Italian Sausage, Tomato, and Pesto Soup
Italian Sausage, Tomato, and Pesto Soup can be made with macaroni or frozen cauliflower rice, and this is an easy soup the whole family will enjoy! And I didn’t use much macaroni, so even if you choose that option this soup isn’t very high in carbs.
PIN Italian Sausage, Tomato, and Pesto Soup to try it later.
For a few years now I’ve been having fun looking through the huge archives of my blog to find a recipe I have the ingredients for, and then updating it, often into an improved version with lower carbs or at least a lower carb option. And that’s what I did with this recipe for Italian Sausage, Tomato, and Pesto Soup!
The original recipe was one I came up with years ago for a family party, and it had twice as much macaroni as the newly updated recipe you see here. If you don’t want even the smaller amount of macaroni I used, you can make this tasty soup with cauliflower rice, and I’m tagging this soup low-carb and gluten-free because it has those options.
And I know many people may not want to buy fresh basil, so I switched that out for basil pesto, which was absolutely delicious in this soup! So for everyone who needs comfort food while the cold weather approaches, I hope you’ll give this improved recipe a try! And here’s the link to the original version, just in case anyone was a fan.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth (affiliate link)
- Dried Basil (affiliate link)
- ground fennel (affiliate link)
- canned petite dice tomatoes
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- hot or sweet turkey or pork Italian sausage
- onion
- Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
- macaroni (or substitute cauliflower rice if you want fewer carbs)
- Basil Pesto (affiliate link)
How to make Italian Sausage, Tomato, and Pesto Soup lower in carbs:
This soup recipe as written with a small amount of macaroni has about 13 carbs in a serving. You can make it even lower in carbs by switching out the macaroni for Fiber Gourmet Light Elbows (affiliate link) or about 10 oz. frozen cauliflower rice. If you use cauliflower rice, this soup will also be gluten-free.
What gives this sausage, tomato, and pesto soup the Italian flavors?
Italian sausage, garlic, basil, ground fennel, and pesto all make this a soup that’s loaded with Italian flavor. But I think the ground fennel (affiliate link) is especially important here. Please don’t skip that!
How to make Italian Sausage, Tomato, and Pesto Soup:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Combine chicken stock or broth, dried basil, ground fennel, and petite dice tomatoes with juice in a soup pot and let the mixture simmer over low heat while you cook the sausage.
- Heat olive oil in heavy frying pan, then squeeze turkey (or pork) Italian sausage out of the links and cook until the sausage is nicely browned; breaking apart with a metal turner.
- Add the sausage to the simmering soup pot,
- Chop onion and mince garlic. Then add a tiny bit more olive oil to the pan and cook onion about 3-4 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more.
- Add the onion and garlic to soup pot.
- Deglaze the frying pan with about 1 cup of soup from the pot and scrape off browned bits from the pan, then add that back into the soup
- Let this simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes.
- Then add 1/2 cup dry macaroni (or 10 oz. frozen cauliflower rice) to the soup pot and simmer on low for about 15-20 minutes more, or until macaroni or rice is soft.
- Then stir in the Basil Pesto and simmer 5 minutes more.
- Serve hot, topped with Parmesan cheese if desired.
More Soup with Italian Sausage:
- Instant Pot Sausage Soup with Pesto
- Low-Carb Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Instant Pot (or Stovetop) Zuppa Toscana Soup
Italian Sausage, Tomato, and Pesto Soup
Italian Sausage, Tomato, and Pesto Soup is a family-friendly dinner idea, and this soup can be made with macaroni or cauliflower rice, whichever you prefer.
Ingredients
- 8 cups homemade chicken stock (see notes)
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1 tsp. ground fennel
- two 14.5 oz. cans petite dice tomatoes
- 5 tsp. olive oil
- one 19.5 oz. package hot or sweet turkey Italian sausage (see notes)
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 T minced garlic
- 1/2 C dry macaroni (see notes)
- 3 T basil pesto (see notes)
Instructions
- Put homemade chicken stock into a large heavy soup pot and start to heat.
- Add the dried basil, ground fennel, and 2 cans petite dice tomatoes with juice and let the mixture simmer while you cook the sausage.
- Heat 1 T of olive oil in a heavy frying pan.
- Squeeze the sausage out of casings and cook until nicely browned, breaking apart with a metal turner as the sausage cooks.
- Add browned sausage to the soup pot.
- Add the other 2 tsp. of olive oil to the frying pan, then cook the onions for 3-4 minutes, or until they are starting to soften.
- Add the minced garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more.
- Add the onion and garlic to the soup pot.
- Deglaze the frying pan with about 1 cup of soup from the pot and scrape off browned bits from the pan, then add that back into the soup.
- Let this simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes.
- Add the macaroni or frozen cauliflower rice, stir, and continue to simmer the soup for 15-20 minutes more, or until the macaroni or cauliflower rice is soft.
- Stir in the basil pesto and cook 5 minutes more.
- Serve hot, with freshly grated Parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
You can also use two 32 oz. cartons of chicken stock or five 14 oz. cans of chicken broth.
I used turkey Italian sausage, but use pork Sausage if you prefer.
I would use my frozen Basil Pesto with Lemon for this recipe, but I just use my favorite purchased pesto when I don't have any homemade pesto in the freezer.
Nutritional information is calculated with macaroni since that's what is in the photos, but you can use macaroni, or substitute with one 10 oz. package frozen cauliflower rice. Macaroni will be about 5 carbs per serving; cauliflower rice will be 1.5 carbs per serving.
Recipe created by Kalyn for a family party many years ago and updated with lower-carb options in April 2020.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 168Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 398mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 0gSugar: 4gProtein: 8g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Soup with macaroni would normally be too high in carbs for a low-carb diet, I didn’t use much macaroni here. Or use the option for cauliflower rice instead of macaroni or use Fiber Gourmet Light Elbows (affiliate link) to make a version that’s even lower in carbs. If made with approved macaroni, this Italian Sausage, Tomato, and Pesto Soup would be approved for phase 2 or 3 of the original South Beach Diet.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Soup Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Danica's Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
The original version of this soup was posted December 2010! The recipe was updated to a more carb-friendly soup, including the option to replace the macaroni with cauliflower rice April 2020. It was last update with more information in 2023.
33 Comments on “Italian Sausage, Tomato, and Pesto Soup”
This was amazing!!
Thanks Allison, so glad you enjoyed it!
Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Basil, glad you enjoyed the soup and thanks for noticing the new blog design. I'm really liking it.
Oh, I made a vegetarian version of this soup with fake meat, and it was sooo good and warming in this cold weather that I have been having recently. I love pasta soups, and this one made a huge batch. Great, healthy, warming, and not to hard to make either.
The new layout for this blog is nice, too!
Bob, sounds like an interesting variation.
Tried it with a twist. I used Andouille sausage rather than Italian, and substituted some okra and Cajun spices for the basil.
I also used whole wheat pasta to keep my blood sugar down.
Turned out quite well for those of us who like spicy soups.
Martha, that sounds like a good variation!
Looks yummy. I have a very similar recipe to which I add a large back of frozen mixed vegetables!
I'd love to hear how it turns out.
That looks so freakin' delicious that I HAVE to adapt it to GF and veg (should be easy:-)
Thanks Kalyn!
Cindy, thanks for taking the time to let me know you liked the soup. And how fun that I've introduced you to fennel. It's definitely one of my favorite flavors.
I made your soup recipe this evening and it was a big hit! Fennel is not one of the spices I use, so this soup gave me a new taste adventure.
I follow your blog regularly and have tried several recipes which are now in my regular rotation.
I also appreciate the comment from LibbyD about using meat with her own spices rather than the sausage. As I was making the soup, I wondered if it would be too bland (i.e., not salty enough), but found that the salt from the sausage was more than enough.
Thank you for all the great recipes you create and share from other bloggers. It's much appreciated here in mid-Michigan.
Sara, thanks. I don't know if you knew that I was a teacher for 30 years, so I love hearing that I am inspiring students to cook!
Hi Kalyn!
I made this tonight to keep me going through final exam revisions, and it was great! Plus, now I have a freezer full of leftovers. So simple and cheap to make and it seems like it would be fun to play around with too (like maybe adding beans as another commenter said). Not that it needs any changes at all. 🙂
Your recipes are a godsend to any university student. Thanks Kalyn!
I think chopped kale or thin ribbons of kale would be a great addition to this soup. I'd add the kale when you add the macaroni, unless you like it a little more crisp, then I'd add it when the macaroni is partly cooked. Love to hear how it turns out!
Sounds great and I look fwd to making it tomorrow evening. However, not having tried it yet, so not being exactly sure of the flavors, do you think that kale would be a good addition in this soup? Thanks!
Anonymous, that would work well if you're making the soup to freeze.
Just another idea – I usually freeze my soups in the stage before adding the pasta/noodles and include it to cook when I'm heating the soup to serve.
I need one now! Wow, this soups looks delicious and soul reviving in the wintry days here in UK. Nice blog and I love the blue bowl and plate.
Perfect macaroni soup! Good for this season.
Looks delicious. I bet you could throw in some white beans too for some extra fiber and yum.
lovely photo!
That is a tasty looking soup!
Kalyn…this sounds so great! I always do the same type of soup but this would be a great alternative with the sausage and macaroni!
This soup looks beautiful, I want to try it, but I think, I have leave it on weekend.
CJ, I don't think any recipe could have too much fennel, absolutely love that flavor.
Oh how we love soups this time of year, especially the hearty ones. I make a similar soup and sometimes add some drained and rinsed cannelini beans to it too. That idea came about out of necessity. Had some unexpected company and needed to extend the soup. It worked.
This recipe looks mouth wateringly delicious. I'm so glad I have fresh basil in the freezer! I like the extra fennel in it too. A woman of my own heart.
Libby, you sent me to the freezer to look at a package of sausage, and there was more sodium than I realized, so great idea to make your own with spices!
I hesitatae to buy sausage because I must keep my salt down, so now I stir-fry a mixture of ground pork and beef plus all the seasoning s that you would find in a particular typre of sausage, i.e. for Italian: garlic, oregano, thyme, chili pepper: for mid East recipes I add garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika, hot sauce. This way I get all the flavours wothout the high sodium .
I would love to have some of this soup hanging out in my freezer right now. M-m-m-m.
Whenever it gets cold here, all i want to do is curl up and eat something that's going to warm me from the inside out. This sounds perfect!
LOVE the bright new look of your blog! So pretty!
And thanks for another flavorful Kalyn Soup. ((I have made several of yours and they have all been delicious.))
Donna