe’s).  Aside from chopping an onion, the rest is just canned.  Not only is this soup amazingly delicious, but it’s healthy as well! We’re eating clean for the next month in preparation for our beach vacation, so meals like this (fast+hearty+healthy) are exactly what we need.

Sausage & Kale Stew with White Beans

Serves 4-6

Ready in 35 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 14.5 oz can cannellini beans
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 4 cups roughly chopped kale
• 1 package (4 links) Trader Joe’s spicy italian chicken sausage
• 1 32 oz carton chicken stock
• Shaved Parmesan for serving

Instructions

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the onion and red pepper flakes and cook until soft, stirring frequently. Add the diced tomatoes, kale, beans, and stock to the pot and mix thoroughly.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cut sausage links into thick slices and add to the mixture.  Bring contents of pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Cook for about 20-25 minutes covered.  Ladle into bowls and serve with a generous pinch of shaved parm.

This soup (like most) is also excellent on day two.  It’s even still good if your husband picks all the sausage out of the soup and eats it while he’s cleaning, but still packages up the remaining ingredients for tomorrows lunch. Haha. So, that’s a big secret…. These picture actually have no sausage in them.

Not only will you love this soup, but you’ll love how easy and healthy it is!