Italian Sausage and White Beans with Sage
Italian Sausage and White Beans with Sage get extra flavor by finishing in the Instant Pot or slow cooker with tomatoes and ground fennel. If you’re watching carbs, double the sausage and use less beans for a more carb-conscious dish.
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I’ve been having fun discovering that so many of my favorite slow cooker recipes can be made more quickly in the Instant Pot, and it’s fun to have options for recipes for people who prefer different cooking options. This wonderful dish of Italian Sausage and White Beans with Sage was inspired by a lovely woman named Ilva, who lives in Tuscany. I met her online in the early days of blogging and we chatted frequently for a while. Then Ilva stopped focusing on recipes and started to focus on her beautiful food photography, and for the last few years I haven’t talked to her so much.
But I do appreciate Ilva introducing me to rustic Italian dishes like this one, where the emphasis is entirely on the flavors and not on the looks of the dish. And whether you use the Instant Pot or the slow cooker for this Italian Sausage and White Beans with Sage, you’ll definitely have best flavor if you start with dried beans and cook them yourself.
If that just isn’t happening at your house, I’ll also give tips for making this with canned beans. If you want a more carb-conscious dish, double the amount of sausage and use less beans. But no matter how you cook it or what kind of beans you use, please do not skip the dried fennel that makes this so good!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
- dried white beans
- celery
- whole cloves garlic
- fresh sage leaves, divided
- salt
- dried Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link), divided
- olive oil, divided
- uncooked turkey or pork Italian sausage
- ground fennel (affiliate link) (see notes)
- canned petite dice tomatoes with juice
What ingredients give this sausage and beans Italian flavors?
Of course the Italian Sausage used here make this an Italian dish! But the other ingredients that make this recipe Italian include garlic, sage, Italian Herb Seasoning, and especially the ground fennel, which I think is one of the best flavors in Italian cooking!
How can you make this recipe with beans lower in carbs?
If you’re watching carbs, double the sausage and use half as many beans in this recipe for a more carb-conscious dish.
Love Your Instant Pot?
I use a 6 Quart Instant Pot for all my Instant Pot Recipes. Check out all my Instant Pot Recipes! Or you can also find lots more Pressure Cooker/Slow Cooker Recipes on my other site.
How to make Italian Sausage and White Beans with Sage:
(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.
- If you’re cooking your own beans, start with 2 cups of fresh dried white beans. If you want to cook the beans on the stovetop, I would soak them in cold water overnight; for cooking dried beans in the slow cooker or the Instant Pot, you can skip the soaking.
- Put dried beans, celery, garlic, sage, salt, Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link), and a little olive oil in the slow cooker or Instant Pot with enough water to just cover the beans.
- Cook beans 5-6 hours in the slow cooker. (more here about How to Cook Dried Beans in a Slow Cooker.)
- In the Instant Pot, lock the book and cook 30 minutes at HIGH PRESSURE; then let beans NATURAL RELEASE for 15 minutes followed by quick release as needed.
- For either cooking method, drain the beans, saving the large cloves of garlic and 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
- While beans cook (or when they’re nearly cooked for slow cooker method) heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large frying pan and brown the Italian Sausage, then slice into diagonal pieces and brown the sides of those pieces. (This adds flavor; please don’t skip the browning!)
- Put the drained beans, sausage pieces, garlic, sage leaves, canned tomatoes, and ground fennel (affiliate link) into the slow cooker or Instant Pot with 1/2 cup reserved liquid.
- For Instant Pot cook 10 minutes at HIGH PRESSURE, then NATURAL RELEASE for five minutes, and then quick release.
- For slow cooker, put same ingredients into the slow cooker and cook on high for 2-3 hours.
- Serve Italian Sausage and White Bean with Sage hot, with a little freshly-grated Parmesan if desired, although the cheese is definitely optional.
More Ideas for Italian Sausage:
Stuffed Peppers with Italian Sausage and Ground Beef ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Italian White Bean, Sausage, and Cabbage Soup ~ Barefeet in the Kitchen
Italian Sausage and Sweet Mini-Peppers Breakfast Bake ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Sausage and Peppers Stuffed Spaghetti Squash ~ Nutmeg Nanny
Roasted Italian Sausage and Sweet Mini-Peppers Sheet Pan Meal ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Italian Sausage and White Beans with Sage (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker)
Italian Sausage and White Beans with Sage gets extra flavorful when the cooked beans, sausage, and sage are simmered in the Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried white beans (see notes)
- 2 stalks celery
- 4 large whole cloves garlic (or more)
- 13 fresh sage leaves, divided (see notes)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tsp. dried Italian Seasoning, divided
- 2 T olive oil, divided
- 5 links uncooked turkey or pork Italian sausage (see notes)
- 1 tsp ground fennel seed (see notes)
- one 14.5 oz. can petite dice tomatoes with juice
- 1/2 cup cooking water (saved from cooking beans)
Instructions
- If you're cooking your own beans, start with 2 cups of fresh dried white beans. If you want to cook the beans on the stovetop, I would soak them in cold water overnight; for cooking dried beans in the slow cooker or the Instant Pot, you can skip the soaking.
- Put dried beans, celery, garlic, 3 leaves sage or a pinch of dried sage, salt, 1 tsp. Italian Seasoning, and 1 T olive oil in the slow cooker, Instant Pot, or in a pan on the stove with enough water to just cover the beans.
- Cook beans 5-6 hours in the slow cooker. (more here about How to Cook Dried Beans in a Slow Cooker.)
- For Instant Pot, lock the lid and cook 30 minutes at HIGH PRESSURE; then let beans NATURAL RELEASE for 15 minutes followed by quick release as needed.
- To cook beans on the stove, cook at a low simmer until beans are tender; cooking time will depend on how fresh the beans are.
- For either method, drain the beans, saving the large cloves of garlic and 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
- While beans cook or when slow cooker beans are almost done, heat another 1 1/2 tsp. olive oil in a large frying pan and brown the outside of sausage well. Let sausage cool and then cut into diagonal pieces. Add another 1 1/2 tsp. olive oil and brown the cut sides of the sausage well. (Don't skip browning the sausage; this builds flavor.)
- Chop garlic pieces and add the cooked beans, chopped garlic, browned sausage pieces, 10 sage leaves or a little dried sage, canned tomatoes with juice, ground fennel, second teaspoon of Italian Seasoning, and the 1/2 cup cooking water from the beans to slow cooker or Instant Pot.
- For slow cooker, cook 2-3 hours on high.
- For Instant Pot, lock lid and then cook at HIGH PRESSURE for 10 minutes; then let the dish NATURAL RELEASE for 5 minutes followed by quick release as needed.
- Serve hot, with some freshly-grated Parmesan to add at the table if desired.
Notes
Fresher beans will cook more quickly. Use 4 cans (15 oz. can) if you don't want to cook beans from scratch.
If you don't have fresh sage leaves you can use dried ground sage if needed, but use it sparingly. I love Jenni-O Turkey Italian Sausage, which is what I used for this recipe. The ground fennel seed (affiliate link) is highly recommended; please do not skip it!
This recipe adapted from an early blogging friend and The Silver Spoon.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 222Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 292mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 18g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This is a good low-glycemic recipe that would be suitable for any phase of the South Beach Diet. South Beach would recommend turkey Italian Sausage, and I’m a huge fan of Jenni-O Turkey Italian Sausage but pork sausage would also be delicious. Dried beans are too high in carbs if you’re following a strict low-carb eating plan, but if you want a more carb-conscious version of this recipe double the sausage and cut the amount of beans in half.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You can also Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
37 Comments on “Italian Sausage and White Beans with Sage”
I like to roast sausages with dried fennel, but I’ve never tried to mix fennel with beans. I’ll give it a try!
I did that. There are two steps to the recipe: cooking the beans, and then cooking again with the other ingredients added. I gave separate instructions for both those steps with both cooking methods.
For Cooking Beans:
–Cook beans 5-6 hours in the slow cooker. (more here about How to Cook Dried Beans in a Slow Cooker.)
–For Instant Pot, lock the lid and cook 30 minutes at HIGH PRESSURE; then let beans NATURAL RELEASE for 15 minutes followed by quick release as needed.
For Finishing the recipe:
–Chop garlic pieces and add the cooked beans, chopped garlic, browned sausage pieces, 10 sage leaves or a little dried sage, canned tomatoes with juice, ground fennel, second teaspoon of Italian Seasoning, and the 1/2 cup cooking water from the beans to slow cooker or Instant Pot.
–For slow cooker, cook 2-3 hours on high.
–For Instant Pot, lock lid and then cook at HIGH PRESSURE for 10 minutes; then let the dish NATURAL RELEASE for 5 minutes followed by quick release as needed.
Hope that helps.
No problem. I had all the ingredients and just made it with canned beans and assumed the extra tsp was for the main pot so I did 2 tsp and it was good. Threw it in my Instant Pot. Also added some carrots and celery, used whole tomatoes crushed, and ground sausage since that’s what I had on hand. So delicious.
Oh good, so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi, I was wondering about the amount of italian seasoning. It says 1 tsp + 1 tsp Italian Seasoning. Wouldnt that be 2 tsp or should 1 tsp be 1 Tablespoon?
Good catch, that was definitely confusing the way I had it. I don’t know if i wrote it wrong or if it got messed up when we put it into the WordPress format, but the first teaspoon of Italian Seasoning goes in the beans when they’re cooked and the second teaspoon goes into the pressure cooker with the beans, sausage, tomatoes, and other spices.
Thanks so much for telling me!
How would halving this recipe affect the cooking times using the instantpot? I’d like to try this, but it’s a lot of food for two.
Thanks,
Hank
Hi Henry,
I haven’t experimented much with cutting recipes in half for the Instant Pot, and to be honest I’d probably make the full amount and freeze some to eat later, especially since the amounts here are ideal for a package of sausage. But I do know that when you cut a recipe in half for the Instant Pot, the cooking time stays the same. Where it gets tricky with halving a recipe is making sure you still have enough liquid to create pressure. Most Instant Pots will tell you in the manual what the minimum amount of liquid is for that model, but in general most Instant Pot recipes need at least a cup of liquid to cook properly. So definitely keep that in mind if you do try cutting it in half, and I’d love to hear back about how it works!
Olive oil. Just can’t get enough of it. With sausage or salads, it is just so healthy. By the way, this recipe looks mouth watering, thank you for sharing it.
I’ve been having fun trying some of my favorite recipes in the Instant Pot, too. It gives them new life! I love the rustic nature of this dish. It’s all about the flavor of the beans!
Lydia, agree completely! Freshly-cooked beans are so delicious and of course I love Italian Sausage!
One pound beans makes about 7 cups and a can of beans is 1.5 cups.
Hello – I have never had good luck with dry white beans. They seem to have this funky shell that comes off after I soak them. How many canned beans would you suggest for this recipe. Thanks!
Enjoy!
I am experimenting with this recipe using different types of sausage – they need to be robust for the dish, butthere are so many types to choose from you can re-invent this yummy meal over and over. Thanks
Thanks, TW. I love this type of dish for comfort food.
Amy, you are too kind. I don't really have much interest in writing a cookbook for a couple of reasons. I work pretty hard on the blog, so I can't imagine adding more work into my life. And the cookbook market is so saturated with bloggers writing books, that most of the people who write them don't really make much money. I would not say no if I got an offer from The South Beach Diet people though!
Very excited to try this recipe this week! I'm lucky to have a Penzey's near me in Boulder, so I'm going to give that Aleppo pepper a try. Also, I have an idea on how to stretch your budget – how about writing a cookbook with your great recipes? I'll buy a copy, probably more than one 🙂