This Creamy Italian Sausage and Pasta Soup is loaded with Italian sausage, macaroni, basil, tomatoes, cheese and more. So hearty and delicious!
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I absolutely love soups! And this soup recipe is one of my favorites.
It’s ridiculously tasty- so much so that my husband says it reminds him of something you’d eat at a restaurant! I don’t disagree.
Why We Love This Italian Sausage Soup Recipe
- Hearty. The combination of the veggies, sausage, and pasta makes for a filling lunch or dinner.
- Easy and Cheap to Make. Made with simple, inexpensive ingredients, most of which you probably already have on hand.
- Full of Flavor. The variety of seasonings combined with the sausage make this so delicious! It’s a recipe that I never hesitate serving to guests because of how amazing it tastes.
- Serve Year Round. Italian soup isn’t just for the cooler months, it’s great any time!
- Makes A Lot. Perfect when serving a crowd, or if you want want to just cook once and then have leftovers to enjoy later in the week.
Creamy Italian Sausage Soup Ingredients
- Mild Italian Sausage.
- Macaroni Pasta.
- Butter. You can go with salt or unsalted.
- Onion.
- Carrots.
- Garlic cloves. Mince your own, or use the store-bought jarred version.
- Flour. Any flour will work just fine.
- Chicken broth. You can substitute with vegetable broth if you prefer.
- Diced tomatoes. Be sure to not drain, this adds more flavor to the soup.
- Sugar.
- Chicken bouillon.
- Parsley, Oregano, Cumin, Salt, Black Pepper, Red Pepper, Basil.
- Milk. Full fat will make this the creamiest, but 1% or 2% will be okay to use too.
- Parmesan cheese. Jarred Parmesan is fine!
- Mozzarella cheese. Freshly grated will melt the nicest, but pre-shredded mozzarella can work too.
How to Make Pasta Soup with Italian Sausage
STEP 1: Cook the noodles until they are al dente in 2 quarts of boiling water and a teaspoon of salt. Drain and set aside.
STEP 2: Slice the sausage into bite-sized pieces and brown it in a large stockpot. Once it’s done, drain and transfer to a plate.
STEP 3: Melt the butter in the soup pot and add the onions, carrots, and minced garlic. Cook for 5 minutes or until the veggies have softened, stirring often.
STEP 4: Sprinkle in the flour while stirring for 3 minutes. Gradually pour in the chicken broth, followed by the tomatoes, sugar, and seasonings.
STEP 5: Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
STEP 6: Stir in the parmesan cheese until it’s smooth and creamy. Then add the milk, sausage, and pasta. Stir once more and continue heating until it’s warmed completely.
STEP 7: Serve in your favorite soup bowl topped with grated mozzarella!
FAQ & Expert Tips
Slicing Sausage. I love using kitchen shears when cutting up sausage and other meats. It makes it so easy!
Substituting Dried Basil. If you don’t have fresh basil leaves, you can swap them for up to 1 1/2 tablespoons of dried basil.
Storing. Place the soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This soup does not freeze well due to the pasta.
What is closest to Italian sausage? If you didn’t have Italian sausage but still wanted to make this pasta soup recipe, you could use ground pork sausage or even beef sausage. It wouldn’t have the same flavor but you could doctor it up with a few spices.
Can I use brats instead of Italian sausage? The Italian sausage really adds to the flavor of this soup. I don’t think it would be awful to use brats, but I also don’t think it will be nearly as flavorful and delicious.
More Easy Soup Recipes You’ll Love
- Curry Chicken and Rice Soup
- Easy Vegetable Beef Soup
- Cream Cheese Potato Soup with Ham
- Easy Tomato Basil Soup (Crockpot or Stovetop)
Creamy Italian Sausage Soup with Pasta
Ingredients
- 19 oz. mild Italian sausage
- 2 cups macaroni, uncooked
- 5 tbsp. butter
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cups diced carrots
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cups flour
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes- do not drain
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1 tbsp. chicken bouillon
- 1 tsp. dried parsley
- ½ tsp. dried oregano
- ½ tsp. cumin
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- 1/8 tsp. red pepper
- ¼ cup loosely packed fresh basil, chopped (see Notes below)
- 2 cups milk
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese (jarred Parmesan is fine!)
- mozzarella cheese (fresh grated is best)
Instructions
- Cook pasta in 2 qts. water and 1 tsp. salt until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, cut sausage into bite sized pieces. (I love using kitchen sheers to make this super easy). Brown the sausage in a large soup pot until cooked through. Drain, then remove to a plate.
- Melt butter in soup pot; add onions, carrots, and garlic cloves and cook for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are slightly soft, stirring frequently.
- Sprinkle in flour and cook, while stirring, for 3 minutes. Gradually add chicken broth, followed by tomatoes, sugar, and all the herbs and seasonings.
- Reduce heat and gently simmer for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
- Stir in Parmesan cheese until smooth, then add the milk, cooked sausage and cooked pasta. Stir well and heat through.
- Garnish individual servings with grated mozzarella cheese.
Notes
Sandra
Genius! I don’t know why I never think of making a soup with sausage, it is delicious and adds so much more flavor! Next time, I’m going to try your homemade stock.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Yes, sausage does give a lot of flavor! A friend recently let me buy some sausage from her for really cheap and I’ve been experimenting using it in place of hamburger in different recipes and have been happy with the way it give some extra life to certain recipes. 🙂
Crystal Lopez
This soup is perfect! I love soups for the fall and winter and anything with pasta is always a hit in my house! Yum! This one will be made again and again!
ThriftyFrugalMom
So glad you all love it, Crystal!
Sara Nolt
Wow. I made this for dinner this evening and believe it has become one of my favorite soups. I didn’t have any cheese (we live in Africa), but I had Parmesan stuffed tortellini (thanks to a random item on a bargain shelf in the mall). That was a fun pasta to use in lieu of the macaroni. And it added the cheese we didn’t have. Delish!
ThriftyFrugalMom
So happy that you loved it, Sara! And using the Parmesan stuffed tortellini was a great idea. 🙂 I’m sure you’ve had to get used to being creative, but that substitution is one that I’d actually enjoy trying!
Amanda
How creamy is it? Could part of the milk be replaced with heavy cream to make it even creamier if not that creamy to begin with?
ThriftyFrugalMom
Amanda, I would say that it is lightly creamy. You most definitely could replace the milk with heavy cream to make it more creamy! I just pretty much always use milk because it’s less expensive….but the cream would make it even more delicious I’m sure.
lindsey
This soup sounds amazing!!! i am trying it ASAP! Do you think or have you tried freezing it? i love making a big stock pot of soup if i can so i can freeze some but sometimes the pasta gets funky and mushy.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Lindsey, I think you’ll enjoy it a lot! It’s so hearty and just full of flavor. I have not tried freezing it. Like you, I love making a big pot of soup too! But with our family being as big as it is, I typically can get by with just keeping it in the fridge and eating the leftovers later on in the week. I know what you mean about pasta sometimes getting a funky texture after it’s frozen. If you want to freeze it, you could try just cooking the pasta until it’s just so softened. Or you could also just make the soup and not add the pasta and milk until you take out half of the soup- then you’d freeze half of it without the past and milk (since milk can sometimes get a bit strange when frozen too) and add those 2 things to the frozen soup after it’s thawed.
If you try freezing it as is, I’d love to know how it turns out for you!
lindsey
that is a smart suggestion waiting on the milk and pasta! i ended up making just what the recipe called for today, i would have to atleast triple it or more if i wanted to freeze it too we are piggies family of 6 as well 😉
lindsey
We loved the soup it was amazing! even better left over!
Cynthia Hunt
I have frozen goulash without the pasta, then cook the pasta and stir in when reheating, if more liquid is needed I add a can of v8 juice. With this soup I would do the same but add more chicken broth if needed. Hope this helped.
ThriftyFrugalMom
That’s such a great idea, Cynthia! Thanks for sharing.
Addi Ganley
These recipe looks so tasty and so comforting. It has all the items in it that my kids like to eat too.
I am going to give this recipe a try, thank you so much for the post.
ThriftyFrugalMom
I think you’ll love it, Addi!