This hearty Tuscan Italian sausage and white bean soup is packed with cannellini beans, spicy chicken sausage, vegetables, and spinach. Simple, nutritious ingredients simmer together to create a comforting bowl of soup.

It’s been really cold around here. So cold in fact, that our daughter’s school has been cancelled for TWO straight days. Not because of snow or ice, but because of how cold it is. Which means we’ve all been craving hearty and comforting bowls of steaming soup. And this Tuscan soup with cannellini beans and Italian sausage is both comforting AND macro-friendly.
What Makes This White Bean Soup High Protein?
I’m glad you asked! By swapping a few ingredients, we’re able to make this recipe lower calorie and higher in protein. It’s so delicious, you won’t believe it’s nutritious, too!
- Chicken sausage instead of pork sausage: I love cooking with Italian sausage because of the delicious flavor it adds, but often find myself swapping a chicken or turkey sausage for pork. You get all that same great flavor but with higher protein and lower fat.
- Blending the soup instead of adding cream: I learned this trick from my mom, as she used to do it in many of the curries she made while I was growing up. Did you know that blending cooked starchy vegetables like carrots or potatoes or blending cooked beans results in a totally creamy texture? No cream needed!
- Cannellini beans: Another way we’re increasing our protein is by using white cannellini beans. Did you know these white beans have more protein that black or kidney beans?
Why You’ll Love My Tuscan White Bean Soup With Sausage
- Macro-friendly. This recipe is packed with lean protein from our spicy chicken Italian sausage and beans, plus plenty of fiber and fresh vegetables.
- Budget-friendly. Simple, wholesome ingredients are all you need to put this Italian sausage and white bean soup together.
- A one-pot, 30-minute recipe. We’ll be browning chicken sausage in the same pot that we’ll be sautéing our veggies and simmering our soup. Easy meal prep or a perfect weeknight dinner that ready in 30 minutes!
- Packed with flavor & protein. Full of classic Italian spices, spicy chicken sausage and beans, this soup gives you a kick punch of flavor AND protein.
Italian Sausage and White Bean Soup Ingredients

This Tuscan White Bean soup uses simple, nutritious ingredients.
Italian sausage: I swapped a spicy chicken version for the sausage as a personal preference, but you can use your favorite turkey or pork Italian sausage. I do not recommend making this recipe with breakfast sausage, please make sure your sausage is listed as “Italian”.
White beans: You can use your favorite variety of white bean. I’m using a cannellini white bean, but feel free to substitute great northern or navy white beans. I prefer my tuscan soup with cannellini beans as they are so deliciously creamy!
Vegetables: We’re building our Tuscan white bean soup base with the classic combo of carrots, onions and celery, also known as mirepoix. We’ll also be adding in spinach. Feel free to substitute with kale if you prefer that to spinach.
Spices: We’ll be using dried rosemary, garlic, oregano, basil, bay leaf and a pinch of red pepper flakes for flavor.
Stock: And finally, we’ll be using chicken stock. You can use canned or homemade chicken stock, or feel free to substitute vegetable stock.
Italian Sausage and White Bean Soup Recipe Notes:
- Brown sausage – You’ll want to remove any casings and brown the sausage before you make the soup. Browning the sausage adds such a delicious flavor to your soup, and then we get to layer on that delicious sausage taste by cooking our vegetables in the same pot.
- Customize – Free free to customize this soup to your own preference and macro goals. You can add in another can of beans or double the sausage for extra protein, add in more vegetables, or even a cup of cream if you’d like.
- Wait to add your greens – Always wait until the very end to add in your greens like spinach or kale. They take just a minute or so to wilt and you don’t want to overcook them.
- Blend the soup – When I make my Tuscan soup with cannellini beans, I prefer to blend the beans and veggies together to make the soup creamy, before adding in the sausage and spinach. This is optional. I use an immersion blender, but you can also use a traditional blender. Just make sure to blend in batches and be careful when pouring hot liquid.
How To Make Italian Sausage and White Bean Soup in Photos



Place your favorite soup pot over medium-high heat. Add 1 tsp oil. Remove your chicken sausages from their casings and cook and crumble until browned. Remove from pot and set aside.
In the same pot, add in your mirepoix vegetables (carrot, onion and celery). Saute until vegetables are soft, adding in a splash of water if needed to deglaze the pan.
Add in the bean, spices, and broth and give it a good stir.


Bring your Tuscan soup with cannellini bean mixture to a simmer and then cook for 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf and using an immersion blender or regular blender, blend soup. Add in the sausage and spinach and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Serve immediately with your favorite crusty bread..

If you love hearty, delicious soups, check out my spicy beef noodle soup!

Creamy Tuscan White Bean Soup (High Protein)
Ingredients
- 1 lb (454g) spicy chicken Italian sausage
- 1 cup (150g) carrots, diced
- 3/4 cup (75g) celery, diced
- 1 (small) (85g) onion, diced
- 1/4 tsp rosemary
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp basil
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 can (15oz) white beans
- 2 cups (56g) spinach
Instructions
- Place your soup pot over medium-high heat. Remove casings from your sausage, and add to your pot. Crumble and cook until brown, about 5 minutes.
- Remove cooked sausage from soup pot and set aside.
- Into the same pot, add your carrot, onion and celery and turn down heat.
- Cook veggies until soft, about 5 minutes. If needed, add a splash of water to deglaze the pot.
- Add in your spices, broth and the can of beans. Stir until combined and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove bay leaf, and blend soup right in the pot using an immersion blender. (If you are using a traditional blender, you may have to blend in batches as you don't want to overfill the blender cup. Once blended in your traditional blender, carefully pour back into the soup pot)
- Add in your cooked sausage and spinach. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until spinach is wilted. Taste, and adjust salt if needed.
NOTE
Nutrition information for this recipe is provided below. For more information on the nutrition facts provided on this site, please visit our nutrition disclaimer.
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