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Hearty Sausage and Zucchini Soup

BySharla Hours Posted on Hours Updated on

This hearty sausage and zucchini soup is the ultimate in warm winter comfort food. This make-ahead meal is packed full of flavour.clear bag with diced vegetables and ground meat in a red sauce and those ingredients in a slow cooker and then in a soup bowl

This recipe is a spin-off of my Sausage and Spinach Soup. That soup is my son Josiah’s favourite. I loved the flavours in it as well. The problem was that the texture of the cooked spinach in it was weird after being frozen and heated.

I was left in a bit of a quandary. On the one hand, I loved the heartiness and the flavours of this soup. Josiah asked for it all the time and raved about it. On the other hand, the rest of my family wasn’t a fan because of the spinach. What’s a mom to do?!a spoon lifting chunky soup out of a slow cookerThis soup was the answer. By replacing the spinach with zucchini, I was able to please everybody. In fact, this sausage and zucchini soup is now our family’s most requested soup!

Hearty Sausage and Zucchini Soup Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. ground Italian sausage (I prefer the spicy variety to give it a bit of a kick)
  • 24 oz. jar pasta sauce or Red Sauce
  • 19 oz. can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup diced zucchini
  • 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup small pasta shells

Assembly instructions:

  1. Place the dry small pasta shells into a medium resealable bag.
  2. Brown the ground sausage in a skillet. Blot it with a paper towel to get rid of some of the grease or drain it.
  3. Once the sausage has cooled, put it in a large resealable freezer bag. Pour in the pasta sauce, the white kidney beans, diced zucchini, chopped carrots, diced onion, minced garlic, and chicken broth. Remove any excess air from the bag and seal. Staple the bags together above the seals and freeze.

clear bag with diced vegetables and ground meat in a red sauce and a smaller clear bag with dry pasta

Cooking instructions:

  1. On cooking day, take the bag out of the freezer and thaw.
  2. Separate the bags and add the contents of the large bag to a crockpot®. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.
  3. Add the pasta in the last 20 minutes.

clear bag with diced vegetables and ground meat in a red sauce and then those ingredients in a slow cooker and a soup bowl

Alternatively, you can simmer the soup in a large stovetop pot for about an hour and add the pasta for the last ten or fifteen minutes. 

By using different types of jarred pasta sauce, you can change up the flavours of this soup and experiment until you find the one that you like best. We prefer using the Red Sauce (recipe found in the Freezer Meals 101 Club).

What to serve with Sausage Zucchini Soup

This soup is hearty enough to stand on its own, but it also pairs well with some crusty bread or a side salad. bowl of soup with chunks of vegetables and ground meat visible

Can I substitute or add other vegetables?

Absolutely! Since the original recipe I created used spinach, you can add spinach on the day of cooking instead of before freezing to get a better texture either in place of the zucchini or in addition to it. Diced red peppers would also go very well with the flavors in this soup.large wooden spoon lifting chunky soup out of a slow cooker

bowl of soup with chunks of vegetables and ground meat visible
Print
Hearty Sausage and Zucchini Soup Recipe
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 20 mins
 
Course: Soup
Servings: 6
Calories: 435 kcal
Ingredients
  • 1 lb ground Italian sausage I prefer the spicy variety to give it a bit of a kick
  • 24 oz pasta sauce or Red Sauce
  • 19 oz white kidney beans drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup zucchini diced
  • 4 carrots peeled and chopped
  • 1 onion diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup small pasta shells
Instructions

  1. Place the dry small pasta shells into a medium resealable bag

  2. Brown the ground sausage in a skillet. Blot it with a paper towel to get rid of excess grease or drain it.

  3. Once the sausage has cooled, put it in a large resealable freezer bag.

  4. Pour in the pasta sauce, the white kidney beans, diced zucchini, chopped carrots, diced onion, minced garlic, and chicken broth. Remove any excess air from the bag and seal. 

  5. Staple the bags together above the seals and freeze.

Slow Cooker Cooking Instructions:

  1. Thaw. Separate the bags and add the contents of the large bag to a crockpot®.

  2. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Add the pasta in the last 20 minutes.

Stovetop Cooking Instructions:

  1. Thaw. Simmer the soup in a large stovetop pot for about an hour and add the pasta for the last ten or fifteen minutes. 

Check out these other awesome freezer soup recipes:

Corn Chowder with BaconEasy corn chowder with bacon

Italian Wedding Soup with Sausage MeatballsDelicious and easy Italian wedding soup with meatballs and spinach

Sharla is a busy mom of 7 who is passionate about sharing her best secret to saving time, money, and stress… freezer meals. Read more…