Sausage, beans and lots of veggies are combined in this healthy Slow Cooker Tuscan Sausage and Bean Soup.
First of all, I want to mention that I’ve finally changed over to a dot com!! If you will notice above, my new web address is www.tasteandtellblog.com. If you have my previous web address bookmarked, it should still bring you to the right place, but you might want to change it just in case!
And yes – the Cookbook of the Month is back! The last 2 months I’ve slacked a bit – but I had a good excuse because of the baby and all. But now I’m back. The cookbook I’ve chosen for this month is the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook. This is a book I already had in my collection, and I had it out a few weeks ago looking for something to make for dinner. This recipe caught my eye, but so did so many others, so I decided to give it a try for the month. One other feature I’m going to start – just on the Cookbook of the Month recipes for now – is a rating. I will give the recipes a score, from one to five, based on what my husband and I (and anyone else that tries the recipe) think so that I can do an average at the end of the month. That way, instead of saying a cookbook is good or not, it will have an actual score. I think I’ll have fun with this!
Now, onto the recipe!
I know that slow cookers are hit and miss with some people, and I think I’ve figured out why. I think that there is a misconception that you can just throw things in the slow cooker, and no matter how long you cook your dish for, it should be good. I’ve found that is not the case. In fact, I think that most slow cooker recipes have you cook food for way too long, making mushy, unappetizing food. Like this recipe. Luckily I was home so I could keep an eye on it, but the recipe says to cook it on low for 8-10 hours. I thought it was plenty done at half that time. So my one word of advice when using the slow cooker is to start checking on what you are cooking about half way through. Many things really don’t take that long!
I have to admit that I was afraid that my husband wouldn’t be thrilled about this one, but I was completely wrong. He actually raved about it. This was so easy and fast, I can definitely see it on the menu in the future. It is full of flavor, filling, and even good for you!
Recipe Rating – 4.5 out of 5
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Slow Cooker Tuscan Sausage and Bean Soup
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 hours
- Total Time: 5 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Sausage, beans and lots of veggies are combined in this healthy Slow Cooker Tuscan Sausage and Bean Soup.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces turkey sausage or kielbasa, cut into 1/4-inch thick rounds
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1/2 medium bunch kale, chopped (about 4 cups)
- 3 cups fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 (15.5-ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (15.5-ounce) can great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can Italian seasoned diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
Instructions
- In a slow cooker, place the sausage, garlic, onion, carrot, celery, kale, broth, kidney beans, great Northern beans, tomatoes, water, and basil.
- Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low until the vegetables are tender, 4-5 hours.
Recipe Notes:
slightly adapted from Weight Watcher’s New Complete Cookbook
Sherry says
Where is the nutritional value and breakdown?
Deborah says
Hi Sherry, I don’t provide the nutritional information, but you can enter the recipe on various websites like caloriecount.com and find it out from there.
Michelle says
I look forward to more featured cookbook posts! In the meantime, i need to get myself a slow cooker…
Gigi says
this sounds like a great soup. and low cal to boot! woo-hoo! congrats on the baby. she’s beautiful!
glamah16 says
Looks wonderful.Glad you had success with this slow cooker recipe.
Emily says
Congrats on the dot com!
This sausage, white bean, kale is a classic combination, but you know, I’ve never tried it. Looks fantastic!
n.o.e says
If it’s got sausage + beans, chances are I’ll love it! And with the greens, the low fat, and the slow cooker, this recipe sounds like a winner. Love your rating system.
Nancy
chou says
Congrats on the dot com moment!
Sara says
This looks great, I love one-pot meals. Kale is one of my favorite vegetables.
RecipeGirl says
I haven’t visited in a while… congrats on the baby!! How exciting 🙂
I have this cookbook, so I’ll be checking back. This soup sounds great, and it’s nice to find a slow cooker recipe that is worth trying (so many aren’t!)
Maria says
This looks yummy and healthy!
Maria
x
Maria says
I love soups, especially the healthier ones!! This one looks great!
Grace says
i simply can’t understand why slow-cookers aren’t used more often and by more people–they’re an indispensable tool. and hey–that’s a great-looking soup. 🙂
Sophie says
Delicious–another one I have to remember. I love eating beans but rarely add them to anything, my hubby would love this too :)!
Paula says
Hey, I have that cookbook! I looooove soup, and this would be great for lunches next week. YUM! Thanks for the heads up about your .com. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Amanda at Little Foodies says
Sounds really good! I bought a slow cooker over a year ago and it’s still in the box (hangs head in shame!)
Hope all well with the three of you. x
Donna-FFW says
This looks terrific. I so am there with you on the slow cookers. Kale is one of my favorites.
Claire says
Mmmmmm, this looks really good. I’ve never eaten kale but have seen it used a lot recently.
Patsyk says
I think you are right about crockpots. They just won’t work out well if you can’t check on them periodically to ensure that the food isn’t turning to mush.
good to see you are back!
kat says
My kind of soup!
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
That soup looks mighty comforting ans delicious!
Cheers,
Rosa
Erin says
This looks delicious!
noble pig says
This sounds like a very healthy and yummy meal. So very nice.
Cathy - wheresmydamnanswer says
So many great recipes come from WW and it is so incredible that you cannot even tell that the calories have been reduced!! Flavor is still alive and well!!
Ryley says
Congrats on your dot com!! 🙂
it’ll be a lot easier for people to find you now..
This soup looks realy yummy..
Debbie says
I love turkey sausage and I love kale. I agree with you about the slow cookers. Sometimes they just make mush of everything. I may give this a try. It sounds good.