This sausage and kale soup recipe puts the essence of Italy right in your bowl. Flavors of sweet Italian sausage mingle with savory herbs and garlic. This combination is rounded out with some onion and a dash of red wine vinegar. Carrots and emerald kale add gorgeous color and, combined with the cauliflower, loads of nutrition. This soup makes a satisfying and warming lunch or dinner and only takes one pot to prepare, making clean-up a breeze.

To customize the soup for your tastes, I have a few ranges in the list of ingredients. The first is in the amount of crushed red pepper flakes. These flakes add a pop of heat to the soup. Everyone has their own tolerance to this kind of spice. A quarter teaspoon adds some interest and adds some complexity to the flavor. At a half teaspoon, we start to get a bit more heat. Feel free to add more if you like. If you really love hot spices, you may also consider switching from sweet Italian sausage to hot Italian sausage. It’s really about making it work for you!

The second range I have is in the amount of salt. I used a range because homemade broth and different brands vary in the amount of salt they contain. I recommend using a low-salt broth so that you have more control of the end result. As the soup cooks, steam comes off, concentrating the liquid left behind. Because of this, regular broth may be too salty without even adding any salt. Be sure to taste the soup at the end of cooking and add salt accordingly.

This soup makes an easy, comforting and satisfying meal. It’s a delicious way to warm up on a chilly day.

Yields 6 servings of Sausage and Kale Soup

The Preparation

16 ounces ground mild italian sausage
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
70 grams carrot, peeled and diced
2 teaspoons fresh garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy whipping cream
294 grams cauliflower, cut into small florets
3 cups kale, chopped
sea salt, to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

The Execution

1. Heat a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add ground sausage, breaking up the meat. Cook, stirring occasionally until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes.

2. Using a slotted spoon, remove cooked sausage and allow to drain on a plate covered with paper towels. Discard drippings, but do not wash pan.

3. Melt butter over medium heat. When bubbling subsides, add onion and carrot. Cook until onion begins to brown on the edges and becomes somewhat translucent.

4. Stir garlic into onion and carrot mixture. Cook one minute. Add red wine vinegar and cook until syrupy, scraping up browned bits-about 1 minute.

5. Stir in oregano, basil, sage and red pepper flakes. Pour in stock and heavy cream. Increase heat to medium high.

6. When soup reaches a simmer, add cauliflower and turn heat down to medium-low. Simmer uncovered until cauliflower is fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in kale and cooked sausage. Cook 1 to 2 minutes longer, or until kale wilts and the sausage is reheated.

7. Season to taste with salt and pepper. The amount of salt needed may vary due to variation in brands of broth.

This makes a total of 6 servings of Sausage and Kale Soup. Each serving comes out to be 459 calories, 37.7g fats, 9.6g net carbs, and 18.7g protein.

NUTRITION	CALORIES	FAT	CARBS	FIBER	NET CARBS	PROTEIN
16 ounce ground mild italian sausage	1560	123.9	19.4	0.5	18.9	86.7
1 tablespoon butter	102	11.5	0	0	0	0.1
1 medium yellow onion	41	0.2	9.5	1.3	8.2	1.3
70 gram carrot	25	0.1	5.7	2.1	3.6	0.6
2 teaspoon fresh garlic	8	0	1.9	0.1	1.8	0.4
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar	6	0	0.1	0	0.1	0
1 teaspoon dried oregano	4	0.1	1	0.6	0.4	0.1
1 teaspoon dried basil	3	0	0.5	0.4	0.1	0.3
1 teaspoon dried sage	2	0.1	0.4	0.3	0.1	0.1
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes	3	0.2	0.5	0.2	0.3	0.1
4 cup chicken broth	60	2.1	4.4	0	4.4	6.4
1 cup heavy whipping cream	809	85.9	6.5	0	6.5	6.8
294 gram cauliflower	68	1.5	12.1	6.8	5.3	5.3
3 cup kale	59	0.8	11.8	4.2	7.6	4
— sea salt	0	0	0	0	0	0
1/2 teaspoon black pepper	3	0	0.7	0.3	0.4	0.1
Totals	2751	226.4	74.4	16.7	57.7	112.1
Per Serving (/6)	459	37.7	12.4	2.8	9.6	18.7