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!
Reasons You'll Love This Recipe
- it’s packed with flavor thanks to the spicy sausage and garlic
- ready in under 1 hour, with just 15 minutes of prep time
- full of healthy, nourishing ingredients that will fill you up
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.
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.
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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.
Tips for the BEST soup
- Get organized - get all your veggies chopped, your sausage crumbled and your cans opened before you start cooking for the most efficiency.
- 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.
- Shortcut - save yourself some time by picking crumbled sausage (ie: out of the casings).
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:
- Make sure to select canning jars; repurposed pasta sauce or food jars are not designed to withstand dramatic temperature shifts and can break.
- Avoid jars that have 'shoulders' and taper in at the top, as they are more prone to breaking
- Leave an inch from the top of the jar empty to account for expansion when freezing
- Leave the lids ajar until the beans are frozen solid- at this point, you can secure them!
FAQ
Kale or spinach is a great addition to this soup! Stir it in during the last 2-3 minutes. You can add almost any veggie including: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, or zucchini.
While I haven't tested, we are confident that this would work. We would recommend trying 10 minutes high pressure + 10 minutes natural pressure release. Let us know in the comments if you try this soup in the Instant Pot!
This soup is the perfect blend of protein, vegetables, and healthy grains. You could serve it with some crusty bread or some crackers!
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.
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
Italian Sausage Soup with Farro
Ingredients
- 1 lb spicy Italian sausage casings removed
- 1 onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 carrots chopped small
- 2 ribs celery chopped small
- 15 oz can of diced tomatoes with juices
- 4 cups chicken stock or bone broth
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¾ cup farro * see note 1
Instructions
- 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. Remove bay leaf before serving.
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Tips:
- quinoa
- rice
- orzo
- 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.
Video
Nutrition Information
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L says
Wow delicious and simple recipe. I didn’t have Italian sausage so subbed in Portuguese linguica and the family loved it! Thanks for a great recipe!
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
We're so glad to hear that you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for sharing your substitutions and for leaving a rating and review!
Bobbi says
Love this soup. Has been in my regular rotation for awhile now. Easy and so tasty!
Thank you.
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Bobbi, we're very happy to hear that this Italian sausage soup has become a regular in your meal prep rotation! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a rating and review.
Jamee says
How do you do it in an instapot?
Denise says
Hi Jamee! I really have not tried this one in an IP so I can't say for sure if this will work at all. I would sautee the sausage + onions etc, and add in the rest of the ingredients and try cooking 10 minutes high pressure with a 10 min natural pressure release. If you give it a try, I would love to hear how it goes for you!
Louise Slawson says
I have made this in the Instant Pot several times, using 10 minutes and natural release - works perfectly! And delicious!
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Louise, thank you so much for reporting back, so helpful! We are so glad to hear this worked out in the Instant Pot!