Swiss Chard, Leek, Potato, and Sausage Soup
Swiss Chard, Leek, Potato, and Sausage Soup is a hearty meal full of texture and flavor! Serve it with bread and a salad for a cozy meal! This recipe is from Ciao Italia: Plant, Harvest, Cook! by Mary Ann Esposito.
Swiss Chard, Leek, Potato, and Sausage Soup is a hearty one-pot meal full of texture and flavor, made with red or Yukon gold potatoes, swiss chard, and sweet Italian sausage! This recipe is from Ciao Italia: Plant, Harvest, Cook! by Mary Ann Esposito. Serve it with crusty bread and a salad for a cozy meal!
It is no secret that I adore soup and could eat it all year round. A flavorful broth is always soothing and perfect for delivering texture and flavor. Plus, soup is so forgiving and malleable that you can customize it however you wish. But with the temperatures dropping and the hustle and bustle of the holidays upon us, soup is especially welcome.
Now that we are in the depths of soup season and with cool weather vegetables in mind, I was happy to welcome Mary Ann Esposito to the podcast to discuss her newly released cookbook. Ciao Italia: Plant, Harvest, Cook! (affiliate link) takes her expertise in Italian cooking to the garden! She shares her expertise in gardening along with easy Italian-inspired recipes.
With swiss chard plentiful this time of year, I had to make her Swiss Chard, Leek, Potato, and Sausage Soup!
How to Clean Leeks
Leeks are one of my favorite ingredients! However, they require extra prep time. Clean the leeks by placing chopped leeks in a large bowl of cold water. Swirl the leeks and let them sit for 5 minutes to let the dirt settle to the bottom. Use your hands or slotted spoon to transfer leeks to a clean kitchen towel or paper towel.
Potato Sausage Soup with Swiss Chard and Leek
Swiss chard is plentiful, like other root crops, in the cooler months, from fall to winter. But it’s also available year round, making this a delicious soup all year round. Red or Yukon gold potatoes and sweet Italian sausage make it hearty. And with extra creaminess from evaporated milk, this potato and sausage soup is rich without being heavy.
To make the soup, start by cooking the sausages. This method of cooking sausages in water allows them to cook gently and evenly. A quick browning adds color and flavor.
Saute the cleaned leeks, bell pepper, and swiss chard stems, followed by the garlic.
Add the potatoes and cook for a couple of minutes. Stir in the chicken broth and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 5 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Stir in the Swiss chard leaves, evaporated milk, and sausage, and season with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to medium and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until heated. Off the heat, stir in the parsley.
And that’s it! Serve the potato sausage soup with hot rolls or crusty bread for a hearty meal!
Listen to the Podcast with Mary Ann Esposito
For more planting tips and Italian-inspired recipes, check out my interview with Mary Ann Esposito in Episode 58 of the Kitchen Confidante Podcast!
More Swiss Chard Recipes
Swiss Chard with Orzo, Cannellini Beans, and Pancetta
Thai-Style Chicken Salad Rainbow Wraps
Swiss Chard Walnut Pesto Pasta
More Soup Recipes
20 Simple Soup and Stew Recipes
Disclosure: I was sent a copy of Ciao Italia: Plant, Harvest, Cook! to review for the Kitchen Confidante Podcast Episode 58 with Mary Ann Esposito. All opinions are, of course, my own. The post may have affiliate links; see my Disclosure page to learn more.
Swiss Chard, Leek, Potato, and Sausage Soup
Ingredients
- 2 4-ounce sweet Italian sausage links
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large leek quartered, sliced and cleaned
- 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1 cup diced Swiss chard stems
- 2 cups Swiss chard leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
- 1 large garlic clove minced
- 3 cups diced red or Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 12-ounce cans evaporated milk
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Pour about 1/2 cup water into a medium sauté pan, add the sausage links, and cook over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain off any remaining water and allow the sausage to cook in its fat. (If it is too lean, add a little olive oil.) When the links are nicely browned, transfer them to a dish and allow them to cool. Cut the links into 1/4-inch-thick slices and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the leeks, bell pepper, and swiss chard stems and cook for a couple of minutes until the stems soften. Add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 5 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Uncover the pot, stir in the Swiss chard leaves, evaporated milk, and sausage, and season with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to medium and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until heated through. Off the heat, stir in the parsley. Ladle into soup bowls and serve right away.
Notes
Nutrition
Comments
COOKBOOK
How much soup is a serving? And Katie asked a very valid question about how the calories are 53/serving, when (12serving of evap * 25cals/serving = 300 calories). 2 cans is 600 calories. When divided by 8, that’s 75 calories right there.
Next we have the sausage, and conservatively, there’s 175 calories in each sausage. 2 sausages is 350 calories, divided by 8 is say around 45 calories. We are already at 120 calories.
Say calories in Swiss Chard are negligible, same with the bell peppers, leeks and parsley. Next we have potatoes, with 3 cups, that’s around 300 calories. Divided by 8, that’s around 40 calories. Now the count is up to 160 calories.
160 calories per serving is great. If we add the veggies and broth, let’s say we’re at 200 calories. That still doesn’t show me how you’ve arrived at 53 calories. If there’s some sort of internal calculator, it’s not functioning as it should.
This soup is delicious, but I have some doubts about the recipe serving 8, and the nutrition information is grossly inaccurate. The servings are definitely small, but not 53 calories per serving small. Each can of evaporated milk has 480 calories, so that is 120 calories per serving just for the milk, and the sausage and potatoes will bump up the calorie count even more. It was barely enough soup for 5 of us, and that is with bread, salad and an appetizer!
Soup
Hi Kim! I believe you probably meant to share/email this recipe, but it looks like you left a comment instead! Next time, an email button under the “Share This With Friends” part under the recipe card should help. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Is there something else to substitute the evaporated milk? Otherwise this looks great.
Hi Julie! If you don’t have evaporated milk, you can use half and half, heavy cream, or a combination of whole milk and heavy cream. To me, half and half is the closest substitute to evaporated milk. Heavy cream will be a little rich, but you can certainly water it down a bit to get the right creaminess. Hope that helps!
I made this dairy free by substituting coconut milk and a little corn starch. It was fabulous!
me too, I can also eat soup year round and do, I like these ingredients, swiss chard and leeks are a great idea in this, a!nd like the rest of the ingredients too, thank you for sharing this!