This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Barilla® and Johnsonville®. The opinions and texts are all mine.
The past few weeks have been crazy busy. I taught a class at a conference, which takes all my attention to prepare for and let me tell you it consumed me. I also helped a dear friend with her class she taught at the same conference. Well it all caught up to me the day after the event! I started feeling extremely tired and just thought it was because I had been running so fast and furiously. Nope it was a cold! A full blown knock you over stay in bed all day kind of cold. I don’t know about you but when I have a cold I want a nice comforting bowl of hearty soup. This easy Italian Sausage Soup hit the spot.
Even though it is still close to 100 degrees here in Arizona when I am sick I just want soup. It makes me feel better and with a piece of crusty French bread slathered with butter that is all I need to fill me up and make a complete meal. You could absolutely add a beautiful green salad to this meal but because I did the cooking and am not feeling very well I just went for the Italian Sausage Soup and crusty bread.
I have to tell you because I was not feeling well I really didn’t feel like slaving over a stove and with this soup you don’t have to. It is super easy to prepare and you can feed your whole family for under $10 and that includes a loaf of French bread! I have a few grocery stores I like to shop at and my Fry’s Food Store is on the top of my list. Pretty much all my soup ingredients were on sale. The Johnsonville Sausage was even on sale. I love a good sale, don’t you? I am also kinda picky about my pasta and one that I truly love is Barilla pasta and I love that my Fry’s Food Store has a great selection. Barilla is Italy’s #1 brand of pasta, and it makes dinner quick, easy, and versatile. I chose the mini penne for this recipe and it is perfect.
I used the mild Johnsonville Italian Sausage but if you want a bit more of a bite you can certainly use the spicy sausage! Johnsonville Italian Sausage is convenient and flavorful, all the spices are built in making recipe prep fast and easy!
This soup takes just about 30 minutes to throw together and you can let it simmer for just about another 10 minutes but since the sausage is cooked and the carrots are cooked to soft, it’s just a matter of heating the rest of the ingredients.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat vegetable oil in a large heavy pot over medium high heat. Add the diced onion and cook until it just begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add carrots; cook, stirring frequently, for another 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the sausage to the pot, crumbling as it cooks. Cook until the sausage is no longer pink. Stir in Italian seasoning and red pepper. Stir in tomatoes and stock.
- Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.
- Stir in the beans and mini penne. (Add an extra cup of stock or water at this point if it's boiled down too much.) Simmer for 6- 8 minutes or until pasta is tender.
- Serve piping hot with Parmesan cheese and green onions if desired.
