Chicken Sausage, Kale and White Bean Soup

As featured in Holiday 2023 issue of The Applegatarian.

"This soup came about when I was fresh out of college and living in New York City, toughing out the cold winter and transitioning to eating meat after being vegan. It was a time of experimenting, cooking, and thinking about my diet in new ways, and

I was always looking for quick, healthy, and affordable recipes and ways of cooking. When I found a version of this recipe online, I knew I could make it better. I added some flavors of my own and balanced it out with some traditional touches I learned by cooking with my Ukrainian grandma growing up." - Irina Priporina, Brand Strategy Manager

The Applegatarian, an outlet where employees and advocates of the nation’s leading natural and organic meat brand dish about their favorite recipes, tips, products, partners and more.

Serves 6-8 | Total Time: Less Than 60 Mins

Ingredients

2 quarts low-sodium vegetable broth
2 (12-ounce) packages APPLEGATE ORGANICS® Chicken Sausage (preferably Fire Roasted Red Pepper, but any flavor will be great), sliced into ½-inch-thick rounds
1 large yellow onion, diced
10 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
Pink Himalayan sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 (15-ounce) cans or 5 cups cooked white beans (cannellini, navy or great northern), drained
2 bunches organic kale, stems and tough ribs removed, leaves roughly chopped

Instructions

Heat ¼ cup of the broth in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage slices and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated and sausage is just browned, about 10 minutes.
Add onions and mushrooms, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 10 minutes. (Add a generous splash of broth to the pot if onions begin to stick.)
Add remaining broth and beans to sausage mixture in pot and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Reduce the heat and simmer until hot, 5 to 10 minutes more.
Stir in kale, reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until wilted and softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve hot.