This spicy Italian sausage soup is one of our new favorite winter weeknight dinners. It's all in one pan (so fewer dishes!) and is great as leftovers which makes it perfect for meal prepping. It's loaded with veggies, is so flavorful, and warms you up on a cold evening. The secret to the flavor-packed dish is to cook the sausage first, then use a slotted spoon to remove the sausage while leaving the fat. That way, the flavor absorbs into the veggies and carries through in every bite.
This recipe is perfect for the menstrual phase because the star of the show is sausage, but also because of the cooking method. During your menstrual phase, you want to focus on warm, comforting cooking methods to warm up your uterus. From the nutrition side, you want to stock up on micronutrients that are the building blocks of blood. Your hormones are at their lowest levels and energy is low, so keep your blood sugar steady with low GI foods.
I typically like to cut down on my red meat consumption, but I do eat it when I’m on my period. Pork is a great source of iron, vitamin B12, and protein which are important to consume at this time. Iron and B-12 are essential for healthy red blood cells, and when you bleed, your body is losing iron very quickly so you want to make sure to replenish these nutrients.
Spicy Italian Sausage Soup
Serves: 6 Active Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
4 spicy Italian sausages
3 gold potatoes
1 white onion, large
1 bell pepper
12 oz crushed tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth
4 cloves garlic
1 shallot
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
pepper to taste
3 Tbsp Italian seasoning
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup parmesan, grated
Parmesan rind, optional
3 bay leaves
3 cups spinach
Process
1. Let's get prepped! Remove the casing from your sausage. Dice your 1 huge onion (or 2 small onions), 1 bell pepper, 4 potatoes, 4 cloves of garlic, and 1 shallot (optional).
2. In a large soup pot, brown your sausage in 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of oil on medium to high heat. While it's cooking, break up the sausage into small pieces. Once fully cooked, remove the sausage with a slotted spoon making sure to leave the oils in the pot. Turn the heat down to medium-low.
3. Add another 1 tbsp of butter to the pot and add your diced peppers, and onions. Stir frequently and cook until the onions have become slightly transparent.
4. Once the onions are translucent, add your cubed potatoes, can of crushed tomatoes, diced garlic, Italian seasoning, and diced shallot. Stir to combine and cook for around 2 minutes to give the garlic and shallot some time to become fragrant. Salt to taste.
Add your chicken broth and bay leaves. 3-4 cups should be enough to fully cover the mixture in your soup pot. Bring to a slow boil and cook until the potatoes have become soft (10-15 minutes).
5. Once the potatoes are soft, turn down the heat and bring the pot to a soft simmer. Add your heavy cream, cooked sausage, spinach, grated parmesan cheese, and parmesan cheese rind. Stir to combine.
6. Let cool. Remove the rind before serving. And enjoy!
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