This Creamy Italian Sausage Soup is a one-pot recipe that can be made in 30 minutes. It features ingredients like Italian sausage, cream cheese, canned tomatoes, and heavy whipping cream to give this soup its delicious flavor and texture.
You’ll love this if you enjoy recipes with sausage, like this Sausage Curry and this Sausage and Veggies Sheet Pan Dinner.
This comforting soup is simple to make. Start by cooking the onion and sausage until browned, then add chicken broth, tomatoes, and seasonings. Let it simmer, then stir in softened cream cheese and heavy cream for a rich, creamy texture.
You can easily make this soup for dinner tonight or prepare it ahead of time for the week. It reheats well, so it’s perfect for busy days when you need something warm and ready to go. Plus, any leftovers will keep nicely in the fridge for a few days.
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💛 Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy to clean up.
- Low-carb and gluten-free.
- Ready to eat in just 30 minutes.
- Customizable based on your tastes (spicier, less spicy, etc.).
- Packed with protein — 14 grams per serving.
➡️ Ingredients
⏲ How to make this Italian sausage soup recipe
This is an overview of the recipe’s instructions. The full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Cook Onion: To a hot, oiled pan, add chopped onion and cook until it’s slightly softened and the edges are golden.
- Cook Sausage Then Stir In Ingredients: Add sausage and, using a wooden spoon, break it apart into pieces. Cook until browned, stirring often. Add in chicken broth, cream cheese, diced tomatoes, pureed tomatoes, and spices and stir to combine.
Recipe Tip: Use a big enough pot that you can break up the sausage and allow it to cook into a single layer. This will allow the sausage to brown and lightly crisp up, rather than steam. Use a wooden spoon and break up the ground sausage and only stir it occasionally.
- Simmer Soup: Reduce the stovetop heat, cover the pot with a lid, and then simmer the soup for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir In Cream And Parmesan: Stir in heavy cream and shredded Parmesan cheese and cook, uncovered, for an additional 3 minutes.
- Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with a sprinkle of shredded Parmesan cheese and some fresh parsley.
👉 Ingredient substitution suggestions
- Avocado Oil: Use olive oil.
- Mild Italian Sausage: Hot Italian pork sausage, sweet Italian pork sausage, ground turkey sausage, ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken can be used.
- Chicken Broth: Vegetable broth or beef broth will work here.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: Use half-and-half, whole milk, or 2% milk at a 1:1 substitution ratio.
- Shredded Parmesan Cheese: Grated Parmesan would be your best bet here. Otherwise, use shredded Pecorino Romano cheese.
✨ Variations
- Add some heat by including chopped and de-seeded jalapeño to the soup. You can also add red pepper flakes and/or ground cayenne pepper.
- Chop up some peeled carrots, celery, and/or cauliflower florets. Add these in when you add the chopped onion to the pot. Italian soffritto also works well.
- Add fresh shrimp that has been de-veined. Add the shrimp in with about 3-5 minutes left of simmering the soup. After 3 minutes, carefully take out one shrimp, cut it open, and determine if it’s cooked through. If undercooked, continue cooking for an additional 1-2 minute(s).
- Stir in 6-8 ounces of pasta, like ditalini noodles. Add the pasta in with about 6 minutes left of simmering time. (If you plan to make enough soup to yield leftovers, I would suggest keeping the pasta separate and stirring it in when you are reheating the soup. Otherwise, the pasta will likely get soggy.)
- Stir in cheese tortellini or cheese ravioli. Check the packaging of the tortellini for the cooking time and add the tortellini in with the lesser amount of time left of simmering the soup. For example, if the cooking time says “4-6 minutes,” add the pasta in with 4 minutes left of simmering the soup. This is to ensure the pasta doesn’t overcook, as it will continue to cook even after it’s removed from the stovetop heat.
- Include a handful of fresh spinach and/or roughly chopped fresh kale. Add in right before you finish simmering the soup, and allow the greens to simmer until just wilted.
〰️ How to serve
- Toppings — Homemade croutons.
- Sandwich — Grilled cheese sandwich.
- Salad — Italian orzo pasta salad, Caesar salad.
💬 FAQs
How should the soup be stored?
Store the soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
How should leftovers of Italian sausage soup be reheated?
Reheat in a pot over medium heat or in the microwave in 30-second intervals until warmed through.
Can I freeze creamy Italian sausage soup?
Let the soup cool completely before transferring it to freezer-safe containers or bags to prevent ice crystals from forming. Leave a little room at the top of the container for expansion. The soup can be frozen for up to three months. Thaw the soup in the fridge overnight before reheating. Keep in mind that the cream may separate slightly, but stirring well while reheating will help bring it back together.
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Creamy Italian Sausage Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons avocado oil
- ½ medium-sized white onion, chopped
- 1 pound ground mild Italian sausage
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 14.5-ounce can petite diced tomatoes
- 10.75-ounce can pureed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Optional Garnishes:
- Shredded Parmesan cheese
- Finely chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Cook Onion: In a pot over medium-high heat, heat avocado oil. Add onion and cook until slightly softened and edges are golden, about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Cook Sausage Then Stir In Ingredients: Add sausage and, using a wooden spoon, break apart into pieces. Cook until browned, stirring often. Add in chicken broth, cream cheese, diced tomatoes, pureed tomatoes, and spices and stir to combine.
- Simmer Soup: Reduce stovetop heat to medium, cover pot with a lid, and simmer soup for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir In Cream And Parmesan: Stir in heavy cream and shredded Parmesan and cook, uncovered, for additional 3 minutes.
- Serve: Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with sprinkle of shredded Parmesan and fresh parsley.
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