Sausage Potato Soup
Sausage Potato Soup is rich, cheesy, and comforting, with Italian sausage, baby potatoes, and veggies in a creamy broth.
Prep
25
min
Cook
30
min
Serves
12
people
Level
intermediate
📝 Ingredients
Serves 12🥬Fresh Produce(4)
- 2 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon pepper
🥩Meat & Seafood(2)
- 8 cups chicken stock or broth
- 2 pound Italian sausage mild or hot
🥛Dairy & Eggs(5)
- 4 cups freshly shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 6 cups milk 1%, 2%, or whole
- 0.5 cup sour cream
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
🫙Pantry Staples(3)
- 12 tablespoons flour
- Hearty buttered bread for serving, optional
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
🧂Spices & Seasonings(1)
- 2 teaspoon salt
📦Other(2)
- 8 cups chopped baby gold potatoes no need to peel
- 4-0.5 cups mirepoix or 3/4 cup each: diced carrots, celery, and yellow onion (960-120 ml)
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
776
Protein
29g
Carbs
42g
Fat
55g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage and let it sear for 1 minute, then use a wooden spoon to crumble it. Cook until sausage is deeply browned. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels, leaving about 1 tablespoon grease in the pot. If there’s not enough grease, add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- 2
In the same pot, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add diced carrots, celery, and onion. Sauté for 5–7 minutes (or 7–10 minutes if the veggies are larger). Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.
- 3
Stir in chopped potatoes, dried basil, dried parsley, salt, and pepper. Pour in chicken stock, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover pot and cook for 15–20 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender.
- 4
While potatoes cook, melt 4 tablespoons butter in a separate medium pot over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Slowly pour in milk, whisking constantly until smooth. Cook, continuing to whisk, until the mixture thickens and gently boils. Stir in heavy cream, then remove from heat.
- 5
Once veggies are tender, stir in the milk/cream mixture. Turn off heat and add shredded cheese, a handful at a time, stirring gently until melted. Stir in sour cream, then return the sausage to the soup. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
- 6
Serve the soup warm with hearty buttered bread, if desired.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Sear sausage for only 1 minute before crumbling to maximize browning surface area—crumbled meat has 3-4x more surface exposure than whole links, allowing Maillard reactions to develop across 60-70% of the meat within 8-10 minutes total cooking time.timing1 minute sear before crumbling; 8-10 minutes total browning
- ✓Use a 1:1 butter-to-flour roux (4 tablespoons each) and cook the flour for exactly 1 minute at medium heat to eliminate raw flour taste while preserving the roux's thickening power at 100% starch gelatinization—cooking beyond 2 minutes begins breaking down starches and reduces viscosity.technique1:1 ratio; 1 minute cooking time
- ✓Add cold milk to your hot roux slowly while whisking constantly because cold liquid entering hot fat causes starch granules to hydrate immediately and swell uniformly; adding too quickly causes lumps from uneven gelatinization.techniquecold milk to hot roux
- ✓Stir shredded cheese in with residual heat only (soup off heat) because dairy fats separate above 180°F—adding cheese to boiling soup causes proteins to seize and creates a grainy, broken texture instead of a smooth, creamy suspension.timingbelow 180°F; heat removed before adding cheese
- ✓Add sour cream after cheese has melted and soup is off heat because its lactic acid (0.4-0.5% acidity) can curdle milk proteins if exposed to sustained heat above 160°F, causing separation and graininess.timingpost-heat; below 160°F dairy exposure
Share this recipe
Prep
25
min
Cook
30
min
Serves
12
people
Level
intermediate
Share this recipe
Sausage Potato Soup
Sausage Potato Soup is rich, cheesy, and comforting, with Italian sausage, baby potatoes, and veggies in a creamy broth.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 12🥬Fresh Produce(4)
- 2 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon pepper
🥩Meat & Seafood(2)
- 8 cups chicken stock or broth
- 2 pound Italian sausage mild or hot
🥛Dairy & Eggs(5)
- 4 cups freshly shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 6 cups milk 1%, 2%, or whole
- 0.5 cup sour cream
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
🫙Pantry Staples(3)
- 12 tablespoons flour
- Hearty buttered bread for serving, optional
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
🧂Spices & Seasonings(1)
- 2 teaspoon salt
📦Other(2)
- 8 cups chopped baby gold potatoes no need to peel
- 4-0.5 cups mirepoix or 3/4 cup each: diced carrots, celery, and yellow onion (960-120 ml)
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
776
Protein
29g
Carbs
42g
Fat
55g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage and let it sear for 1 minute, then use a wooden spoon to crumble it. Cook until sausage is deeply browned. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels, leaving about 1 tablespoon grease in the pot. If there’s not enough grease, add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- 2
In the same pot, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add diced carrots, celery, and onion. Sauté for 5–7 minutes (or 7–10 minutes if the veggies are larger). Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.
- 3
Stir in chopped potatoes, dried basil, dried parsley, salt, and pepper. Pour in chicken stock, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover pot and cook for 15–20 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender.
- 4
While potatoes cook, melt 4 tablespoons butter in a separate medium pot over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Slowly pour in milk, whisking constantly until smooth. Cook, continuing to whisk, until the mixture thickens and gently boils. Stir in heavy cream, then remove from heat.
- 5
Once veggies are tender, stir in the milk/cream mixture. Turn off heat and add shredded cheese, a handful at a time, stirring gently until melted. Stir in sour cream, then return the sausage to the soup. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
- 6
Serve the soup warm with hearty buttered bread, if desired.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Sear sausage for only 1 minute before crumbling to maximize browning surface area—crumbled meat has 3-4x more surface exposure than whole links, allowing Maillard reactions to develop across 60-70% of the meat within 8-10 minutes total cooking time.timing1 minute sear before crumbling; 8-10 minutes total browning
- ✓Use a 1:1 butter-to-flour roux (4 tablespoons each) and cook the flour for exactly 1 minute at medium heat to eliminate raw flour taste while preserving the roux's thickening power at 100% starch gelatinization—cooking beyond 2 minutes begins breaking down starches and reduces viscosity.technique1:1 ratio; 1 minute cooking time
- ✓Add cold milk to your hot roux slowly while whisking constantly because cold liquid entering hot fat causes starch granules to hydrate immediately and swell uniformly; adding too quickly causes lumps from uneven gelatinization.techniquecold milk to hot roux
- ✓Stir shredded cheese in with residual heat only (soup off heat) because dairy fats separate above 180°F—adding cheese to boiling soup causes proteins to seize and creates a grainy, broken texture instead of a smooth, creamy suspension.timingbelow 180°F; heat removed before adding cheese
- ✓Add sour cream after cheese has melted and soup is off heat because its lactic acid (0.4-0.5% acidity) can curdle milk proteins if exposed to sustained heat above 160°F, causing separation and graininess.timingpost-heat; below 160°F dairy exposure