Sausage and Potato Soup with Collards
The weather is getting cooler and soup season is upon us! One of my favorite soups is Zuppa Toscana from Olive Garden. It’s hot, hardy, and satisfying. A few years ago, I recreated this soup with more traditionally southern ingredients like Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage & collard greens (instead of Italian sausage and kale).
Growing up in Gaston, South Carolina, each fall brought the Gaston Collard Festival. It was a time for cooler weather, reunions with family and friends, carnival rides, beauty pageants, a small-town parade, and collards.
With collard season being in full swing, driving through the southern part of our county will take you through field after field full of collards ready to be harvested.
This soup recipe is a great, non traditional way to use collards. It quickly became a family favorite, and my Dad (Granddaddy Champ) will eat it every week if I’ll send him a bowl.
Enjoy and I hope your family enjoys this soup as much as mine!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
1 lb Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage
2 tbsp mince garlic
1 onion chopped
1 onion diced
2 32 oz. boxes of chicken broth
6 russet potatoes sliced
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups fresh collards chopped (stems removed)
Instructions:
In a large pot, sauté sausage and onions over medium heat for ten minutes or until browned.
Remove sausage and onions, set aside.
Add garlic and sauté for1 minute.
Add chicken broth to pot and bring to a boil.
Add potatoes and simmer for 20 minutes.
After potatoes are fork tender, reduce heat to medium and add heavy cream, sausage, onions and collards to pot.
Cook on medium heat for 3-5 minutes until collards are wilted.
Serve warm as a side dish or with bread as a meal.
