Tuscan White Bean Soup with Italian Sausage

By garciamoss

Quick and soothing, our healthy zuppa Toscana (Italian for Tuscan soup) is a light and refreshingly simple blend of creamy white beans, classic herbs and savory sausage. Serve with whole-grain bread on the side.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped into rounds
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 15-oz BPA-free can white kidney (aka cannellini) beans, drained and rinsed
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 1/2 all-natural Italian turkey sausages, casings removed
• 1 1/2 cups packed baby spinach

Details

Preparation time 30mins
Cooking time 35mins
Adapted from cleaneatingmag.com

Preparation

Step 1

In a medium saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil on medium. Add carrot, celery and onion and sauté, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, rosemary, fennel and pepper flakes and sauté for 1 to 2 more minutes. Add broth and 1 cup water. Cover, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Stir in beans, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, mist a medium skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium-high. Add sausages and cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until cooked through and lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Remove soup from heat and carefully transfer 1 cup soup to a blender. Remove plastic stopper from blender lid and hold a kitchen towel over lid to allow steam to escape. Blend until smooth, then return to saucepan. Heat saucepan on medium and bring to a simmer.
To saucepan, add spinach and reduce heat to low. Simmer until leaves are wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in sausage and remove from heat.