Easy Italian Vegetable Soup

This Italian Vegetable soup is exactly what you need on a cold, rainy day or heck, any day! I made this one year for a Christmas appetizer and everyone inhaled it. One person commented, “OMG, I need this soup when I’m sick! So delicious!”

VEGETARIAN & CROCK POT OPTIONS

It is a hearty but light soup that will leave you coming back for more. The name is deceiving because it contains sausage, however, you could easily leave out the sausage to make it vegetarian. If you are making a large batch you could easily turn this into a Crock-Pot recipe. If you do,  I suggest browning the sausage and onion first and then putting everything in the Crock-Pot on low for 5-6 hrs or until the veggies are tender.

NUTRITION

Per two ladle scoops this recipe has 240 calories, 9g fat, 20g carbs and 20g protein. The carb content is mostly from vegetables and garbanzo beans so don’t get too fixated on that number. This soup is so much healthier than canned or one you would find dining out and the protein content is high for soup! Hooray!

JENNIE-O HOT ITALIAN TURKEY SAUSAGE

This recipe was adapted from Betty Crocker’s Good and Easy Cookbook however I altered a couple things to make it heartier and healthier. I used two different kinds of squash and  I substituted the regular bulk sausage for my go to, Jennie-O hot Italian turkey sausage.  I use this turkey sausage in a ton of my recipes. It has a nice kick and so much flavor. If you don’t like the heat, try Jennie-O sweet Italian turkey sausage instead. All the health without the spice.

Pro Tip: Remove the casing from the sausage and tear into pieces before sauteing. Click here to learn how to decase sausage. 

Serve this soup with grated Parmesan cheese and if you’re in the mood, some nice crusty bread. Voila! you have yourself a delicious and nutritious soup that is sure to be a hit!

Products I love to use when making this recipe:

Hamilton Beach Can Opener

Calphalon Knives

Calphalon 8qt Unison Pot

Calphalon 4qt Saute Pan

Print

Italian Vegetable Soup

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6

Calories: 250 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp minced garlic gloves
• 1.25 lbs Jennie-O Hot Italian Turkey Sausage (5 links)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 2 medium zucchini sliced & halved
• 2 medium summer squash sliced & halved
• 14.5 oz diced tomatoes undrained
• 15 oz garbanzo beans drained & rinsed
• 14.5 oz beef broth, no salt added
• 1 tsp salt (+ more to taste)
• 1/2 tsp pepper (+ more to taste)

TOPPING

• Parmesan Cheese
• parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. slice casing off sausage and pull into tiny chunks.

   

2. heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat for about 30 seconds. add garlic for about another 20 seconds. 

   

3. add onions to skillet and saute for about 2 minutes. add sausage and brown for about 3 minutes. drain. 

   

4. transfer sausage/onion to a big pot. add the rest of the ingredients to the pot and heat to boiling. 

   

5. reduce heat to low. cover and simmer about 10-15 minutes until zucchini is tender and flavors have melded together.  (the longer the better, this soup is actually better the next day!)

   

6. add salt and pepper to taste. top with parsley, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and Enjoy!