Creamy Kale, Sausage and Potato Soup is a perfect balanced meal in a bowl. Made with chicken sausage, baby potatoes, canned tomatoes and fresh kale, it is a great and easy dinner idea on a rainy or snowy day.
Can you think of a better meal for a cold day than soup? I can't! When it's cold, wet and gray outside, I literally get into the "I-want-soup" mode, take out my Dutch oven and open the fridge scanning for produce that I can turn into soup. This kale and chicken soup is chunky, creamy and filled with veggies. The addition of plant-based cashew cream at the end makes it wonderfully creamy, but also dairy and gluten-free, keto and Whole 30 compliant.
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Ingredient notes
Sausage: this recipe calls for uncooked Italian style chicken sausage but if you prefer classic pork mild or hot Italian sausage, it will also work well. If you choose to go with the hot kind, skip the red pepper flakes.
Tomatoes: I love using diced canned tomatoes in my winter soups! Because canned tomatoes tend to be high in sodium, I recommend salting your soup at the end after you give it a taste.
Potatoes: any type of small potatoes will work: white fingerling, red, purple or a combination you like. If you don't have baby potatoes, you can also roughly chop unpeeled and scrubbed regular sized red bliss or yellow potatoes.
Cashews: to make cashew cream, for best results use raw unsalted cashews (not roasted).
How to make cashew cream?
Cashew cream sounds very fancy but it is actually very easy to make. For best results, place the unsalted raw cashews in a bowl or cup and cover with water so the cashews are fully submerged. Leave to soak for 2 hours or longer, then blend until completely smooth in a high speed stand up blender. Vitamix blender or similar will work best but I usually use my Ninja Nutri and it does a great job, too. If you don't have 2 hours to wait for the cashews to soak, start making the soup by covering the cashews with boiling hot water and set aside. Continue making the soup and blend the cashews at the very end and add to the soup. As long as there is no noticeable grit, the cashew cream is good to go! It should be completely smooth.
Can I use coconut milk instead of cashew cream?
If you don't have cashews, you can also use full fat coconut milk. I find that cashew cream has a more neutral flavor but I also love coconut everything, so personally I don't mind the mild coconut aroma in creamy soups.
Meal prep tips
This soup is perfect for meal prep. In fact, I tend to make a large pot of this soup on a Sunday afternoon, eat a small bowl right away and divide the rest into several mason jars to eat for lunch or dinner all week. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove.
How to freeze it
Let the soup cool then transfer to freezer safe containers. Freeze up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then heat in the microwave or stove.
Recipe
Creamy Kale, Sausage and Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb Italian style chicken sausage
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 lb small red or fingerling potatoes halved
- 5 oz kale torn into pieces, stems removed
- 1 large onions or 2 small, diced
- 1-2 stalks celery chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 5 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup raw cashews
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- ½ teaspoon dried or fresh thyme
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Place raw cashews in a bowl or cup and cover with boiling hot water so the nuts are fully submerged. Leave to soak while you prepare the soup.
- In a Dutch over or pot with a thick bottom heat up olive oil. Add diced onion, chopped celery and spices (except salt and pepper). Sautee a couple minutes stirring from time to time until soft but not browned. Add garlic and keep cooking until fragrant, another minute or so.
- Take the sausage out of the casings and ad to the onion-celery mixture. Cook breaking the sausage with a wooden spoon until no longer pink. Stir in tomatoes and cook together for a couple minutes. After that, add broth and potatoes, bring to boil, turn the heat down and simmer for about 20-30 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
- While the soup is simmering, place the cashews and the water they were soaking in in a blender and blend until the mixture is completely smooth. When the potatoes are cooked through, add kale stir in cashew cream. Cook another couple of minutes until kale is wilted.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
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Meet the Author
Hi, I'm Agnieszka. I'm a mom of three and recipe developer, writer and photographer behind Wholly Tasteful. I love creating comforting, delicious, family-friendly recipes that you can feel good about.
Lindsay
I'm new to kale and always thought you had to cook it a long time, like greens. I didn't know what to expect putting it in soup but it works really well. I'm going to start adding it to more hearty soups.
Amy
This was really delicious and my daughter is not even a kale fan but finished her whole bowl! That's always a good sign. Love the addition of sausage. What a great idea.
Andrea White
so flavorful and delicious! yummy!
Freya
This soup is so delicious and wholesome, almost a stew, and so filling!
Mihaela | https://theworldisanoyster.com/
Big kale fan here and always looking for diversity and combinations. Thanks for this recipe!
julie
THIS LOOKS INSANE! The photography is STUNNING! If I made this for friends they would think I was a top chef! Cannot wait!
Linda
This soup is so creamy good, flavorful, and perfect for fall.