Creamy Potato Soup with Italian Sausage

This Creamy Potato Soup with Italian Sausage is so comforting, you’ll be making it all year long! This potato soup recipe is always on our dinner menu!

We love comforting soups like this one for dinner any time of the year! Also be sure to check out our ever popular Beefy Tomato Soup recipe and this creamy Chicken Pot Pie Soup!

potato soup with italian sausage in a black bowl

Soup for dinner is pretty big in our house. Our boys have grown up eating homemade soup and we wouldn’t have it any other way. From Homemade Turkey Soup to thick Split Pea and Ham Soup, they love it all and so do we.

There’s no “soup season” at our house – we make soup all year long from brothier soup recipes to thick and creamy chowders. It’s more like there’s a soup for every season!

Ingredients To Make This Creamy Potato Soup with Italian Sausage

There’s a few ingredients that go into this soup recipe, we’ll get into what you can add or swap out a little later in the post.

Here are the basics:

  • Italian Sausage: As mentioned, you can swap out the sausage for other protein but Italian sausage will give this soup the best flavor.
  • Yellow, Red or Russet Potatoes: Any type of potato will do, really, definitely use what you have on hand. Russet potatoes tend to break apart a little more than Yukon Gold potatoes or red potatoes which are a more waxy potato, but that will also add to the texture of your broth.
  • Onions: Yellow onions are our choice for this soup recipe, they will become sweet when cooked down and add a ton of flavor to the soup.
  • Garlic: Fresh garlic is in most things we cook, honestly. Use as much or as little as you like!
  • Frozen or fresh spinach: We used frozen spinach in this soup because we always have it on hand but if you have fresh just double or triple the amount that you’re adding as it will wilt down in the pot.
  • Diced Tomatoes: Juice and all, add the whole thing right into the soup! We prefer to use petite diced tomatoes for their smaller size but any can will work.
  • Chicken & Beef Broth: Use good quality chicken and beef stock or broth. A weak, flavorless broth won’t make for a good soup base!
  • Heavy Cream: No swap out here, heavy cream is what gives this soup recipe it’s rich and velvety texture.
  • White Wine: A dry white wine that you enjoy drinking, if you’re not a wine drinker or don’t drink alcohol, deglaze the pot with water or chicken broth.
  • Parmesan Cheese: A good quality, nutty
  • Fresh Thyme: Fresh herbs are key for flavor! You can also use rosemary or basil in this recipe if you prefer.

potatoes and sausage in a soup pot to make potato soup

How To Make Creamy Potato Soup with Italian Sausage Soup:

Start by browning the sausage and potatoes with onions and garlic. This step will take a good 15 minutes or so and as you can see in the picture above, the bottom of your pot is probably going to look a little brown.

Don’t panic at all, those are all delicious brown bits that are going to add to the flavor of this soup recipe! Once you deglaze the pot with wine, most of that brown color will be gone, just like in the picture below.

potato soup recipe with italian sausage and potatoes

Then you can start adding the chicken and beef broth, tomatoes, herbs and seasonings and spinach. Bring the soup to a simmer and then let it cook for about 25 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender.

If the potatoes are still hard, cook the soup another 5-10 minutes until they have softened. Now you’re going to remove about a cup of the cooked potatoes from the soup to a bowl. Mash with a fork or a potato masher and add the mashed potatoes back into the soup. This will add another layer of thickness to the soup without having to add more cream.

Stir in the cream, taste for seasonings and let the soup simmer another 10 minutes for the flavors to combine.

Creamy Potato Soup with Italian Sausage is a comfort food recipe

What Can I Swap Out Or Add To This Soup Recipe?

As with most soup recipes, you can swap out a few ingredients here and there. For instance, you can swap out turkey sausage for the Italian sausage in this recipe or even a regular pork sausage. We love the flavor that Italian sausage has built right into it, so many herbs and spices, it just makes this soup so delicious.

If you really want to lighten this soup up you can also add lean ground beef, pork or turkey instead of sausage. But since this is a thick, creamy potato soup recipe, I’m sure you’re not here to lighten things up really.

For the vegetables component, you can add kale, cabbage or chopped broccoli. Frozen peas and carrots, pretty much any type of vegetable that you like can go into this potato soup!

Can I Make This Soup Recipe In Advance?

This is the perfect dinner recipe to make if you’re looking to get things done ahead of time! Some soup recipes have past in them which tends to soak up the broth and make the pasta expand. So you can either add cooked pasta to the soup after you make it or just make the soup right before eating.

But this potato soup with Italian sausage doesn’t have any pasta in it to blow out on you, so it’s a perfect make ahead recipe! So go ahead and make a big pot of this soup and dinner will be done for at least a couple of days!

What Can I Serve With This Sausage Soup?

Soups like this one that are packed with vegetables and sausage are pretty much a meal on their own. That’s another awesome thing about making a pot of soup like this, there’s no side dishes or anything else to worry about – dinner is done!

But adding crusty bread or Garlic Bread along with soup is never a bad thing. Homemade Caesar Salad is another good choice for something cool to serve next to the hot soup.

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Creamy Potato Soup with Italian Sausage is a comfort food recipe

Creamy Potato Soup with Italian Sausage

  • Author: Dan
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 6 Servings 1x

This soup is so hearty and comforting you’ll want to make it all year long! This soup has the most amazing, flavorful broth made with chicken broth AND beef broth, cream and white wine.

Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Italian sausage, loose or casings removed
  • 1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold, Russet or Red potatoes cut into a 1″ dice, skins on or off
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil (If needed)
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Fresh black pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 10 ounces frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
  • 15 ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
  • 45 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Spray a large dutch oven or soup pot with non-stick cooking spray over medium heat. Add the sausage, breaking up with a spoon or spatula until almost cooked through.
  2. Add the onions and garlic to the pot with the sausage and the drippings, stirring and cooking until softened about 3-4 minutes. Add the diced potatoes and cook another 3-4 minutes, then season with salt and pepper. If your sausage didn’t produce enough drippings you can add an additional tablespoon of olive oil to the pot.
  3. Add the flour, stir to combine and then pour in the wine, stirring to scrape up the bottom of the pot as the wine reduces. Let the wine reduce for 2 minutes and then add the chicken and beef broths, spinach, diced tomatoes and thyme sprigs. Bring to a simmer and cook, partially covered for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally so the potatoes don’t stick to the bottom of the pot as they cook.
  4. Check to see if the potatoes are tender, then remove about 1 cup of the potatoes to a bowl and mash with a fork or a potato masher. Return the mashed potatoes to the soup and stir to combine. Stir in the heavy cream and parmesan cheese and then taste the soup for seasonings.
  5. Cook the soup for another 10 minutes, uncovered on low heat so that the flavors can combine. Remove the thyme sprigs and serve.

Recipe Notes

We like serving this soup with fresh cracked black pepper and parmesan cheese for garnish. Don’t forget a loaf of crusty bread for dipping!

  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Stove Top
  • Cuisine: American

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96 Responses
  1. Heidi

    This was delicious and made for a great dinner on a rainy day! Hubby and I made the recipe as directed, though we subbed fresh rosemary for the thyme and used fresh spinach instead of frozen. The recipe says the potatoes should be cut in 2 in. dices but that seemed unusually large – not sure if that was a typo or not. We diced them down smaller than that. Also added a jalapeno which gave it a nice spiciness along with the hot Italian sausage that we used. Will definitely make again – next time, we may omit the tomato juice in the can as that may have been unnecessary liquid/acidity in the dish. Served with crusty French Rolls. Very good – will definitely make again!






    1. Dan

      Yes, you’re right, that’s supposed to be a 1 inch dice. I fixed that in the recipe card, I’m glad you were smart enough to figure that out! But there’s not tomato juice in the recipe, it’s diced tomatoes with their juice, so a can of diced tomatoes not drained, just fyi in case you make it again!

    1. Dan

      It can be, yes. Any soup with cream in it will separate slightly after being frozen but since this soup doesn’t have a lot of cream it should be fine. If you’re making it in advance to freeze it, then just leave the cream out at the end and add it after reheating.

  2. Janet Bradley

    As written I LOVE this recipe. But I HATE tomatoes. Could I use tomato sauce? I soooo want
    to make this.

    Thanks, Jan






    1. Gail Null

      Delicious! I made it just like the recipe, but added a diced carrot and left out the cream. My husband enjoyed this as well. It’s a recipe that we’ll have often. Thank you!

  3. Christine

    Left tomatoes out ,used celery with onions and garlic. Added a little velveeta ar the end! Fantastic! Thank you.






  4. Margarita

    Is it ok to use frozen potatoes like the ones in the hash brown section in the grocery store? I hate cutting potatoes. 😄 Thx!

  5. Colleen Keesler

    Can I double the chicken broth instead of using beef? How about fresh frozen rather than frozen? I plan to make this tonight.

    1. Dan

      We do like the flavor of using both beef and chicken broth but yes you can definitely use just chicken broth. And I think you mean fresh spinach instead of frozen? You can absolutely use fresh spinach!

  6. Reilly

    Absolutely awesome! I used turkey Italian sausage and fresh spinach because it’s what I had on hand. Wishing I had doubled it!






  7. Shay

    I used cabbage instead of spinach, coconut milk instead of cream, and extra water instead of wine (I didn’t have those on hand so I substituted with what I could). It came out Fabulous! I used mild Italian sausage and cut it out of the casing. The fennel was incredible in it. I used extra potatoes because I’m trying to use them up and I just did the immersion blender a little more. Thank you for an incredible way to use the sausage.






  8. Donna

    Great soup, added more garlic, and l used fresh spinach, didn’t have any heavy creame so l used 1 cup of milk with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and it was perfect






  9. Ivonne Cribbs

    So delicious that even my picky 8yr old raved about how yummy to the tummy this was for her. Definitely gonna be a keeper in our binder.
    Keep almost all the ingredients the same other than using fresh spinach, which I always have on hand, vs frozen.

    Thank you for such a fabulous recipe that is full of flavor.






  10. Kelsey

    I’ve made similar soups, but decided to leave those trusty recipes behind and try this one out. Well, the others have been replaced. I made this for my parents one night and my dad is one of the pickiest eaters on the planet. He hates warm tomatoes, but…he said he was delicious! I even forced the spinach on him and couldn’t believe he ate such a big bowl. Truly, he has a toddlers palate. This soup is so damn good. Simple recipe to follow and we will definitely make this again. My dads one request was that we try next time with spicy sausage, which I’m fine with. Thank you for the great recipe!






  11. Mike B

    I made this soup tonight for my wife. It turned out excellent. I stayed pretty true to the recipe but added fresh spinach, mushrooms and diced carrots and also chose fire roasted diced tomatoes. I broiled crusty black olive and rosemary sourdough bread and used a little butter and shredded Parmesan to melt on top of it. Used a Pinot Gris in the soup and had it with dinner. Just a hearty delicious combination. Thank you. Oh yeah my wife loved it and I had to give her the recipe.






  12. Maureen

    I rarely comment on recipes, but this soup is SO good that I felt compelled to do so! We live in Savannah, Ga., and even in the heat, my husband requests this soup again and again! Absolutely delish!! 😊






  13. Tamara

    This was amazing! Made as directed except used hot Italian sausage and no wine (I drink it before I can cook with it..lol). I’m not a fan of chunks of tomatos or spinach, but this was so good I didn’t even know they were there. Served with some brioche and it was perfection. I’m sharing recipe with friends and will be making again. Thanks for an outstanding dish!






      1. Tami

        Can someone give me a starting brand to buy for the wine? I’ve never cooked with it b/c I don’t know what to get.

        1. Dan

          An easy thing to do is to buy those small, individual wine bottles (they usually come in a 4-pack) and keep those on hand for cooking. So a chardonnay, pinot grigio or a sauvignon blanc are all good places to start, it really doesn’t matter what the brand is but Cavit, Sutter Home, Woodbridge, those brands are usually sold in those packs and work just fine.

  14. Shawnee

    I know this recipe was posted sometime ago but just coming across it. I don’t mind cream but am not a cheese eater. If I left out the parm (I know unpopular opinion) you think it would totally ruin it?

    1. Cindy

      Hi Shawnee,
      Personally, I think the Parmesan definitely adds a wonderful depth of flavor to this soup. You might try leaving it out of the pot, and serving it with the individual bowls of soup as an option for others. Just a thought and idea. Either way, enjoy!
      Cindy






  15. Carolyn

    I love making soups and decided to make this last night for dinner. It was amazing! Hubby said it may be his new favourite soup! I made exactly as shown just used dried thyme instead of fresh. Served with crusty olive bread and was oh so good. Definitely making again!






  16. Susan J.

    This soup was a hit in my house. So rich and filling. Flavors were on point. I didn’t use spinach as I forgot to get it, but added carrots. Followed the recipe other than that. Will make this again for sure. We did garlic ciabatta buns as a side. Thank you for sharing!






  17. Barbara

    Left out the wine and cream and it was fabulous! Also used kale instead of spinach. Can’t wait to eat more tomorrow!






  18. Cindy

    OMG! This soup is outstanding! So flavorful and creamy. My entire family absolutely loved it – hubby and each child. Definitely a go to! Pinot Grigio was a perfect compliment. My only disappointment was that I failed to get a crusty bread. Next time I’ll make sure I do! Thanks for sharing.






  19. Erin R

    This soup is so fantastically hearty and delicious! I used a half & half combo of sweet potatoes and yukon golds to match the savory of this dish with a bit of sweetness. I also probably tripled the amount of garlic called for and used sprigs of both fresh thyme and rosemary. There are many happy full bellies tonight at my house. Thanks!






  20. Mariellen

    Fantastic!! I used leftover taco meat!, half and half and some Colby Jack cheese- it’s wonderfully delicious. A new favorite for us 👍






  21. Jessica

    Absolutely delicious! I imagine this will become a regular in my soup rotation. Thanks for this fantastic recipe!






  22. Doreen Rubin

    During the pandemic we started making our own sausage…Wow!! What flavors! Added fresh spinach instead of frozen and more cheese. Will make again!!👍






  23. Doreen Rubin

    We started to make own sausage during the pandemic.. we used are homemade sausage and added fresh spinach and lots of cheese! What a marriage of flavors! This is a keeper!






  24. Carol Oswald

    Excellent recipe! I love the thickness, creamy and cheesy. We will add this to our winter rotation for sure! I made this exactly as written, chose the red potatoes since I already had them, only used fresh spinach instead of frozen since I like the texture better. It was really, really good!






  25. Judith

    I make soup all the time. This one is hands down one if the best ones I have ever made. Next time will use sweet sausage, the hot sausage was a little to spicy.






  26. Jillian Callahan

    This soup had lots of delicious flavor! My husband and kids liked it too and I have enjoyed the leftovers. I will use baby spinach next time (the frozen was a slightly stringy) and may add some cannellini beans.






  27. Renee

    All I can say is OMG! Used half white and half red wine because thats all I had. I used 2 5oz boxes of fresh baby spinach and no thyme. One of the best soups Ive ever made. Loaf of crusty bread and perfection!!!






  28. Penny

    Someone asked if this could be made in a crockpot and you said no. Just wanted to let you know that I did make it in a crockpot and it was amazing. Sautéed the sausage and onion in a fry pan. Added the flour and then the wine. At that point I put it in the crockpot and added the rest of the ingredients except the cream and parmigiana. I used fresh spinach. I added the cream and parm at the last few minutes to heat up. I also just used chicken stock no beef. Thanks for the inspiration!

  29. Brandi

    This soup is so good! I made it last night for dinner and had three bowls and I don’t even like Italian sausage 😂 I did adjust it to be made in the instant pot omitted the spinach and added more parm and served with fresh bread. Hands down this is a keeper ❤️






  30. Dani

    Excellent soup, made this today on a cold wet day. We are vegetarian, substituted sausage with plant based sausage, veggie boullion, and added a little tumeric for added color. Delish!






    1. Dan

      It makes me so happy that you made substitutions to this recipe, even though you have dietary restrictions! That’s what it’s all about, taking a base recipe and making it work for you! Thanks for letting me know!

  31. Nikki

    This recipe was delicious!!! I didn’t have fresh thyme and I used fresh spinach. This was amazing! Thank you! Thank you!






  32. Angie

    I made this soup and it was very good but made a few changes. I only used 3/4 can chopped canned tomatoes and don’t drink so did not use wine, did not have potatoes so I used frozen chopped sweet potatoes ( they were finely chopped). Also used 1/2 and 1/2 since that’s all I had. It still turned very good and my husband loved it.






  33. Richard Romanick

    used 1/2 pound hot Italian sausage and 1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage made it and let sit for flavors to blend together, Turned out tastier than Mom’s applte pie!!!!!!






  34. Karen

    Soup was great. Had to make it w/o the beef broth but added a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce. Was delicious and will make again with the beef broth very soon.






  35. Judi

    I already had diced onions, celery and carrots in the pot before I remembered seeing this recipe, so that is how I made it. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! It will definitely be a soup I will make again and again.






  36. Elizabeth

    I make this delicious soup weekly at the moment. It’s winter in Australia. I really must print it off but usually open the recipe from Pinterest instead. Each time I open it there are more and more adverts interrupting the recipe. Today there is an advert OVER THE TOP of the list of ingredients. Obscuring the ingredients. No X to close it. How is this possible?






  37. Daryl

    This is wonderful soup, one of the best I’ve ever had. I made the Italian sausage homemade and it really shines in this recipe. I made it as written and wouldn’t change anything. I reviewed this on my YouTube channel, The Real Deal Recipe Reviews, where I always try to make dishes as written and give honest reviews. As I ended my video “If there was ever a 5 star recipe this is it!”






  38. Leah

    I love soup season and I we absolutely loved this soup. I used half hot sausage and have mild and I did alter one ingredient from your list – we watch our carbs so I substituted rutabaga for the potatoes which increased the cook time to get the rutabaga pieces nice and soft. Other than sticking a few bay leaves in my pot while cooking no other changes. Absolutely delish and I do not think that my change alters the rating in any way. Most certainly 5 yummy stars.






  39. Billie

    Absolutely delicious! I’d use less potatoes next time and add a few carrots.
    Already planning on making this in a double batch for company!






  40. Abigail

    This is one of the best recipes I have come across! I have made this many times, and have it on the stove again as I type. I try not to change anything in this recipe because it is so delicious–and I never follow recipes! The only thing I have tried is starting by frying 3-5 pieces of bacon in the pot so that I have enough oil, and then cook everything in that. Phenomenal recipe, thanks for sharing!






  41. Jess

    I’m writing this review as I’m devouring a bowl of this soup. It is AMAZING! So flavorful, and perfect for a cold night. I imagine it would freeze well also and make for a quick weeknight meal. Thanks for sharing! I will definitely be making it again.






  42. Julie

    We’ve been making this for years, but apparently I forgot to comment! So sorry!! It’s amazing no matter how we make it … We’ve made it as written, we’ve also added chopped yellow peppers, or used turkey sausage, or fresh spinach, or hidden riced cauliflower in there, and we’ve even stirred in the end of leftover mashed potatoes vs making the mashed slurry at the end. No matter what it is a crowd favorite (as are all of your other soups we’ve tried!) thanks!!






  43. Nick

    Incredible!! This is my favorite soup hands down. TONS of flavor and hearty ingredients will keep you cozy and satisfied on a cold day. If it was more simple to make I would have a batch of this in my fridge at all times. Thanks!






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