Sausage, Kale and White Bean Soup

A hearty, deeply flavorful soup that's easy to make and serves a crowd!

📝 Ingredients

• 2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans with liquid (or 3 cups cooked cannellini or Great Northern beans)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (plus more for drizzling)
• 12 ounces kielbasa (or other smoked sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds)
• 1 medium yellow onion (diced small)
• 2 medium carrots (diced small, peeled if desired)
• 5 cloves garlic (coarsely chopped)
• fine sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 28 ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 large bunch kale (lacinato kale or curly kale, coarsely chopped, about 7 ounces)
• 1 medium lemon (juiced)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Heat olive oil in soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add sausage; cook and stir until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer sausage to clean plate and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat.
2. 2Add onion and carrots to soup pot; season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until onion softens and is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir 1 minute more.
3. 3Add chicken stock, red pepper flakes, thyme, bay leaf, tomatoes with juice, and beans. Bring to boil, reduce heat. Stir in kale and cover; cook 5 to 10 minutes until kale is tender. Return sausage to soup; cook and stir until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes.
4. 4Stir in lemon juice; season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into serving bowls and serve finished with a swirl of olive oil.