Tuscan Sausage and White Bean Soup
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Tuscan Sausage and White Bean Soup is a hearty, flavorful dish perfect for dinner any night of the week. This comforting soup is perfect on it’s own, or you can be like us, and add some crackers before enjoying!
Tuscan Sausage and White Bean Soup
This comforting soup comes from one of Barbara’s good friends, Maryann. It is one of those throw-it-all-together-and-enjoy kinds of soups, especially good on a cold winter’s day. This is comfort food at it’s best.
Maryann shared the recipe with Barbara years ago and it has stood the test of time and is even kid-approved. There’s nothing better than hearing a three year old say, “more, Momma.” UPDATE: The 3-year-old is now almost 6 and he requests the “white soup” weekly so it definitely stands the test of time!
Trying to follow a low-carb or gluten-free diet? Try our Low-Carb Tuscan Soup that features riced cauliflower!
Ingredients Needed for Tuscan Soup with Sausage and White Beans
The ingredients for this soup are easy and we list them below. One thing to keep in mind is that this is small-batch recipe and you’ll get 4 servings, so definitely double it for larger families or if you want leftovers.
- Butter: We usually use salted butter but use whatever type you have on hand!
- Onion: Onion brings a lot of flavor to the soup but if you have picky eaters, you can leave it out or use onion powder in its place. The rule of thumb is one Tablespoon of onion powder in substitution for one medium onion. So use about a 1/2 Tablespoon of onion powder in this recipe.
- Garlic: We recommend fresh or minced garlic for this recipe but if you don’t have any on hand, use 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder instead.
- Flour: All-purpose flour works just fine for this recipe.
- Evaporated milk: We love using evaporated milk in recipes as it adds a bit of richness to dishes AND it’s shelf stable so we can keep a few cans in the pantry to pull out when needed. Be sure you use EVAPORATED milk and not sweetened condensed milk! People sometimes get these confused but they are two very different products.
- Chicken broth: Use low-salt chicken broth if you want to lower the sodium factor in this soup.
- Sausage
- Canned Cannellini Beans: Also known as white kidney beans.
- Salt and pepper
HOW TO MAKE TUSCAN SAUSAGE AND WHITE BEAN SOUP
- In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium high heat, drain and set aside.
- Heat butter in a saucepan; add onion and garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes over medium heat.
- Stir in flour.
- Slowly add evaporated milk and chicken broth, stirring constantly.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, and add cooked sausage and undrained beans.
- Heat through, and season to your liking with salt and black pepper.
Equipment
Before your making this delicious soup recipe, check your kitchen for the pantry ingredients and tools needed. I highly recommend a meat chopper for any recipes using ground sausage. It makes it so easy to break the meat up into small pieces.
Storage Instructions
Let leftovers cool completely. Transfer to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator for up to a week. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Find the full recipe and ingredient list for creamy Tuscan soup at the bottom of this page.
Recipe FAQs
- The ingredients are easy to keep on hand: butter, onion, garlic, flour, evaporated milk, chicken broth, sausage, cannellini beans and salt and pepper.
- We use regular ground pork sausage in this soup. You could use a flavored sausage, like Italian, or even use a turkey sausage if you prefer.
- The white beans in this Tuscan Sausage and White Bean Soup are actually Cannellini beans. Be sure to just dump them in undrained.
- Once the soup is heated through, all that is left is to ladle it out into your favorite soup bowls, add crackers and dig in! Simple as can be.
- This recipe only yields 4 bowls of soup so if you are cooking for a larger family, be sure to double.
- Want to check out our other recipes featuring pork sausage? We have a blog post with links to all of our sausage recipes!
Alternate Versions of This Popular Soup
We have had so many readers share how they’ve tweaked this sausage and white bean soup to add flavors their families love. From spinach to crushed red pepper, adding ingredients to soup is easy and let’s you create a dish that is personal to you. So check out the comments at the bottom of the post to see what other readers have done to make this soup their own!
We’ve also made a few variations of this soup, including a couple of low-carb versions. The one thing these all have in common is that they are delicious and so easy to make. Here are some of our spin-off recipes of creamy Tuscan Soup:
- Stovetop Italian Bean Soup
- Tuscan Soup with Kale
- Low Carb White Bean and Kale Soup
- Low Carb Tuscan Soup
- Chorizo Taco Soup (Low Carb)
Other Soup Recipes
Soups are a favorite in our family and we have shared several on here. Most of them are really easy to make and can be on the table in less than 30 minutes. Don’t think that if the recipe is easy and quick that it isn’t full of flavor or worth making.
Check out our favorite soup recipes:
- Mom’s Wild Rice and Broccoli Soup
- Low Calorie Cabbage Soup
- Instant Pot Vegetable Soup with Lemon and Ginger
- Low Calorie Cabbage Soup
- Slow Cooker Bloody Mary Beef Vegetable Soup
- Creamy Ham and Bean Soup
- Amish Cabbage Soup
- Ground Beef Vegetable Soup with V-8
- 15 Bean Soup with Ham
Do crackers go with soup?
We know it is a controversial subject but we are totally team crackers in our soup. What is the purpose of crackers in soup? Crackers add another layer of flavor to soup. Also, if you like a thicker soup – like our dad and husbands – crackers can help thicken it up to your preferred consistency.
What kind of crackers do you put in soup? While saltines (also known as soda crackers) or oyster crackers seem to be the favorite, we usually go with a Ritz cracker or other type of buttery cracker in our soup.
We like to crush up our crackers to large pieces – not too fine – and sprinkle them on top of the soup. This is obviously a personal choice but if you haven’t tried it, we suggest you start with one cracker in your soup and see how you like it!
Tuscan Sausage and White Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1/4 cup flour
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- 14.5 ouces chicken broth
- 1/2 lb. ground pork sausage cooked and drained
- 15.5 ounces cannellini beans canned and undrained
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- In a skillet, cook sausage. Drain and set aside.
- Melt butter in medium saucepan.
- Add onion and garlic; cook for 1 to 2 minutes while stirring occasionally or until onion is tender.
- Stir in flour.
- Slowly add the evaporated milk and chicken broth while stirring constantly.
- Once the mixture comes to a complete boil, add sausage and beans.
- Heat through, and season with salt and pepper.
Notes
- The ingredients are easy to keep on hand: butter, onion, garlic, flour, evaporated milk, chicken broth, sausage, cannellini beans and salt and pepper.
- We use regular ground pork sausage in this soup. You could use a flavored sausage, like Italian, or even use a turkey sausage if you prefer.
- The white beans in this Tuscan Sausage and White Bean Soup are actually Cannellini beans. Be sure to just dump them in undrained.
- We have had so many readers share how they’ve tweaked this sausage and white bean soup to add flavors their families love. From spinach to crushed red pepper, adding ingredients to soup is easy and let’s you create a dish that is personal to you.
- Once the soup is heated through, all that is left is to ladle it out into your favorite soup bowls, add crackers and dig in! Simple as can be.
- The nutritional information below is auto-calculated and can vary depending on the products used. It should not be used for specific dietary needs.
Other Soup Recipes
Soups are a favorite in our family and we have shared several on here. Check out our favorites:Nutrition
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I have made this soup several times and it is absolutely perfect every time! I never have any to throw out on garbage day like I do with every other meal I cook! It’s that good that I finish the leftovers.
So glad that you enjoy it…every drop of it! Thanks for letting us know. It’s always great to see that our recipes are being enjoyed!
Do you think this recipe would be adaptable for canning? Possibly leave out evaporated milk until serving, etc? I have a ton of ground sausage I want to use up from the last cow we sent to the butcher. Not a lot around for ground sausage canner recipes. I found a canner recipe for chicken ala King which was simple yet outstanding and called for butter. Thanks!
Sorry, we’ve never tried to can it so can’t give any tips.
J made this soup a couple months ago and had to get back on here to get the recipe to make it again & leave a comment. We loved this soup! So yummy & filling with some good crusty homemade artisan bread! I used pinto beans because thats what I had on hand. Yum!
Thank you so much for leaving us a comment to let us know you all loved the soup!
Being confined to quarters is no fun for any of us, all I’ve been doing is cooking and baking! I made this soup today and it’s awesome! Thanks for the recipe, it’s a keeper! ❤️
Michele – So glad you enjoyed the soup! Keep baking and cooking to pass the time! Thanks.
My go to comfort. Always add greens. Also added carrots,pota6and celery this time around. Finished off with a bit of basil puree and a good crusty bread…. So delicious.
Great recipe!!! My husband is so dang picky but he LOVES this. I do add crispy bacon and some garlic and herb seasoning and chili flakes (we like everything spicy). We usually put this over french fries or fried potatoes the 2nd night. Thank you fora fall/winter go to recipe.
Thank you for the comment and we love your additions. Never thought to put it over potatoes and we’ll definitely try that!!
I made this soup today. Followed the rrecipe but did have some breakfast sausage that our son had made, mild, and we enjoyed it. As I am old school, putting it on a recipe card so I can find it easier.
Thanks for the recipe.
Glad you enjoyed it! We still love our recipe cards too!
This recipe was simply delicious! It wasnt that expensive to make and it came together quickly. I was skeptical to try this. I always check a recipe for seasonings and this one simply salt/pepper. I did add a little onion & garlic powder as well as a tomato basil seasoning that I recently discovered. I have no idea how so few ingredients or seasonings created such an amazing soup but it works. I used a sage sausage (Jimmy Dean) because that is what I had on hand and red onions because that’s what I had already chopped in the frig. Great Northern beans because my store didnt have Cannelini Beans. It seems this receipt lends itself to changes like that very easily. That’s another mark of a great recipe.
Thanks for the note and we agree that this recipe is a great base that allows for a lot of customization!
I never comment on recipes but had to come and leave one here. I have made this soup many times and it turns out perfect every time. I have added and subtracted ingredients and it always is perfect. I now make it with hot Italian sausage and add a bit of baby kale at the end. Perfection. Thank you for a simple yet delicious recipe.
Stephanie – Thank you so much for the comments! We love hearing how much people love this simple soup AND how they make it their own!
I’ve had this pinned forever and just got around to making this last night. OMG, this soup is amazing! I did tweak a bit, I used Better than Bullion, 2 teaspoons roasted chicken and half a teaspoon roasted garlic with two cups of water instead of the chicken broth. Red onion because that’s what I had on hand. After adding the sausage and beans, I added a parmesan rind and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. All I had to add for seasoning was plenty of fresh ground black pepper. This recipe is definitely a keeper! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it…we love how versatile it is and how you can easily swap ingredients or add your own to make it to your specific taste. Thanks for sharing!!
I love this soup. I have made it several times and really enjoy how easy it is to put together. I add small diced potatoes to the soup when I have them. It is delicious either way. Thank you for such a easy, delicious soup recipe.
Diced potatoes are a great addition. Thank you for letting us know how much you enjoy this soup. It’s a favorite for sure.
Soup was great. I doubled the recipe and added spinach and corn. To give it a little kick I added a little red pepper flakes as well. 🙂
Love the additions!
We have made this soup several times and it’s always delicious. Tonight I added carrots and kale and served with bread and dipping oil. A great quick meal.
Great additions…bread and dipping oil sounds delicious too!
Very flavorful and so easy to make.
This looks very good. Before I double the recipe, can leftovers be frozen? I’m unsure due to the evaporated milk.
You can definitely freeze soup made with evaporated milk…we just haven’t done that with this soup because we tent to eat it quickly (and take leftovers as lunch). Given that milk-based soups have a tendency to separate when frozen, you might try to reheat them in a double boiler and straight from the freezer rather than thawing them first. Stir the soup constantly to ensure that the ingredients remix.
Can I use condensed milk instead of evaporated ?? I happened to have that on hand
You should not used sweetened condensed milk in replacement of evaporated milk. You could use regular milk if that’s what you have on hand.
I have made this soup several times. Absolutely love it! I add some smoked paprika, a little cayenne pepper and chopped kale. Super yummy!
Love your additions! Thanks for sharing.
Made this tonight, added green pepper, Italian seasoning, used half n half instead of evaporated milk, and added about a third cup of grated parm. So delicious and easy!