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Sausage White Bean Spinach Soup is a tasty slow cooker soup that starts with dried beans cooked all day in the slow cooker! If that’s just not going to work at your house, you can use canned white beans instead; see the recipe for how to modify for that.

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Square image for Sausage White Bean Spinach Soup shown in soup bowl with spoon and Parmesan in back.

After I kind of fell in love with turkey Kielbasa, I decided to try making a bean and sausage soup with this tasty ingredient. And this Sausage White Bean Spinach Soup could become a recipe template for more slow cooker soups in the future, since the recipe starts with dried beans that are cooked for 8-10 hours in the slow cooker until the beans are creamy and soft. Then when you get home from work you turn it into this tasty soup!

I’d heard that tomatoes will cause beans not to soften, but apparently a long cooking time will overcome that, because the beans in this white bean soup were creamy and delicious. I added the sausage at the very beginning with the beans, but next time if I was home I’d probably add that halfway through the cooking time so the sausage was a little firmer. Then stir in some chopped spinach at the end and you have a delicious soup.

This soup is gluten-free and it will be dairy-free if you skip the Parmesan. See below to make a version with fewer carbs or the option to make this tasty soup with canned beans; I hope you will try it!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

What Slow Cooker did I use for Sausage White Bean Spinach Soup?

I would use at least a 4 Quart Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for this recipe. The recipe freezes well so if you only have a bigger size slow cooker you might want to double the recipe.

What greens can you use in the sausage and white bean soup?

We loved the spinach in this Sausage White Bean Spinach Soup, but you can also use kale, Swiss Chard, mustard greens, or collards. Some of those will take slightly longer to cook.

What beans can you use in the sausage and white bean soup?

We used small white beans for the Sausage White Bean Spinach Soup but you can use navy beans, Cannellini beans, or even pinto beans if that’s what you have on hand.

How to make this White Bean Spinach Soup lower in carbs:

This tasty soup has about 18 net carbs per serving as written (and 18 grams of protein!) If you want a soup that’s lower in carbs just use fewer beans and more sausage and spinach.

Want more ideas for Bean Soup?

Check out Slow Cooker and Instant Pot Bean Soup Recipes on my Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker site.

Slow Cooker Kielbasa and White Bean Stew on KalynsKitchen.com

How to Make Sausage White Bean Spinach Soup :

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

  1. I used turkey Kielbasa, but use any pre-cooked sausage you prefer. 
  2. Cut the sausage in half lengthwise and then slice into half-moon slices. 
  3. Chop onions, mince garlic or measure minced garlic, and crush the rosemary and thyme in a mortar and pestle if you have one.
  4. Put the dried beans, chicken stock, tomatoes, and spices in the slow cooker. (If you’re not going to be home, go ahead and add the sausage at this time. If you will be home, I would add the sausage about halfway through the cooking time.)
  5. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until the beans are creamy and as soft as desired (I like them quite well done; cooking time will depend partly on how fresh the dried beans are.)
  6. When the beans are done, measure 4 cups of spinach leaves, packed into the measuring cup. Coarsely chop the spinach leaves (or skip this step if you use baby spinach.)
  7. Add chopped spinach to the soup, turn the slow cooker to high, and cook about 30 minutes more.
  8. Serve hot, with Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over the stew if desired.

How to make Sausage White Bean Spinach Soup with Canned Beans:

  1. Use three cans white beans (and the liquid in the can) to replace the dried white beans.
  2. Cut the turkey Kielbasa, chop onions, mince garlic, and crush dried herbs as described above.
  3. Add the canned beans with liquid, cut sausage, onions, garlic, and herbs to the slow cooker with the chicken stock and canned tomatoes.
  4. Cook about 4 hours on low or 2 hours on high.
  5. Add chopped spinach (and turn to high if cooking on low) and cook about one hour more.

Sausage White Bean Spinach Soup shown in bowl with spoon and Parmesan.

More Tasty Recipes with White Beans:

Weekend Food Prep:

This tasty Sausage White Bean Spinach Soup has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep  to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Sausage White Bean Spinach Soup shown in bowl with spoon and Parmesan.
Yield: 6 servings

Sausage White Bean Spinach Soup

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 15 minutes

Sausage White Bean Spinach Soup is a tasty slow cooker soup that uses dried beans that cook all day in the slow cooker!

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. dried small white beans (see notes)
  • 1 onion, chopped into fairly small pieces
  • 1 T finely minced garlic
  • 1 tsp. ground rosemary or dried rosemary, crushed
  • 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
  • 6 cupsย  chicken broth
  • one 14.5 oz. can petite dice tomatoes
  • 14 oz. pre-cooked sausage, cut into half-moon slices (see notes)
  • 4 packed cups fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
  • freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving (optional)

Instructions

  1. Pick over the beans, removing any broken ones, and add beans to the slow cooker.
  2. Chop onion, mince the garlic, and crush the spices with a mortar and pestle (or meat mallet) and add to the slow cooker.
  3. Add the chicken stock and diced tomatoes to the slow cooker and start to cook on low.
  4. Cut the sausage in half lengthwise, and then slice it into half-moon slices.
  5. If you’re going to be cooking this while you’re not home, add the sausage now and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until the beans are nicely softened.
  6. If you will be home, I would cook the other ingredients about 5 hours and then add the sausage. It will work either way, but the sausage will be softer if you add it for the entire cooking time.
  7. When beans are done to your liking, chop the spinach, turn the slow cooker to high, and cook about 30 minutes more.
  8. Serve hot, with freshly grated Parmesan cheese for sprinkling on the stew if desired.
  9. See NOTES for how to make this soup with canned beans.

Notes

One pound of beans is about 2 cups.

Homemade chicken stock would be great in this but chicken broth from a can or a carton will also be fine.

I used turkey Kielbasa sausage for this recipe.

How to make Sausage White Bean Spinach Soup with Canned Beans:

  1. Use three cans white beans (and the liquid in the can) to replace the dried white beans.
  2. Cut the turkey Kielbasa, chop onions, mince garlic, and crush dried herbs as described above.
  3. Add the canned beans with liquid, cut sausage, onions, garlic, and herbs to the slow cooker with the chicken stock and canned tomatoes.
  4. Cook about 4 hours on low or 2 hours on high.
  5. Add chopped spinach (and turn to high if cooking on low) and cook about one hour more.

This recipe was adapted from Real Simple Magazine.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 343Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 10gCholesterol 46mgSodium 1507mgCarbohydrates 24gFiber 6gSugar 3gProtein 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.

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© Kalyn Denny
Category: Slow Cooker

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions
Sausage White Bean Spinach Soup has about 18 net carbs as written, but just use fewer beans and more sausage and spinach for making a version that’s lower in carbs. Dried beans are a good choice for any phase of the original South Beach Diet, and using low-fat turkey Kielbasa keeps this South Beach Diet friendly. 

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Soup and Stew Recipes or Slow Cooker Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalynโ€™s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes Iโ€™m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This slow cooker recipe for soup with sausage, white beans, and spinach was posted in 2012. It was last updated with more information and the option to use canned beans in 2024.

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