Keto Italian Sausage Soup

A bowl of a tomato based soup filled with mushrooms, kale, and sausage.

5 from 3 votes

A hearty, low carb Italian Sausage Soup, perfect topped with a heavy dose of parmesan cheese. This soup is the perfect base to create family-adaptable meals. Keep yours as keto, add parsnips or chickpea pasta to keep it low carb, or add pasta or for the family to share and enjoy. NET CARBS PER SERVING

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Total Time1

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: italian sausage kale soup, italian sausage soup, keto sausage soup, sausage soup

Servings: servings

Calories: 586kcal

Ingredients

1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
6 cloves garlic minced
2 pounds Italian sausage pork or chicken
2 cans diced tomatoes (14 ounce cans)
1/2 quarts chicken broth
2 cups mushrooms sliced
4 cups baby arugula *see notes about freezing soup

Video

Notes

Use a high quality, flavorful Italian sausage. I have made this with both pork and chicken sausage, and while both are good, a classic pork sausage just yields better flavor.
If the soup doesn't have enough Italian flavor, add about 1 teaspoon each of cumin, Italian seasoning (or oregano and basil), and paprika. This will make up for sausage that isn't as flavorful, which typically yields the flavor in this soup.
Baby kale makes this recipe super easy to put together -- at the end of preparing the soup, just add a few handfuls. Lacinato kale is wonderful in soup. Chop it up and add it the last 5 minutes of cooking. You can also use chard, spinach, or fresh basil. I like to add a big handful of extra baby kale to my bowl to up the green power of this meal, and pour the hot soup on top.
Make this a Low Carb Sausage Vegetable Soup: Carrots, parsnips, celriac root, and Japanese sweet potatoes are great additions to this soup if you need more veggie power and are okay with a higher-carb option. These veggies need to be added while simmering the sausage and tomatoes to ensure they cook all the way.
Use healthy carbs for carb cycling, higher carb needs days, or for family members: Keep a pot of boiled pasta, chickpea pasta, chickpeas, steamed quinoa, or wild rice on the side to add as needed.
Use bone broth: Add some extra protein and collagen by using a chicken bone broth in place of half the chicken broth. I use 1/2 bone broth and 1/2 chicken stock to help keep a good flavor. You might need to add extra seasonings, like salt, pepper, or hot sauce, depending on your bone broth.

Cauliflower Rice: This soup is incredible poured over some cauliflower rice for some extra texture. I do this with leftovers so it's feels different than eating soup again.

Zucchini Noodles: Pour a serving of this soup over a bed of zucchini noodles, almost like a pasta sauce. Be sure to top this with extra parmesan cheese! See this recipe for Keto Butter Chicken for ideas on preparing the zucchini noodles.

With Spaghetti Squash "Noodles": Prepare a spaghetti squash, and then add to the soup at the same time as adding the mushrooms and greens. This makes it similar to a "noodle" soup.

Serve with Keto Bread Rolls spread with butter on the side.

Nutrition