Turkey Sausage Kale Soup (Printable)
A comforting bowl with turkey sausage, potatoes, and kale simmered to perfection in broth.
# What You'll Need:
→ Meats
01 - 1 lb turkey sausage, casing removed if necessary
→ Vegetables
02 - 1 medium yellow onion, diced
03 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
04 - 1.3 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
05 - 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
06 - 5 oz kale, stems removed and chopped
→ Broth & Liquids
07 - 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
08 - 1 tablespoon olive oil
→ Spices & Seasonings
09 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
10 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
11 - ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
12 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
# How To Make:
01 - Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add turkey sausage and cook, breaking apart with a spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 5–7 minutes.
02 - Add diced onion and sliced carrots to the pot and cook for 4–5 minutes until softened. Stir in minced garlic and cook for an additional minute until fragrant.
03 - Stir in diced potatoes, dried thyme, dried oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes if using, ensuring ingredients are well combined.
04 - Pour in chicken broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15–20 minutes until potatoes are tender.
05 - Incorporate chopped kale and simmer for 5 more minutes until kale is wilted and tender.
06 - Adjust seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve hot, optionally garnished with grated Parmesan or a drizzle of olive oil.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- It's ready in under an hour and feels restaurant-quality without pretense.
- The kind of soup that gets better the longer it sits, so leftovers are genuinely a win.
- Works perfectly for meal prep or feeding people without breaking a sweat.
02 -
- Don't skip browning the sausage first—it creates flavor that plain cooked sausage never reaches, and the rendered fat is part of what makes this sing.
- Kale goes in last and only for 5 minutes, otherwise it turns into an unpleasant texture that tastes like boiling water defeated it.
- Taste as you go, especially before serving—low-sodium broths vary wildly in saltiness, and you're the only one who knows your own palate.
03 -
- Dice everything fairly uniform in size so everything finishes cooking at the same time—it's the difference between a soup that feels thoughtful and one that feels careless.
- If your potatoes are on the large side, cut them smaller; Yukon Golds cook faster than russets, but only if you're not fighting geometry.