Sausage Bean Soup with Spinach
on Jul 23, 2024, Updated Oct 12, 2024
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Chicken sausage, beans, mushrooms, and spinach come together to create the most comforting and hearty soup! Slow cooker bean sausage soup is so easy to prepare and bursting with flavor.
If you are looking for an easy, slow cooker dinner then you are in the right place! This bean sausage soup is full of flavor and is the perfect solution if you don’t know what to have for dinner. I love how quickly this dish can be prepared, it only takes a few minutes to combine all the ingredients and the result is a delicious, warm bowl of soup.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The soup is hearty, comforting, and satisfying.
- You can prepare everything in 10 minutes, and the slow cooker does the rest.
- It is full of flavor from the spices, beans, veggies, and sausage.
Recipe Ingredients
- Sausage—Sliced. We use Italian chicken sausage, but any kind is great!
- Bean Soup Mix—A prepackaged blend of dried beans.
- Onion—Finely chopped. These will release a bright flavor as they cook.
- Garlic—Minced. To add depth to the dish.
- Chicken Broth—Helps cook your beans and infuse them with flavor.
- Water— To help cook the beans.
- White Mushrooms—Trimmed and quartered.
- Spinach—Fresh or baby spinach will work.
- Spices—A blend of thyme, red pepper flakes, and bay leaves for optimal flavor.
- Salt and Pepper—Season to your taste.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Slow Cooker Bean Sausage Soup
Step #1. Microwave the sausage, onion, garlic, thyme, and pepper flakes in a bowl until the onion starts to soften. Place the onion mixture in your slow cooker.
Step #2. Add the broth, water, mushrooms, dried beans, bay leaves, and salt. Stir to combine.
Step #3. Cover and cook until the beans are tender. Remove and throw away the bay leaves. Stir in the spinach and let it sit until slightly wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step #4. Remove and throw away the bay leaves. Stir in the spinach and let it sit until slightly wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.Serve and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Yes, if you are in a pinch then you can use canned beans instead of the dried bean mix. We love to use dried beans because it gives a nice variation without having to do too much work, but they also absorb the flavor of the broth better than canned beans. As they cook, they will soak up the flavor in the soup and elevate the dish. But, if you can’t find the dried bean mix, then drain and rinse some canned beans and those will work just as well!
As the dried beans absorb the liquid, your soup will naturally thicken. But, if you notice that your soup is very runny, you can easily thicken the soup with a slurry of flour and water. Whisk together equal parts of water and flour to create the slurry, then mix it into the soup about 30 minutes before it is done cooking in the slow cooker. This will give the broth enough time to thicken up! Alternatively, if the soup seems too thick with not enough liquid, you can add another ½ cup of chicken broth and stir everything together.
Popular Substitutions and Variations
- Switch up the meat— Instead of chicken sausage you can use beef, or even chopped bacon. You can also use hot or sweet sausage for different flavors.
- Make it vegetarian— Instead of switching the meat, omit it completely! You can easily make this vegetarian by using tofu, or just adding extra vegetables instead of sausage.
- Make it spicy— Crank up the heat by adding cayenne pepper and extra red pepper flakes to season your soup.
- Swap the vegetables— If you don’t like some of the vegetables, don’t use them and swap them for something different! Zucchini, broccoli, or carrots are great choices.
How to Serve and Store Slow Cooker Bean Sausage Soup
This soup is hearty and filling enough to be served on its own, but you can also add some simple side dishes to make a complete meal. We love to have bread with our soup because it is perfect for dipping! Try serving breadsticks, French bread, or cornbread with butter. Other yummy sides include steamed vegetables such as brussel sprouts or carrots, stuffing, baked potatoes, or a light garden salad. You can’t go wrong!
Any leftovers of your soup can be stored in the fridge for up to 3-5 days in an airtight container. Scoop one serving of the soup in a bowl and reheat in the microwave for about 30 seconds at a time until it is warm!
Expert Tips
- Keep in mind that a 4-7 quart slow cooker is the best size for this recipe, but you can always adjust the ingredient amounts if needed!
- There are many different bean soup mixes out there with different kinds of beans, so pick one that you like or you can use a homemade mix if you have that instead.
- If you are cooking the soup on low, set the timer for 9-11 hours, and if you are cooking on high, set the timer for 6-8 hours. You’ll know it is done if it has thickened and the beans are soft!
- If you don’t have any fresh garlic cloves then you can use 1 ½ teaspoons of garlic powder instead.
More Soup Recipes To Consider
Beef Recipes
Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon
Soups, Stews & Chowders
White Chicken Chili
Soups, Stews & Chowders
Slow Cooker Veggie Beef Soup
Soups, Stews & Chowders
Texas Chili Recipe
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Healthy Slow Cooker Bean and Sausage Soup with Spinach
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cooked hot or sweet Italian chicken sausage, sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 1 onion, chopped fine
- 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 8 ounces whit mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
- 8 ounces (1 1/4 cups) 15-bean soup mix, flavoring packet discarded, rinsed and picked over
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and pepper
- 4 ounces baby spinach, (4 cups)
Instructions
- Microwave the sausage, onion, garlic, thyme, and pepper flakes in a bowl, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Place the onion mixture in your slow cooker. Add the broth, water, mushrooms, dried beans, bay leaves, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Stir to combine. Cover and cook until the beans are tender, 9 to 11 hours on low or 6 to 8 hours on high.
- Throw away the bay leaves. Stir in the spinach and let it sit until slightly wilted, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve right away.
I love America’s Test Kitchen and am excited to try this!
This looks amazing!! Thanks for sharing- I just got a slow cooker (3 months ago!) and have only used it once so far and it turned out meh. I need this book! 🙂
Looks yummy!
would love to win this for my friend!
Yum! If you didn’t have a 15 bean mix, which beans would you add in a pinch?
Just your favorite, really any would work, black, pinto. small red, butter, lima… you pick!
I’ve just recently found your blog, and enjoy it very much.
I love ATK’s Slow Cooker Revolution – have both of their first volumes. I really trust their recipes. And I enjoy watching their two shows on PBS. Thanks for the giveaway!
I don’t know you are aware, but the descriptions on your pins are missing letters – they’ve all been cut short. For instance, when I pinned one it said, “Healthy Black Bean D;” I added the “ip” to the end. This is really odd and I probably should have said something earlier, because I noticed it the first time I entered this giveaway.