Sausage, White Bean & Spinach Soup

A simple road trip can never be simple in my family.

After two decades of traversing all over the West and Southeast with my parents, I’ve used a bit of that nostalgia when it comes to doing road trips with my husband.

I’ll plot scenic detours and edible destinations along the way. I’ll research the town’s famous food that we stop in for dinner & a hotel room stay. I like to take pictures of the landscape, and soak in all that comes along with a road trip.

I’m a firm believer in the saying, “It’s not about the destination but the journey.”

When I was a kid, every summer my parents and I would take a road trip. I’ve stood on the corner in Winslow, Arizona. I’ve seen the Battle of Little Bighorn field. I have a picture next to a gigantic Jackalope somewhere in New Mexico or Arizona. I’ve thrown up from food poisoning on a desolate stretch of highway between Vegas and Utah.

I will continue to take, and love, road trips at any chance I can get. Even the simple drive from OKC to the Texas border, a 2 hour (tops) trip is a journey for me. My husband and I made the drive to WinStar casino to take in a show Saturday night (Patton Oswalt—I cried from laughing so hard) and we took every detour we could take.

Toy and Action Figure museum in Pauls Valley? Check that off the bucket list. Drive down old Highway 77 in between Pauls Valley and Wynnewood? Such a beautiful route to take as opposed to the bustling I-35. Get stuck in a Harvest Carnival in Wynnewood? What a delight.

A trip to the border wouldn’t be complete without turning off near Davis to get a fried pie from the Arbuckle Fried Pie company. Pineapple & PB Chocolate pies in hand, we took a short detour up the mountains to the tip top, driving past the closed-for-the-summer Turner Falls.

The journey was my favorite part of the trip. Sure, Patton Oswalt was hilarious, but the drive down to Thackerville was such a beautiful memory.

Now it’s back home and back to work. All of my cooking was done yesterday afternoon shortly after we got back. I polished off my last bowl of soup so I could make room in my fridge for the motherload of comfort foods for the week.

This soup is hearty, filling, and surprising. A soup without a heavy starch like potatoes and pasta always throws me for a loop. The beans do the heavy lifting for the absence of more complex carbs (I know beans are carby, but still) and the sausage, spinach and carrots get the job done.

You can use any sausage for this extremely adaptable recipe. My curiosity piqued at the sight of this “Irish Garlic” sausage at the grocery store, so I used it in the soup. You know what? It just tasted like bratwurst. I ain’t mad at that, though.

Enjoy!

Sausage, White Bean & Spinach Soup

• Servings: 8-10
• Time: 45 mins
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

A robust and hearty soup that will fill you up on a cold winter day.

Ingredients

• 2 TBS. olive oil
• 1 lb. link sausage (bratwurst, kielbasa, or smoked sausage)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 carrots, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 (15 oz) cans Great Northern Beans, drained
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. basil
• salt & pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cups baby spinach

Directions

1. Heat one tablespoon oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook until browned on all sides, about 5-6 minutes. Remove to a plate to let cool and then slice.
2. Heat remaining tablespoon oil in same pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrot and saute until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Pour in oregano, basil, salt, pepper & bay leave and chicken broth. Add sausage back to pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer fo 15 minutes, uncovered.
4. Add beans and spinach to pot and stir. Continue to simmer for another 4-5 minutes. Serve.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Heat one tablespoon oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook until browned on all sides, about 5-6 minutes. Remove to a plate to let cool and then slice. Heat remaining tablespoon oil in same pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrot and saute until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Pour in oregano, basil, salt, pepper & bay leave and chicken broth. Add sausage back to pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer fo 15 minutes, uncovered.

Add beans and spinach to pot and stir. Continue to simmer for another 4-5 minutes. Serve.