Sausage Minestrone (Gluten-Free + Dairy-Free)

Here’s to my meat lovers—minestrone elevated with sausage! This one-pot meal takes a beloved Italian classic and gives it an unexpected twist. Unlike traditional minestrone that relies solely on vegetables and beans for substance, this hearty version starts with browning savory sausage, creating golden, caramelized bits that become the flavor backbone of the entire soup.

The real magic happens when you build your soffritto alongside the browning sausage. This aromatic mix of onions, carrots, celery, and garlic slowly sautés until tender and fragrant, absorbing all those meaty flavors while developing its own sweet, complex notes. It's this careful foundation that elevates the soup from ordinary to extraordinary.

This isn't just soup; it's comfort in a bowl.

Important Ingredients

• Sausage — The magical ingredient in this soup is ground sausage, and the best part is you can pick your favorite. I like Jimmy Dean Fresh Pork Sausage.

• Soffritto — Soffritto sounds complicated and technical, but really, it's just a mix of onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. Cooked at a low temperature, these flavors blend into a rich base.

• Vegetable Broth — Make sure to choose a vegetable broth you enjoy, as it affects the overall flavor profile of the soup. I like Kitchen Basics vegetable broth. Also, watch out for yeast extract in broths, as some yeast extract comes from wheat and is not gluten-free.

How to Make this Recipe

Brown sausage. In a large pre-warmed pan, brown the sausage over medium heat. If the sausage is lean, add a drizzle of oil to prevent sticking.

Chop vegetables. While the sausage is browning, chop the onions, carrots, and celery, and mince the garlic.

Build the soffritto. Once the sausage is browned, add olive oil to the pan if needed (you can use less than a tablespoon if the sausage released enough fat). Add the chopped onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. Reduce the heat to low and cook for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour. Stir occasionally. This slow cooking process creates a deeply aromatic base that brings incredible flavor to the soup. While the soffritto is cooking, chop the potato and zucchini.

Add soup ingredients. Stir in tomato sauce, vegetable broth, and water. Add the chopped potato and zucchini, sea salt, parsley, oregano, paprika, black pepper, crushed red pepper (optional), thyme, and bay leaves. Add the drained can of navy beans. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.

Simmer. Let the soup cook for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaves.

Finish. Turn off the heat and stir in the spinach (if using) and lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed, adding more salt or spice as desired. Top with chopped green onions if desired.

Substitutions

This soup is very versatile and open to interpretation. Feel free to omit any vegetables that aren't your favorite and add some of your own.