White Bean Soup With Smoked Sausage

This easy WHITE BEAN SOUP with smoked sausage is an easy dinner recipe that only needs a handful of simple ingredients, is full of flavor, and always has everyone asking for seconds! The perfect hearty comfort dish you’ll want to make all year-round.

It’s cold outside and we’re warming up in the kitchen with all of our favorite soups like Slow Cooker Taco Soup, Lasagna Soup, Roasted Tomato Soup and French Onion Soup.

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Why We Love White Bean Soup

This white bean soup is light, but hearty and loaded with creamy white beans, smoked sausage, fresh vegetables, and herbs!  This is a wonderful healthy dinner to make a part of your dinner rotation!

I don’t know about you, but I love a little smoky flavor in my food! It’s one of the reasons why I love this soup – a pinch of paprika and smoked sausage provide the perfect touch of savory, smoky flavor that is absolutely mouthwatering! 

Healthy, filling, and SO delicious. What more could you ask for in a soup? I’ve been making this soup recipe for years, and every time I do, I know the whole family’s going to be happy. It’s just one of those comfort dishes that you never get sick of! After you make a big batch of this smoky, flavorful soup, you’ll see what I mean.

Ingredients Needed To Make This Bean Soup

• olive oil
• smoked sausage, sliced into medallions
• carrots, sliced or diced
• garlic
• dried oregano
• ground black pepper
• fresh thyme
• Great Northern Beans
• chicken stock
• fresh spinach
• smoked paprika
• shredded Parmesan or Asiago cheese (optional)

How To Make Easy White Bean Soup

(full printable recipe at the end of this post)

The prep time for this recipe is only 30 minutes, and the cooking time is an additional 30. That gives you the perfect amount of time to slice up and warm some French bread on the side!

Start by preparing your pan. You can use either a 4-quart saucepan or a dutch oven. In whichever pan you use, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat.

Once the oil is warm, add the sausage medallions and cook, turning occasionally until they’re brown and heated through. This step should only take about 10-15 minutes. After they’re done cooking, transfer the sausage medallions to a plate and set them aside. 

Next, you are going to cook the carrots, garlic, oregano, black pepper, and thyme sprigs for about 5 minutes in a hot pan with a little oil. Make sure you’re stirring often!

Now, return the sausage to the pan with the seasoned carrots. If there are any juices with the sausage, make sure that’s also added to the pan! You don’t want to miss out on any flavor.

Add the great northern beans and broth to the pot, stirring everything to fully combine. Cook the mixture on medium-low heat. While it’s cooking, use the back of a spoon to crush a few beans. This will help thicken the sauce! Continue cooking for 8-10 minutes. 

Lastly, season the soup with just a few pinches of salt and smoked paprika. Once seasoned, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes over low heat.

After the 30 minutes of cooking time has passed, add fresh spinach to the soup and cook just until wilted. It should only take about 2 minutes. 

Ladle soup into bowls and serve with shredded Parmesan or Asiago cheese and enjoy!

Cannellini Beans or Great Northern Beans

You can use either Cannellini beans (aka white kidney beans) or Great Northern Beans for this white bean soup recipe.  Both beans are white and have a similar taste.

Cannellini Beans are the largest white beans and have a traditional kidney bean shape, with an earthy nutty flavor to them.  While Great Northern Beans are a little smaller and firmer. They have a delicate nutty flavor and tend to take on the flavor of whatever they are cooked with, like the smoked sausage in this white bean soup recipe.

Storage Suggestions

How long will this soup stay fresh? In an airtight container in the fridge, this smokey soup will stay fresh for 3-4 days. While it can be easily reheated in the microwave, I prefer using the stovetop to heat it back up! It’s an easy way to make sure the beans and carrots don’t become too mushy, which can sometimes happen in the microwave. 

Can this soup be frozen? Yes, it most certainly can be frozen! It’ll stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months if placed in an airtight container. When you’re ready to serve it, you can put the frozen soup right back into the pot and reheat on low until it’s thawed out. Then, just increase the heat and stir often until it’s ready. 

Substitutions and Variations

• Swap out the smoked sausage for smoked turkey sausage, bacon, or ground Italian sausage.
• Skip the meat and add more veggies to make this white bean soup vegetarian.
• Add more veggies, like celery, shallots, zucchini, tomatoes, mushrooms kale
• For a thicker soup, puree about 1 cup of the beans. Simply pour about 1 cup of beans (with its liquid) into a blender and purée until smooth. 
• Add a little heat with a pinch of red pepper flakes
• For a creamier soup add 1/3 cup of heavy cream or half and half

What To Serve With White Bean Soup

• Bread: serve this rustic soup with your favorite bread for sopping up the flavorful broth! Or, serve with homemade croutons or in a bread bowl.
• Salad: an Italian side salad is an easy and delicious option.
• Sandwiches: A warm gooey grilled cheese is a wonderful choice to serve with white bean soup.

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Originally post October 2013. UPDATED February 2021. We spiffed up this post with more info and better pictures! No changes to the original recipe.