Italian Sausage Soup with Farro

This Italian sausage soup with farro is hearty and nourishing. Made with spicy Italian sausage, tons of vegetables, and farro. With just 15 minutes of prep time, it’s so easy and meal prep friendly!

When the weather turns cool, there is nothing like a hearty bowl of soup to warm you up!  This Italian sausage soup with farro is up there with our other favorites including hearty lentil soup, and sausage and white bean soup!

This Italian sausage soup is spicy, full of flavor, and packed full of nourishing ingredients including garlic, onions, tomatoes, and farro. 

Soup is one of our favorites to meal prep, because it is SO freezer-friendly...and this sausage farro soup freeze/thaws like a dream! Best of all, it’s really easy to prepare, and covers all the bases for protein, vegetables, and healthy grains!

Recipe Video

Wondering how sausage farro soup comes together? Watch the video below! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel.

Ingredient Notes

• Spicy Italian sausage - can be swapped for mild or sweet Italian sausage if you prefer less spice! The level of spice will vary depending on the brand.
• Veggies - carrots, celery, canned diced tomatoes 
• Chicken stock - can be swapped for veggie stock, or homemade bone broth. You can use store bought chicken stock, or homemade chicken stock using our easy Instant Pot chicken stock recipe!
• Farro - farro is somewhat of a specialty ingredient, so if you have trouble finding it at the grocery store, we have a few alternatives for you including quinoa, rice, or orzo (note: orzo cooks very quickly). Use your best judgment when adjusting the cook time for these alternatives. 

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Step by step directions

Sautée Sausage, Onion, and Garlic

Cook sausage in a large pot over medium heat, breaking it up with a spatula until crumbled and almost cooked through (5-7 minutes).

Add onion and cook for 7 or so minutes, until soft. Make a space in the middle of the pan and add the garlic. Cook for one minute.

Add Vegetables

Add the carrots, celery, diced tomatoes, stock, bay leaf, dried basil, and farro. 

Simmer

Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the farro is cooked to your liking.

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Tips for the BEST soup

1. Get organized - get all your veggies chopped, your sausage crumbled and your cans opened before you start cooking for the most efficiency.
2. Adjust the spice level - the most important decision with this soup is which type of sausage you will use...if you like it spicy, go for the spicy Italian sausage. If you are serving it to kids, or want to reduce the spice level, pick a sweet Italian sausage.
3. Shortcut - save yourself some time by picking crumbled sausage (ie: out of the casings).

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Meal Prep

Italian sausage soup is such a great choice for meal prep! To meal prep this soup ahead and reheat it later, we recommend storing it in jars based on serving sizes: 

• pint jars - for single portions
• reusable freezer jars - to freeze larger portions
• 1 quart jars -  another great freezer option: leave ¼ of the jar empty and lid ajar until frozen

Tips for Freezing In Jars

Here are a few tips for freezing black beans in mason jars to avoid the jars breaking:

1. Make sure to select canning jars; repurposed pasta sauce or food jars are not designed to withstand dramatic temperature shifts and can break.
2. Avoid jars that have 'shoulders' and taper in at the top, as they are more prone to breaking
3. Leave an inch from the top of the jar empty to account for expansion when freezing
4. Leave the lids ajar until the beans are frozen solid- at this point, you can secure them!

FAQ

Storage + reheating

This Italian sausage soup keeps well, and tastes even better on day 2! Here's how to safely store and reheat this recipe:

• fridge- cool completely, then cover the pot, or portion out into storage jars. Refrigerate for up to 4 days.
• freezer- cool completely, then portion out into glass or plastic freezer jars. Leave ¼ of the jar empty to account for expansion, and leave lids ajar until the soup is fully frozen. Freeze for up to 3 months.
• thaw- overnight in the fridge (speed the process by leaving on the counter for a few hours, or by immersing the jar in water).
• reheat- heat individual portions in the microwave until steaming hot. Heat the whole pot over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 15-20 minutes, until warmed through.