This Italian sausage soup is made with juicy Italian sausage, loads of veggies, plenty of seasoning, and ditalini pasta in a tomato-based broth. A cozy soup for winter weather!

Italian sausage soup with pasta and spinach in a bowl.

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Hearty Italian Sausage Soup

There’s nothing more comforting than this Italian sausage soup recipe. It takes 30 minutes from start to finish and delivers so much flavor from the sausage, vegetables, and a tomato based broth. Small pasta noodles and fresh spinach add additional heartiness!

I love to garnish this Italian-inspired soup with freshly grated Parmesan and serve it with crusty bread. Italian wedding soup, one pot lemon chicken orzo soup, and easy lasagna soup are some of my other favorites.

Why I Love This Recipe

  • Sausage soup is a one-pot recipe that can be made on the stove or in a crockpot.
  • So much flavor coming from ingredients you probably have on hand.

Ingredients Notes

Ingredients for Italian Sausage Pasta Soup.

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.

  • Mild Italian sausage: Ground Italian sausage can be mild or spicy. If you prefer some heat, you can swap it with spicy Italian sausage.
  • Vegetables: Chopped onion, red bell pepper, celery, sliced carrots, and minced garlic.
  • Seasoning: Salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. I typically use my homemade Italian seasoning since I usually have it on hand.
  • Italian tomatoes: You can use a can of Italian tomatoes or regular diced tomatoes.
  • Chicken broth and water: The water helps to dilute the broth and add more volume to the soup.
  • Dry ditalini: Uncooked ditalini will be cooked in the soup, keeping it a one pot meal. If you want to add cooked ditalini in after you can do that too. Elbow macaroni noodles are another option as are any small pasta shapes you have in your pantry.
  • Chopped spinach: Dark leafy greens for flavor and nutrients.
  • For serving: Freshly grated Parmesan cheese and Italian herbs like parsley, or basil.

How to Make Italian Sausage Soup

Cook the sausage in a large pot over medium heat. Drain any excess grease, but whatever is left in there can be used to sauté the veggies.

Add the onion, celery, red peppers, and carrots and cook for 3 minutes. Then, add the garlic and seasoning and cook for another minute.

Stir in the broth, tomatoes, and water, and let the soup come to a simmer. Scrape the bottom of the pot as you stir just to lift up all the flavor from the bottom bits. Turn the heat to medium-high and add in the pasta.

Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the pasta is tender. Add the spinach, stir, and season to taste. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and your favorite fresh herbs.

A pot with ladle serving Italian sausage pasta soup.

Recipe Tips

  • Ingredient variations can include things like swapping the spinach for kale or adding red pepper flakes for heat. You can also use turkey sausage or ground beef instead of Italian pork sausage if preferred.
  • Add-in some extra fiber with a can of drained cannellini beans.
  • Make it heartier by using tortellini like I do in my sausage tortellini soup or try potatoes like my sausage potato soup!
  • Make this soup in the crock pot. I suggest cooking the sausage first for the best flavor. Add all the ingredients except the spinach into the slow cooker and then cook on high for 3-4 hours. Add the spinach during and cooked pasta during the last 15 minutes.
  • Planning to freeze the ground sausage soup? Hold off on adding any pasta.

Storage

  • Store: Leftover soup can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
  • Reheat: It will thicken as it sits in the fridge, so you may want to add a splash of broth to loosen it up as it simmers on the stove.
  • To freeze: If you’re planning ahead, make the soup without adding the pasta. The texture of pasta changes once it thaws and becomes mushy. Freeze the soup in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight and once reheated add cooked pasta noodles.
Italian sausage soup in a bowl garnished with Parmesan.

More soup recipes to try include zuppa toscana, creamy tomato tortellini soup and chicken gnocchi soup.

More Favorite Soup Recipes

Italian sausage soup in a bowl garnished with Parmesan.

Italian Sausage Soup

5 from 37 votes
Recipe by: Jamielyn Nye
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6
This Italian sausage soup is made with juicy Italian sausage, loads of veggies, plenty of seasoning, and ditalini pasta in a tomato-based broth. A cozy soup for winter weather!
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Video

Ingredients 

  • 1 pound mild italian sausage
  • 1 onion , chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper , chopped
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup sliced carrots
  • 3-4 cloves garlic , minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 1 (15-ounce) can Italian tomatoes , or diced
  • 32 ounces chicken broth
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup dry ditalini , or macaroni noodles
  • 1-2 cups spinach , chopped

For serving: Fresh grated parmesan cheese, parsley or basil

Instructions

  • In a large pot, cook sausage over medium heat. Drain fat and add onion, celery, red pepper and carrots. Cook for 3 minutes. Add garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper. Cook another minute.
  • Stir in broth, tomatoes and water. Bring to a simmer.
  • Turn heat to medium-high and then add in pasta. Cover and stir occasionally. Cook 10 minutes, or until tender. Add in spinach, stir then season to taste.
  • Ladle into bowls and top with parmesan and fresh herbs if desired.

Last step: Please leave a comment and rating after you make the recipe.

Notes

To make in crockpot: Add ingredients to the crockpot and cook on high for 3-4 hours. I recommend cooking the sausage beforehand and adding the pasta during the last half hour. 
Storage: This soup will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for about 3 to 5 days. Whenever I make soups with a tomato base, I like to use a glass container for storing so that it doesn’t stain. Sometimes the soup will thicken up a bit in the fridge, so feel free to add a splash of broth when reheating to reach desired consistency.
Freeze: If you are planning on freezing it, hold off on adding the ditalini. The pasta doesn’t freeze well and will get mushy when reheating. Just freeze the soup in an airtight container without the pasta. When ready to eat, boil some fresh pasta while you reheat your soup. Then combine the two and you’ll have fresh (not soggy!) soup in no time.

Nutrition

Calories: 403kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 18g, Fat: 22g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 59mg, Sodium: 1332mg, Potassium: 667mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 5665IU, Vitamin C: 14.4mg, Calcium: 140mg, Iron: 3.6mg

Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.