Italian Sausage and Bean Soup
Sausage, beans, and tomato in one pot at the truck. Spinach goes in last, off the heat.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 14 oz
- cal / oz
- 44
- protein
- 32 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 35 min
- total time
- 45 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Liquid fuel
- Dutch oven
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Italian sausage | 1 lb | bulk or squeezed out of the casings; keep it in the cooler |
|---|---|---|
| Garlic | 2 cloves | minced, or 1/2 tsp granulated |
| Beef broth | 2 cans (14 oz each) | or 2 bouillon cubes in 3 1/2 cups water |
| Italian-style stewed tomatoes | 1 can (14.5 oz) | |
| Great northern beans | 1 can (14.5 oz) | do not drain, the liquid thickens the pot |
| Sliced carrots | 1 cup | |
| Zucchini | 2 small | cubed |
| Spinach | 2 cups | torn; dried spinach flakes work if the cooler is full |
| Black pepper | 1/4 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp |
Method
- Brown the sausage in a deep pot over the fire or a burner, breaking it apart as it goes. Add the garlic for the last minute so it does not scorch.
- Pour in the broth and the tomatoes with their juice. Add the carrots, salt, and pepper.
- Pull the pot to lower heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes. Carrots should give a little.
- Add the beans with their canning liquid and the zucchini. Cover and simmer another 15 minutes, until the zucchini is soft.
- Take the pot off the heat, stir in the spinach, and put the lid back on. Five minutes under the lid wilts it without turning it grey.
This is a canned-goods soup that happens to have meat in it. The sausage does double duty: it browns first and leaves fat in the pot, so everything after it cooks in seasoned grease instead of plain broth. That fat is most of the flavor, which is why nothing here needs a spice kit.
The undrained beans matter. That starchy liquid is what keeps the soup from being broth with vegetables floating in it. Spinach goes in with the heat off because a covered pot holds plenty of residual heat, and boiled spinach turns to sludge. Carried weight is high for what it is, so this belongs at a truck or a boat, not in a pack.
Packing
Sausage rides in the cooler, double-bagged. Cans, carrots, and zucchini go in a bin. Pre-mince the garlic at home into a small jar and skip the cutting board at camp.
Variations
- Swap the sausage for a can of chicken and cut the salt; the pot stays about the same weight.
- Dried spinach flakes and a bag of dehydrated carrots make this a cooler-free basecamp meal.
- A handful of small pasta added with the beans turns it into a stew, but it stops being gluten-free.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/italian-sausage-soup