← Back to the recipe garden

🍲 Soups & stews

Creamy Italian sausage soup

Rich, potatoey, and cold-weather-coded

⏱️ Time estimate: about 55 minutes

This cozy soup is built from browned Italian sausage, onion, celery, garlic, potatoes, chicken broth, and half-and-half, with a little Worcestershire and red pepper for extra depth.

Creamy Italian sausage soup with potatoes

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces Italian sausage
  • 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 stick
  • 1/2 medium onion, chopped small
  • 2 sticks celery, chopped small
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 6 tablespoons flour
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cups half-and-half
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
  • 1 pound Russet potatoes, peeled and diced small
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Brown the sausage. Add the sausage to a soup pot over medium-high heat and cook for about 10 minutes, breaking it up as it browns. Transfer it to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving about 1 tablespoon of fat in the pot.
  2. Sauté the vegetables. Add the butter to the pot. Once melted, add the onion and celery and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, scraping up any browned bits.
  3. Add garlic and flour. Stir in the garlic and flour and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly so the raw flour taste cooks out.
  4. Whisk in the broth. Slowly add the chicken broth, whisking until the flour fully dissolves and the broth is smooth.
  5. Simmer. Stir in the half-and-half, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, potatoes, and browned sausage. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so the soup bubbles gently. Cover with the lid slightly open.
  6. Cook until tender. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring a few times, until the potatoes are tender and the soup has thickened to your liking.
  7. Season and serve. Taste, adjust with salt and pepper, and ladle into bowls.

Cozy tweak: mild or hot Italian sausage both work here, so you can pick your own chaos level.