sausage

Spinach and Sausage White Bean Soup

I love soups. I know that not everyone does, but they are like comfort food for me. This spinach and sausage white bean soup is a nice cold-weather meal. Of course having soups made ahead and in the freezer means that this can be an “any weather” soup. I don’t put the spinach in until the day of cooking because I find it has the wrong texture if it is frozen with the rest of the ingredients first.

Spinach and Sausage White Bean Soup:

14 oz. smoked sausage
8 cups vegetable broth
3 cloves of garlic, minced
½ medium onion, diced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
19 oz. can cannellini beans, undrained
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. thyme

For the day of cooking:

2 cups rotini pasta
2 cups spinach, roughly chopped

In a skillet, heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Chop the smoked sausage into ½-1 inch thick slices. Cook the sausage over medium heat, 6-7 minutes, stirring frequently, until they are cooked through and beginning to crisp on all sides.

When they have cooled slightly, place the cooked sausage pieces in a large resealable freezer bag. Add chopped onions and minced garlic. Pour in vegetable broth, and add cannellini beans and their liquid. Add in the seasonings. Remove excess air from the bag, seal, and freeze.

On the day you want to eat this, take the bag out of the freezer to thaw. Place the bag contents in a large pot. Bring it to a boil on the stovetop.

Add in pasta. Boil for another 5-7 minutes, until pasta is al dente. Add the spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Serve hot.

If you want, you can sprinkle with some shredded Parmesan cheese and a bit of freshly ground pepper.

Check out some of our other favorite make-ahead soups:

Italian Wedding Soup

Hearty Sausage and Zucchini Soup

Spinach and Sausage White Bean Soup

Course: Soup

Keyword: spinach and sausage white bean soup

Servings: 6

Calories: 357 kcal

Ingredients

14 oz. smoked sausage
8 cups vegetable broth
3 cloves garlic minced
½ medium onion diced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
19 oz. can cannellini beans undrained
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme

For cooking day:

2 cups rotini pasta
2 cups spinach roughly chopped

Instructions

In a skillet, heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Chop the smoked sausage into ½-1 inch thick slices. Cook the sausage over medium heat, 6-7 minutes, stirring frequently, until they are cooked through and beginning to crisp on all sides.
When they have cooled slightly, place the cooked sausage pieces in a large resealable freezer bag.
Add chopped onions and minced garlic. Pour in vegetable broth, and add cannellini beans and their liquid. Add in the seasonings. Remove excess air from the bag, seal and freeze.
On the day you want to eat this, take the bag out of the freezer to thaw. Place the bag contents in a large pot. Bring it to a boil on the stovetop.
Add in pasta. Boil for another 5-7 minutes, until pasta is al dente. Add the spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Serve hot.

Recipe Notes

If you want, you can sprinkle with some shredded Parmesan cheese and a bit of freshly ground pepper.

Make Ahead Breakfast Sausage Hand Pies

By Sharla

These simple breakfast hand pies can be made ahead and reheated one at a time for busy mornings. You can make several sheets at once (double or triple the recipe) to ensure you have many on hand.

In my house, I currently have 5 teenagers (yes, 5!). That’s a whole lot of big appetites. I can’t believe how much teen boys (and girls for that matter) eat. It seems like they are hungry all day long.

Having food in the freezer in individual portions so that they can pull out one at a time and warm them up themselves is so helpful. It really cuts back on the “mom, I’m hungry” calls!

These are great for mornings, but they also make good after school or before bed snacks for hungry teens.

Sausage Breakfast Hand Pies:

2 packages of refrigerator crescent rolls
1 lb. of ground breakfast sausage
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
optional: sliced green onion for garnish

Brown the ground sausage in a 12-inch skillet. Drain the sausage meat and add it to a large mixing bowl.

Add the softened cream cheese and mix thoroughly.

Place one of the refrigerator crescent rolls on a large non-stick baking sheet and spread to cover the baking sheet.

Put the meat and cheese mixture on top of the crescent roll and spread ¼ an inch to the edge.

Set the other crescent roll on top of the meat and cheese mixture and seal up the ends.

Using a knife, cut slits in the top to allow it to vent.
Place in the oven and cook at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Once it is done baking, allow 3-5 mins to cool before cutting.

Wrap each hand pie in plastic wrap and place in a large resealable bag. Seal and freeze.

Take out the hand pies (individually or all at once) and reheat either in the microwave or in the oven. Some people like to dip them in ketchup or hot sauce. Feel free to experiment to find how you like them best.

Check out these other make-ahead breakfast recipes:

Mini Pancake Muffins

Cinnamon Freezer French Toast

Sausage Breakfast Hand Pies

Servings: 8

Calories: 440 kcal

Ingredients

2 packages of refrigerator crescent rolls
1 lb. ground breakfast sausage
8 oz. cream cheese softened

Instructions

Brown the ground sausage in a 12 inch skillet.
Drain the sausage meat and add to a large mixing bowl.
Add the softened cream cheese and mix thoroughly.
Place one of the refrigerator crescent rolls on a large non-stick baking sheet and spread to cover the baking sheet.
Put the meat and cheese mixture on top of the crescent roll and spread ¼ an inch to the edge.
Place the other crescent roll on top of meat and cheese mixture and seal up the ends.
Using a knife, cut slits in the top to allow it to vent.
Place in the oven and cook at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
Once it is done baking, allow 3-5 mins to cool before cutting.
Wrap each hand pie in plastic wrap and place in a large resealable bag. Seal and freeze.
Take out the hand pies (individually or all at once) and reheat either in the microwave or in the oven.

Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce

By Sharla

In the mood for hearty, rich, comfort food? This Italian sausage pasta sauce fits the bill. It has a delicious blend of flavors and you can easily adjust the spice level according to your tastes. This recipe is one that we invented after I accidentally miscalculated the amount of sausage for a freezer meal session. I bought double what I should have, so I had to come up with recipes to use the extra meat.

One of the recipes I came up with was a simple Sausage and Peppers Skillet Freezer Meal. Another was an Italian Wedding Soup. I still had sausage left after making a few bags of those, so I came up with this sauce.

It was so good that it has gone into our regular freezer meal rotation. The second time we made it, we experimented with throwing some capers into the sauce. Amazing! I only thought of it because we had extra capers leftover from another freezer meal we had made, but it was the perfect addition.

Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce Recipe:

1 lb. Italian sausage made into meatballs and cooked*
3 cups salsa
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced green pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp. capers, drained

Depending on your family’s preference, you can use mild or spicy sausage. We prefer the spicy variety! You can also adjust the spice level of this recipe by using mild, medium, or spicy salsa.

If you’re unsure about the capers, you can try making it without them and adding them to individual plates for those who like them. I was a bit nervous about how they would go over the first time I added them, but my family loved them. They give just the right amount of tang and saltiness to bring this sauce to the next level.

To put this meal together, put the cooked sausage meatballs (see instructions below) and all the other ingredients in a large resealable freezer bag. Remove all the excess air you can and seal the bag before freezing.

On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer to thaw and heat in a large skillet until heated through. Serve over your favorite type of pasta.

I also like to sprinkle with Parmesan or Asiago cheese and red pepper flakes. A simple salad and some garlic bread would round out this meal nicely.

Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce Recipe:

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: pasta sauce, sausage

Servings: 6

Calories: 322 kcal

Ingredients

1 lb Italian sausage made into meatballs and cooked
3 cups salsa
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced green pepper
2 cloves garlic minced
1-2 Tbsp capers drained

Instructions

Cooking the sausage:

Remove the sausage meat from the casing and cut into 1/2″ slices or squeeze out sausage meatballs and flatten them a bit with your fingers. The squeezing method is messier, but it is easier to remove the casing that way and I find it faster.
Place the sausage meatballs on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 350° oven for 20 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides. You may want to flip them once during baking. Blot the cooked sausage meatballs on a paper towel to remove some of the grease. Allow them to cool a bit before placing them in the freezer bags.

Freezer bag assembly:

put the cooked sausage meatballs and all the other ingredients in a large resealable freezer bag.
Remove all the excess air you can and seal the bag before freezing.

Cooking instructions:

On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer to thaw.
Heat in a large skillet until heated through.
Serve over your favorite type of pasta.
Sprinkle with Parmesan or Asiago cheese and red pepper flakes.

How do I make and cook the sausage meatballs?

*Remove the sausage meat from the casing and cut into 1/2″ slices or squeeze out sausage meatballs and flatten them a bit with your fingers. The squeezing method is messier, but it is easier to remove the casing that way and I find it faster.

Place the sausage meatballs on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 350° oven for 20 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides. You may want to flip them once during baking. Blot the cooked sausage meatballs on a paper towel to remove some of the grease. Allow it to cool a bit before placing them in the freezer bags.

You may also like these great freezer cooking recipes:

Freezer Spaghetti Sauce

Easy Ground Beef Stroganoff

Hearty Sausage and Zucchini Soup

By Sharla

This hearty sausage and zucchini soup is the ultimate in warm winter comfort food. This make-ahead meal is packed full of flavour.

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. Pretty much all of my family (other than Josiah) complained about the texture.

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?!

This 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:

1 lb. ground Italian sausage (I prefer the spicy variety to give it a bit of a kick)
24 oz. jar pasta 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

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

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

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.

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

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.

Hearty Sausage and Zucchini Soup Recipe

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 jar pasta 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

Instructions

Place the dry small pasta shells into a medium resealable bag
Brown the ground sausage in a skillet. Blot it with a paper towel to get rid of excess grease or drain it.
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.

Cooking Instructions:

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

Stovetop method:

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.

Check out these other awesome freezer soup recipes:

Corn Chowder with Bacon

Italian Wedding Soup with Sausage Meatballs