Kielbasa Soup with Beans
This post contains affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
Kielbasa Soup with Beans is an easy, quick meal. Made with only a few ingredients, this polish sausage soup is hearty and delicious.
This kielbasa soup is incredibly rich and comforting – perfect for a cozy, wholesome meal!
This hearty soup has such a unique flavor – savory Polish kielbasa, garlic, sweet fennel, and an array of fresh vegetables. It’s the perfect example of how healthy eating can be both satisfying and utterly delicious!
It can be easily made in the crockpot, instant pot, or on the stove, making it the perfect soup for a busy weeknight!
Why You Should Make This Recipe
- Simple Steps: Making this soup is easy and it comes together in one pot.
- Loaded with Veggies: We added lots of vegetables like carrots, fennel, celery, and onion, making the soup not only delicious but also super healthy.
- Warm & Cozy: The soup’s rich, warm broth is so comforting, especially on chilly days!
Ingredients
We made this recipe in our favorite nonstick dutch oven.
Substitutions
Olive Oil: You can substitute avocado oil or butter for olive oil.
Kielbasa Sausage: We love this brand of kielbasa. It has no added sugar! I haven’t tried this soup with other sausage brands, but I think it would be delicious! If you prefer ham, try Ham and White Bean Soup.
Broth: Chicken broth and chicken stock are the same thing! You can use any broth or stock interchangeably. Beef Broth, Chicken Broth, or vegetable broth all work interchangeably. I always use low or no salt broth.
Fennel: You can skip the fennel in this recipe if you don’t like it or can’t find it. Add more carrots, celery and onion. We really encourage using it though, fresh fennel adds such a delicious flavor to this recipe!
White Pepper: If you don’t have white pepper you can substitute black pepper.
Beans: You can use navy beans, cannelini beans or great northern beans. Look for low or no added salt.
Spinach: Can be subbed for kale or arugula. We like spinach for it’s mind flavor!
To Make it Lower Carb: Sub zucchini noodles for pasta.
Vegetables: Feel free to add more veggies to this soup! Cabbage would be delicious, or you could double the carrots. This Chicken Vegetable Soup Recipe is another great option for a veggie loaded meal!
Kielbasa Potato Soup : Many other polish sausage soup recipes have potatoes in them. You could add 1 cup of diced yukon gold potatoes to this recipe, but I don’t think it needs them!
To Make it Lower Salt: Kielbasa is naturally high in sodium, so this is a higher salt recipe. Use low or no salt broth and beans. Making your own chicken broth is so easy and is loaded with flavor without having any salt!
How to make Kielbasa Soup
- In a large soup pot, heat olive oil. Brown the kielbasa in the oil for 5-7 minutes.
- Stir in garlic, fennel, onion, carrots, celery, thyme, and pepper, and sauté over medium heat for 5-7 minutes.
- Add cannellini beans and broth to the pot. Stir to combine and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Cook your pasta in a separate pot according to package directions.
- Stir in spinach. Reduce the heat and cook until the veggies are just wilted. Serve over pasta in a bowl.
What to serve Kielbasa Soup
You can serve this on its own, but it’s also delicious with:
- Warm crusty bread – this sourdough is our favorite!
- Veggies, like Lemon Asparagus or Garlic Brussel Sprouts
- A side salad, like our Kale Salad
Storage
Storing: This kielbasa soup will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Freezing: You can freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. We like these containers for freezing!
If you need more freezer friendly recipes check out our Fill Your Freezer Ebook with 22 easy freezer meals!
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave, toaster oven, oven or on the stove.
More Healthy Soup Recipes:
Looking for other soup recipes? Check out these 40+ Healthy Soup Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy soup cookbook.
Kielbasa Soup with Beans
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 12 oz polish kielbasa sliced in small circles and halved (1 ring)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic 3 cloves
- 1.5 cups diced fennel
- 1 cup diced onion 1 medium onion
- 2 cups diced carrots 4-6 large carrots
- 1.5 cups diced celery stalks 4 celery stalks
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 15 oz can cannellini beans rinsed & drained – low/no salt
- 8 cups chicken broth low or no salt (2 32 oz containers)
- 5 oz baby spinach or kale coarsely chopped
- 1 cup ditalini or other short grain pasta
Instructions
StoveTop Instructions
- In a large soup pot, heat olive oil.
- Brown the kielbasa in the olive oil for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add garlic, fennel, onion, carrots, celery, thyme and pepper to the pot. Stir together and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes until onions start to soften.
- Add cannellini beans and broth to the pot. Stir to combine and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.
- While the soup simmers, cook your pasta in a separate pot according to package directions. (This is recommended to avoid over cooking the pasta in the soup, but you can cook it directly in the pot if you’d like to save a dish!)
- Once the soup has simmered for 10 minutes, add chopped spinach and stir together. Reduce the heat and cook until the spinach is just wilted (about 2 minutes)
- Serve over pasta in a bowl. Enjoy!
CrockPot Instructions
- In a large soup pot, heat olive oil.
- Brown the kielbasa in the olive oil for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add garlic to the kielbasa and saute for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add fennel, onion, carrots, celery, thyme and pepper. Stir together and saute over medium heat for 5-7 minutes until onions start to soften.
- Add cooked kielbasa and vegetables to the crockpot base.
- Add cannellini beans and broth to the crockpot. Stir to combine and set to low heat for 4 hours.
- When ready to eat, cook your pasta in a separate pot according to package directions. (This is recommended to avoid over cooking the pasta in the soup, but you can cook it directly in the pot if you’d like.)
- If you want to cook the pasta in the soup: 30 minutes before you’re ready to eat, turn the crockpot to high, add your pasta and stir every 5-7 minutes until pasta is cooked.
- Before serving, add chopped baby kale and spinach and stir together. Cover until the veggies are just wilted (about 2 minutes)
- Serve over pasta in a bowl. Enjoy!
Instant Pot Instructions
- Set your instant pot to Saute, 15 minutes.
- Heat olive oil in the pot. Brown the kielbasa in the olive oil for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add garlic to the kielbasa and saute for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add fennel, onion, carrots, celery, thyme and pepper. Stir together and saute over medium heat for 5-7 minutes until onions start to soften.
- Add cannellini beans and broth to the pot. Stir to combine. Cover the pot and set to Sealing, High Pressure for 5 minutes.
- While the soup cooks, cook your pasta in a separate pot according to package directions. (this is recommended to avoid over cooking the pasta in the soup, but you can cook it directly in the pot if you’d like)
- Once soup has cooked, let the pressure naturally release for 3 minutes, then quick release the remaining pressure.
- Add chopped baby kale and spinach and stir together. Cover until the veggies are just wilted (about 2 minutes)
- Serve over pasta in a bowl. Enjoy!
Notes
- Look for kielbasa with no added sugar
- Don’t skip the fennel! It adds so much flavor.
- Storage: This kielbasa soup will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
I use a smoked small batch kielbasa. We love this soup!
Excellent recipe! I did make some changes based on what I had on hand and because I”m following the Whole30 protocol. I added diced rutabaga, red potato, bay leaves, and Whole30 compliant sausage. I was using homemade salt free chicken stock so I added some MSG (don’t come at me) and some seasoned salt. I had fresh thyme so I just threw the whole sprig in there and fished it out later. No beans or pasta due to Whole30 and no fennel since I didn’t have any on hand. This was amazing and I bet it’s going to taste even better tomorrow! Your recipes are always spot on…please keep ‘em coming!
I don’t like celery, What can I substitute it for?
I wold just skip it or add more carrots, onion or fennel.
Easy soup with a lot of flavor.It’s not always easy for my husband and I to agree what to make for dinner. This one is a favorite for both of us.
Outstanding! Delicious blend of flavors and textures. This recipe is a keeper.
So glad you liked it, Susanne! Thank you!
Great soup! Very flavorful! Super easy recipe.
Made this for dinner and it was a big hit for the family! My toddler is picky so I just cooked the pasta separately and set aside some kalbasa. We did leave out the fennel because I didn’t have any on hand and it was still really good !!
Loved this recipe. I did omit the fennel and replaced the pasta with Skinny Pasta Rice. Less calories 🙃
I will be making this again and again.
Made a big pot of this soup and we’ve been eating it daily! Very, very good! I would not pre cook ditalini for long as it will get a bit mushy. Will be making throughout the fall/winter along with your other soups!
This Kielbasa soups sounds great and I plan to make it now that fall is here. One question: my husband has trouble with beans. If I exclude them, what other changes to the recipe should I make?
Thanks