Rustic Sausage Potato Soup Recipe
This isn’t soup. This is a meal that earned its beard. It’s thick, rich, creamy, savoury, soul-warming…but also rugged, like it just came in from chopping wood in the snow. This soup does not apologize.
You’ve got crumbles of spicy sausage. Crispy bacon. Potatoes so tender they barely remember being solid. Kale to make you feel like you’re being healthy (you’re not). And a swirl of cream at the end that says, “Yes, I do deserve this.”
Make it on a cold day. Make it when you’re mad at the weather. Make it when all you want is a bowl of something that feels like a wool blanket and tastes like it took hours—but didn’t.
Recipe Card
| Recipe Name | Rustic Sausage Potato Soup |
|---|---|
| Summary | A chunky, hearty soup loaded with spicy sausage, crisp bacon, tender potatoes, wilted kale, and a creamy broth. Comfort food that slaps. |
| Servings | 4–6 |
| Prep Time | 15 min |
| Cook Time | 35 min |
| Total Time | 50 min |
| Course | Main / Soup |
| Cuisine | American (but built different) |
| Method | Stovetop |
| Diet | High-Protein, Gluten-Free (if your sausage plays nice) |
| Keywords | hearty soup, sausage potato soup, winter comfort food, meal soup |
| Equipment | Dutch oven, wooden spoon, knife, cutting board, ladle, taste buds |
Ingredients
- ½ lb thick-cut bacon
- 1 lb Italian sausage (spicy preferred)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 medium russet potatoes, halved and thin-sliced
- 3 cups chicken stock
- ¼ tsp sea salt (start light; bacon is salty)
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional but yes)
- 2 cups chopped kale (tough stems removed)
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Parmesan, grated (to finish)
- Reserved bacon bits (don’t even think of tossing them)
Instructions
- Cook the bacon
Dice and throw into a cold Dutch oven. Heat to medium-high. Let it render until crisp. Scoop it out. Leave the fat. That’s flavor gold.
- Brown the sausage
In the bacon fat, add sausage and diced onion. Break it up and brown it. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes more, just until your kitchen starts smelling illegal.
- Simmer the soup
Add chicken stock. Drop in potatoes. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until the potatoes give up and melt under a spoon.
- Add the kale
Toss in chopped kale. Simmer 4–5 minutes until soft but still green like it means it.
- Cream finish
Kill the heat. Stir in cream. It’ll turn the whole pot into velvet. If it doesn’t make you sigh, you’re doing it wrong.
- Serve like you mean it
Ladle into a bowl. Add a shower of Parmesan. Sprinkle bacon bits like you’re making it rain. Eat hot. Eat loud. Eat proudly.
Kitchen Notes
- Bacon rules the flavor world. You can technically skip it. But should you? Absolutely not.
- Sausage level: Hot Italian brings the heat. Mild works, too. Bonus points if it’s homemade.
- Potato game: Russets break down and thicken the broth. Waxy potatoes hold their shape but don’t give that same cloud-like finish.
- Kale haters: Sub spinach, chard, or just skip it. But you’ll miss the green flecks that make you think you’re being healthy.
- Cream alternatives: You can sub with half-and-half, but let’s be honest—heavy cream is what turns this from “soup” into soup.
- Meal prep tip: This soup thickens as it chills. Day two hits harder. Thin with extra broth when reheating, or don’t. Your call.
Final Slurp
You came for soup. You stayed for the experience. This isn’t some dainty starter—it’s a whole mood in a bowl. It’s the kind of recipe that makes you sweat a little while stirring, then grin ear to ear when the first spoonful hits. It’s spicy, creamy, meaty, and just rustic enough to look like you chopped firewood before serving.
Like recipes that slap this hard? I’ve got more where that came from. Email me at [email protected] and let me know what your readers are hungry for. I’ll make sure their bowls (and inboxes) stay full.
