This Italian Potato Sausage soup is cozy, hearty, and full of flavor in every spoonful. Look familiar? Yes, if you’re a fan of Olive Garden you probably recognize this soup! The popular original soup is loaded with bacon, cheese, and cream (no wonder why it’s so good!) but my lighter version delivers big on flavor, while saving on fat and calories. It’s satisfying enough for a full meal but still light and fresh, thanks to the simple ingredients. Perfect for busy nights or chilly days, it comes together easily and tastes like it simmered all afternoon. This is a family favorite at our house, and I bet you’ll love it, too!
Here are a few simple tweaks I made to lighten up the classic Olive Garden creamy Italian sausage soup:
- I used lean Italian turkey sausage instead of full-fat pork Italian sausage.
- To add smokiness, I used smoked paprika instead of bacon.
- I left the skins on the potatoes to add fiber and nutrients.
- To make it creamy, I basically used a thickened-up version base of our Guiltless Alfredo sauce. It’s definitely lighter than heavy cream or a traditional roux made with a lot more butter and flour.
- Instead of using Parmesan in the sauce where it’s easy for the flavor to hide, I saved it for sprinkling on top of the soup–you get a lot more flavor that way with not nearly as many calories.
How to Make Italian Sausage and Potato Soup
This is a simple overview of the recipe, you’ll find a full printable recipe below!
- Brown sausage with onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and smoked paprika in a large pot; drain if needed.
- Add chicken broth and Italian seasoning, bring to a boil, then add potatoes. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender.
- Blend milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt until smooth.
- Cook the milk mixture with butter until thick, then stir it into the soup with spinach.
- Season to taste and serve topped with Parmesan cheese.
Storage & Other Tips
- Refrigeration: Let the soup cool to near room temperature, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate. It keeps well for 3 – 4 days in the fridge.
- Freezing: this soup freezes really well! Portion it into freezer-safe containers and freeze for longer term storage. It reheats nicely when thawed, but may need a splash of broth or milk to bring back that nice consistency.
- If Cooking Ahead: keep the grated parmesan separate if possible. Adding freshly grated cheese just before serving gives it a much brighter finish.
- Serving Tip: if you have people in your family who will complain about green stuff in their soup, just place the spinach in individual bowls (for those who want it) and ladle the hot soup over!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can substitute a regular pork Italian sausage, but because this version is designed to be lighter, you may want to drain excess fat after browning to keep the texture balanced.
Nope, not unless you really want to! We like the skin left on to boost fiber and nutrients a bit, and retain more texture, but you can definitely peel them if you want to!
Yes! You can freeze it in 1 or 2 cup portions. When you reheat, you probably will want to add a bit extra broth or milk to bring back that creamy texture.
Yes! This soup reheats really well. You can make it a day ahead, just leave out the parmesan cheese. Cool and refrigerate, then warm it up on the stove. Add a splash of broth or milk if it’s thickened overnight.
Italian Sausage and Potato Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 20 ounce lean Italian turkey or chicken sausage
- ½ + teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 onion, large diced
- 5-6 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- 8 cups chicken broth 2 boxes
- 1 ½ pounds red potatoes diced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cups milk low-fat
- 3 ounces cream cheese light
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups baby spinach chopped
Instructions
- Remove the sausage from casings and crumble it into a large soup pot. Begin cooking it over medium heat and add red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, onion, and garlic. Saute until the sausage is fully cooked and drain if necessary.
- Add the chicken broth and Italian seasoning, increase heat to high, and bring to a boil. Add diced potatoes, cover, and reduce to a simmer. Cook potatoes until tender.
- While the potatoes are cooking, place the milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Heat the butter over medium-low heat in a small saucepan, then add the milk mixture and cook over medium heat until thick (like a very thick cream soup or a stirrable pudding). When the potatoes are cooked, add the thickened milk mixture and chopped spinach.
- Season with additional crushed red pepper flakes and kosher salt to taste and serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
Questions & Reviews
Loved this! As did my husband who doesn’t like potatoes and doesn’t like soups that aren’t red. I added carrots as well–they’re almost red, right? Thank you thank you for another great recipe!
Hey ladies! do you think this will be ok with chicken itallian sausage? my store doesn’t have turkey and we are trying to eat healthy! thanks!
Yep, go for it!
I made this tonight and took some to my neighbor without even trying it first, because I always love all your recipes. After it was delivered though I got a little bit nervous that it wasn’t going to be good, but my whole family devoured it so the worry was for nothing. Thanks for the great recipe!
Thank you! I had a similar recipe at my mom’s ward potluck and wanted the recipe but didn’t know who made it. This was delicious and my husband is still raving about it today, and he isn’t a fan of soups cause he says they don’t fill him up. New Favorite… Last week I tried your chicken tortilla soup and my sister-in-law dropped in from out of town and she wanted the recipe. My husband was sad there were no leftovers after our dinner party too.
Made this tonight for dinner and my boyfriend and I both loved it! A couple of things that I would note just because they weren’t super clear in the recipe: 1) For me at least, the cream mixture took less time to thicken than the potatoes did to soften (though I had to sub in regular old brown potatoes for the reds) so next time I wouldn’t start heating that up right away, and 2) you have to stir the cream mixture frequently while it’s heating, or it will get lumpy. There is no mention of that in the recipe (though afterwards I was like duh) but I left mine for a minute or two and it got lumpy so I had to re-blend it before continuing to heat it. I halved the recipe and it made a good 4-5 servings. I had to use chicken sausage (couldn’t find Turkey at my Kroger) and that worked nicely. Definitely adding this one to the recipe book!
Made this soup tonight for me and my sweetie… BEST. SOUP. EVER. I omitted the flour by accident and it was fine. This is a WeightWatchers friendly item, and we LOVE you for that!
Is this recipe freezable?
I’ve frozen it in ziplock baggies and then microwaved for lunch with no problem. Just don’t fill the baggies when the soup is still hot because it might make the bag soft enough to melt a little and rip (possibly learned from experience…).
Used “hot italian turkey brats” and omitted the red pepper flakes…..yumm-o!!
It’s been so cold and snowy here that I switched up my menu and made this instead. I made it for my family and two other families in the neighborhood. My family loved it (my husband had two large bowlfuls which is unusual for him when it comes to soup) and one of the moms I took it to already sent a text requesting the recipe! It was fantastic (and much better than Olive Gardens I might add!). Thanks so much.
Making this for lunch again today. I love it! I made the newly-posted Idaho Sunrise recipe for breakfast and will use the leftover potato flesh for lunch. Both recipes have turned out to be quite frugal. Fabulous!