Hearty Sausage Kale Soup

I grew up in a Baptist church, so to me food was synonymous with church and community. You couldn’t possibly have a good time if there wasn’t food involved! Since there was such a large group to be fed, casseroles and soups like this hearty sausage kale soup were what everyone enjoyed at our many church potlucks.

I’ve always enjoyed a good soup, but I used to use not so hot ingredients in my soup recipes. One of my favorite soup selections was a creamy chicken concoction made with a can of good ‘ol fashioned cream of chicken soup. Now that I’m using real, whole food ingredients, these hearty soups taste even more delicious.

Kale has recently taken the spot light as a super food. It’s a great source of folate, which is an important nutrient missing in most diets. Don’t confuse it with folic acid though, which is synthetic and much harder (sometimes even dangerous) for the body. Sweet potato is another superstar in this soup as it’s a healthy carb and lower on the glycemic index than white potatoes to help keep blood sugar under control. It’s also super high in fiber, Vitamin A and C (source).

I like adding lots of flavor to all my dishes. My mom wasn’t a fan of anything with too many herbs in it, so I grew up with chili that sometimes didn’t even have chili powder in it. I’ve restrained myself with the recipe below for your benefit though. However, I like to increase the thyme in my batch to 2-3 tsps.

To save even more time in the kitchen, I’m going to double the recipe next time and freeze the extra. I’m not sure the kale will freeze well though, so I’ll add that in fresh after I thaw out the leftover soup.

You can whip up a batch of this buttermilk cornbread to go with your soup. I even like mine with some traditional Naan brushed with a little melted butter and garlic salt…Mmmm. Any way you serve it though, this soup tastes amazing!

Hearty Sausage Kale Soup

Ingredients

• 3 sausages cut into slices
• 4 large kale leaves, torn into small pieces
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 tsp celtic sea salt – get it here
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper – get it here
• 1-2 tsps thyme – get it here
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 sweet potatoes, diced.
• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil, pastured butter or ghee

Directions

1. Saute the onion, kale  and garlic together in the skillet with the coconut oil until tender.
2. While you’re sautéing, add the rest of the ingredients to a stock pot. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil on medium/high heat. Reduce to a simmer.
3. Add the onion mixture to the stock pot and cook the soup until the sweet potatoes are tender.

Want to learn how to make chicken broth for practically nothing? Get the recipe and my favorite way to easily store broth!  – Click here