Zuppa Toscana – Sausage, Potato, Kale & White Bean Tuscan Soup Recipe

🧂 Ingredients

• 1½ cups dried cannellini or white beans (dry measurement)

  (soak beans overnight or quick soak- soaking is NOT OPTIONAL for canning & recommended otherwise)
• 4 quarts chicken or vegetable broth

  (substitute water and 2-3 tbsp bouillon base or powder)
• 1 lb bulk Italian sausage

  (substitute chopped link Italian sausage)
• 1¼ lb waxy potatoes (red or Yukon Gold)

  (washed, peeled, & diced, about 1 quart)
• 1 bundle Lacinato or "dinosaur" kale

  (washed, de-stemmed, & chopped. substitute other kale if necessary, about 2-3 cups loosely packed or one small-medium bundle)
• 12 oz onion, medium diced

  (2 ½ cups or one large onion)
• 6 oz celery stalks, medium diced

  (1 ¼ cups or 2-3 stalks)
• 3-6 cloves fresh garlic

  substitute 1-2 tsp dried garlic powder
• 1 tbsp salt

  or to taste
• 1 tsp dried oregano or marjoram
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

  optional
• ¾ tsp black pepper

  freshly ground if possible
• ¾ tsp ground fennel seed

  optional

Instructions

• 1 Pick through your dried beans, checking for any small stones, twigs, or other
  foreign matter and rinse your dried beans thoroughly.
  
  Stir the pot of water and discard any hollow beans that float (these may have
  pest damage or be empty hulls).
• 2 Drain the rinse water and then refill and soak your pot of beans using one of
  the following methods:
• 3 Overnight Soak Method: Soak rinsed beans in a large pot of water with plenty of
  room for the beans to expand (the pot should be no more than 1/2 to 3/5ths full
  of dried beans before adding water). Cover and let soak in a cool place for
  12-18 hours (refrigerate if your kitchen is hot).
• 4 Quick Soak Method: Proceed as for the overnight soak, but bring the pot of beans
  and water to a boil on medium-high heat. Boil for two minutes, remove from heat,
  cover, and let soak for at least an hour.
• 5 After your beans have soaked overnight (or heated and quick-soaked), drain and
  rinse them gently. Refill the pot with clean water to cover the beans by at
  least 2″.
• 6 Bring to a low boil over medium heat, gently stirring periodically so they don’t
  scorch on the bottom of the pan.
• 7 Simmer the beans for thirty minutes before combining them with other soup
  ingredients.
• 8 Wash your canning jars and new canning lids in hot soapy water and rinse well.
• 9 If you are using reusable lids (like Tattler or Harvest Guard, or Weck jars),
  follow manufacturer directions to prepare lids and rings.
• 10 Fill your pressure canner with the recommended amount of water (check your
  canner manual, but at least several inches for this long processing time) and
  preheat it.
• 11 Preheat the jars in the canner on low-medium heat while the beans simmer (see
  next step), or keep them hot in your oven, dishwasher, or using your preferred
  method.
• 12 Wash, peel, and dice all vegetable ingredients, and measure your dry seasonings.
  If you are using bouillon or stock base instead of stock, mix this with hot or
  boiling water.
• 13 Crumble and saute the Italian sausage in a large pot over medium heat. When the
  sausage begins to brown and is cooked through, add the diced onion and celery
  and small diced kale stems (if you are including these).
• 14 Stir and sweat for a few minutes, then add the chopped garlic and dried
  seasonings, and saute for a few minutes. Add the peeled & diced potato along
  with the simmered white beans and their liquid. Stir, and add the washed &
  chopped kale.
• 15 Add the chicken or vegetable stock, or the pre-mixed bouillon broth, and bring
  up to a simmer on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes.
• 16 To prepare & serve or freeze the soup immediately, continue to simmer over low
  heat until the beans and potatoes are tender, another 25-35 minutes, or use the
  soup setting on your Instant Pot.
• 17 You can finish the Zuppa Toscana soup with cream, a sprinkle of Parmesan, or
  other dairy *only* if you are not canning the soup. Otherwise, add any of these
  (if desired) when reheating after opening the jars if you want a richer dish.
• 18 Using a jar funnel and ladle or slotted spoon, fill your quart or pint jars NO
  MORE THAN HALF FULL with the "solids" from the soup. Divide evenly among 7 quart
  or 14-15 pint jars.
• 19 Divide the hot cooking broth among the jars, leaving 1″ of headspace below the
  rim at the top of the jar.. If you don’t have enough cooking liquid, top the
  jars up with more boiling water, broth, or hot stock.
• 20 Debubble the jars with a small spatula, chopstick, or butter knife. Top up with
  additional liquid if necessary to maintain proper 1" headspace.
• 21 Wipe the jar rims with a clean, damp cloth or paper towel.
• 22 Top with new canning lids (or properly prepared reusable lids). Tighten the
  rings finger-tight (or according to manufacturer directions).
• 23 Place the hot filled soup jars in the preheated pressure canner and seal the
  lid. Heat on medium heat. Vent the canner for 10 minutes once it starts
  steaming, then add the weight and bring the canner up to pressure over medium
  low heat.
• 24 Process at 10 lbs of pressure (weighted canner) or 11 lbs (dial gauge). Adjust
  pressure as needed for your altitude over 1000 sf (15 lbs with weighted canner,
  consult altitude chart for dial gauge).
• 25 Reset processing timer to zero if canner pressure drops below minimum at any
  point during processing.
• 26 Process for a full 60 minutes for pint jars, or 75 minutes for quarts or mixed
  batches of pints and quarts.
• 27 Turn off the heat after the processing time is up. Let the canner rest
  undisturbed until the pressure returns to zero- do not remove the weight early
  to vent the steam faster.
• 28 As soon as the pressure releases completely, carefully remove the canner lid.
• 29 Wait another couple minutes, then remove the jars with jar tongs or hot pads,
  and place them on a towel or cooling rack. Cover jars with a towel if there are
  cold drafts.
• 30 Leave undisturbed overnight or for at least 8-12 hours when the jars are fully
  cooled.
• 31 Remove the rings, check for seals, and wash the jars with warm, soapy water.
• 32 Refrigerate any jars of canned soup that did not seal and use those jars
  promptly. You could reprocess them with new lids within 24 hours of the first
  processing. You can also transfer to freezer-safe containers and freeze.

Nutrition Info