soup

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 crock pot. 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.

Check out these other awesome freezer soup recipes:

Corn Chowder with Bacon

Italian Wedding Soup with Sausage Meatballs

My kids love meatballs. I knew that they would think it was fun to have meatballs in soup. I also like to use alphabet pasta in this soup for the same reason. Between the meatballs and the alphabet pasta, I can make this Italian wedding soup recipe kid friendly while still being healthy.

This is an easy recipe but such a great soup. Being able to make it ahead makes it even easier. As with most freezer meals, it’s just as easy to make several of these at once. 

Italian Wedding Soup Recipe:

• 1 lb. Italian sausage, formed into meatballs and cooked
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp. parsley
• salt, pepper to taste
• 1 cup small pasta like alphabet or orzo
• day of cooking: 2 cups spinach, sliced or chopped

The fastest way to make the sausage meatballs in bulk if you’re using them for several recipes (such as in the delicious Sausage and Peppers recipe), is to form the balls and place on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven. If you’re only making one recipe, you can instead fry them in a skillet.

You can use regular Italian sausage or the spicy variety depending on what your family’s spice tolerance and preferences are. We like the spicy type and the bit of kick that provides.

Place the cooked sausage meatballs, chopped carrot, seasonings, and chicken broth in a large resealable bag. Remove excess air and seal. Put 1 cup of small pasta in a medium sized resealable bag and staple the bags together. Freeze.

On the day of cooking, take the bag of soup out of the freezer and thaw it. Remove the staples and set aside the bag of pasta. In a large pot, heat just the soup on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Bring it to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low. Add in the pasta and spinach and continue cooking another 5 – 10 minutes until the pasta is fully cooked.

Ladle soup into bowls. If desired, you can sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese before serving.

Check out these other kid friendly freezer meals:

Best Ever Spaghetti Sauce

Mini Pancake Muffins