This Slow Cooker Tuscan Sausage & Kale Soup is a hearty veggie-filled dish for cold days. Dump it in the crockpot then set it and forget it!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – any other neutral cooking oil will work.
- Garlic – use fresh or jarred minced garlic. Garlic powder will work in a pinch.
- Yellow onions – substitute with another onion like white onion, shallots or red onions.
- Carrot – use any vegetable of your choice or leave out altogether.
- Celery – use any vegetable of your choice or leave out altogether.
- Italian seasoning – use a blend of oregano, dried basil or dried parsley instead.
- Chicken broth – vegetable broth would be the best alternative here.
- Crushed tomatoes – diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, canned or fresh tomatoes will work instead.
- Chickpeas – fava beans, pinto beans or black beans would be a great alternative to chickpeas.
- Red pepper – use any vegetable of your choice or leave out altogether.
- Kale – collard greens or spinach would be a great alternative.
Turkey sausage
- Ground turkey – any ground meat like chicken or pork will work well for this recipe.
- Fennel – anise or cumin can be used as a substitute for fennel.
- Garlic powder – use ginger powder, cumin or ground coriander instead.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
How to make this recipe
- Make the turkey sausage.
- Add everything but the red pepper and kale to the slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 6 hours or on low for 8 hours.
- Stir in the red pepper and kale.
- Let sit for 3-4 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Making this soup on the stovetop
This is such a simple and delicious recipe that I've actually made a few times on the stovetop when the weather first started to get cold. To make this sausage and kale soup on the stovetop, follow these instructions:
- Sauté the sausage, onions and garlic for 5 minutes.
- Add the rest of the ingredients.
- Simmer for 30-40 minutes on a lower temperature.
And that's it! You're ready to enjoy your delicious soup for dinner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tuscan sausage is typically made of ground pork with spices like basil, fennel, garlic and white wine. For this recipe, I used turkey sausage to cut down on the calories.
To make your own sausage, season a pound of ground turkey and season with some fennel seeds, garlic powder, salt and pepper. If you're feeling fancy, add some paprika! Once you've made the turkey sausage, you just add it to the slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients. It's that easy!
Kale is considered a superfood for good reason. It’s high in lots of nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, calcium, potassium and more. Adding it to this recipe will make your soup super delicious and provide tons of nutritional benefits.
There are 312 calories in one bowl of this hearty soup. It’s a great low-calorie meal option that’s still super filling.
Storing and reheating
This Tuscan sausage and kale soup will last in the fridge for up to 5 days. Store this recipe in individual portion sizes for easy reheating. When you're ready to enjoy your soup, reheat for 2-3 minutes in the microwave or bring to a boil on the stovetop.
Freezing this recipe
This recipe freezes beautifully! Freeze in an airtight meal prep container or a freezer bag. The leftovers will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, reheat in the microwave for 6-7 minutes or bring to a boil on the stovetop. You can also defrost it in the fridge the night before and then follow reheating instructions above. It's the perfect solution for nights when you don't feel like cooking.
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More slow cooker recipes
- Creamy Crockpot Sausage Tortellini Soup
- One Pot Butternut Squash Chicken Curry
- Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Lentil Chili
- Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Dal Red Lentils
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Get your square glass meal prep bowls here – they're so great for packing up your leftovers!
- Get your Slow Cooker here.
- And of course I get all my free-range poultry from Butcher Box.
Slow Cooker Tuscan Sausage and Kale Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 yellow onions, diced
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 (796mL) jar crushed/strained tomatoes (passata)
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 2 cups kale, chopped
Turkey sausage
- 1 lb ground turkey (or use 4 turkey sausages instead of making your own, casings removed)
- 1 tbsp fennel
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Instructions
- If using storebought sausages, remove casings and break up meat. If making your own, mix together sausage ingredients and break up. Add to slow cooker, along with rest of ingredients except for red pepper and kale.
- Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8 hours. When ready to serve, stir in red pepper and kale, then let sit for 3-4 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Comments & Reviews
Christine says
This was SUPER delicious, and even my 3 year old loved it, because he is a chick pea fan. Thanks for this recipe. I ended up lightly browning my turkey because my meat would not break apart raw – it was like a big ball of cookie dough. Worked out perfectly though!
THANK YOU AGAIN! This will be going into my rotation, and I’ll be sharing.
Taylor Stinson says
Yay!!! So happy you liked it Christine, that’s amazing to hear 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing it too!
Megan Gilkerson says
Hi, I am just wondering-do you cook the sausage before putting it in the crockpot to cook?
Taylor Stinson says
No you don’t – you put it in raw!
Lilly says
Hi! I’m making your recipe for the 5th time today! My boyfriend and I absolutely love it! You mentioned using butternut squash in a different version, do you just add that or swap it with another ingredient? Do you sauté it first? How long would you cook this on the stovetop? I could make it in my Dutch oven. Thanks!
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Lilly! SO HAPPY you like this recipe so much OMG!!! Makes my day 🙂 I think I added in butternut squash another time when I was making this as a stovetop version. You’ll want to brown the turkey, onions, garlic, spices, butternut squash and other veggies then add in the liquids and simmer for about 30-40 minutes. Stir in the kale and red pepper afterward. I believe that’s what I did if I’m remembering correctly!
Michelle says
Hi there,
Made this meal today and just finished eating. Definitely keeping it for the future! I would swap out the kale for spinach (as you mentioned in your Reply) as a matter of preference, next time. Added siracha for a delicious kick and topped it with parmesan. Great dish for a cold Toronto day. Thanks for sharing.
Taylor Stinson says
Yay so happy you liked it Michelle – that’s awesome to hear! Love the idea of swapping spinach too and using sriracha!!!
Christine says
Do you cook the turkey first or throw it in raw ?
Taylor Stinson says
I throw it in raw – I find turkey cooks relatively quickly so you don’t want to cook it twice!
Joseph vonBrochef says
Aside from the fact that I wish your writing wasn’t as it is, your recipe looks great and I’m going to make it give it a try.
Seriously, “I don’t eat pork so most turkey sausages at the grocery store are still made with pork casings – like what is even the point though?”, what does that even mean? As a result that you do not eat pork, the grocery store sells turkey sausage with pork casings? C’mon now, you’ve taken how many writing classes as part of your major?
Don’t print this just use the constructive criticism for future articles.
Cheers,
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Joseph, the point of this writing is to be light-hearted and sometimes tongue in cheek. Yes, the grammar here may not be perfect. I put together many blog posts per week so from time to time the writing itself may not be 10/10. Business development, photography and other income-generating skills take up most of my time these days..sorry the writing is so bad that you felt you had to spend your time commenting on it 😉
Veronica says
Love this!! Made it for my lunches during the week. My husband is low carb and he thought it wad delicious. Thank you!
Taylor Stinson says
Yay! So happy to hear that Veronica!
Robyn says
Can you tell me how much is in a serving?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Robyn – the recipe card shows 6 servings. You will have to divide the recipe into 6 containers and each one is a serving. Hope that helps!
Rebecca says
I’ve made this for weekly meal preps for lunch so many times! It’s my favourite on the site for sure. Sometimes I skip the kale because it tends to get stuck in my teeth.
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you like it Rebecca!!! It’s one of my faves too 🙂 You could try spinach instead of kale as well!
Jenn says
Looks amazing! Making it tomorrow! Can’t wait!