When I bring this soup to a soup potluck, I will always get several requests for the recipe. That tells you everything you need to know about this flavorful, classic, soup, that can serve as a full meal.

If you’ve been to Carrabba’s, you may have already eaten something similar, as their sausage lentil soup is very popular. I’m inspired by their soup and added in my own touches, and tastes.

Which Lentils to Use for Lentil Soup

Truthfully, I wondered this myself so I ventured to Whole Foods to buy two kinds from their bins and do some testing.

• French Lentils, also known as Puy Lentils, from the Puy Region in France. Petite, green, and hold up well in soups, stews, retaining their shape,
• Brown Lentils, more common, hold shape, but not as well as French lentils.

I made two pots of soup with each lentil and preferred the French lentils for their structure and taste. However, the brown lentils will make a fine sausage lentil soup also.

The two different times I made this soup, I did the sausage differently. One time I made cooked the sausage, removed the casing after cooking and sliced into coins. The other times and the easiest way is to purchase loose sausage and cook that. Either way is fine.

Process

• Cook sausage in dutch oven you will be making soup in. Remove from pan.
• Cook carrots, celery, onion (garlic) in same pan until softened.
• Add in white wine. Cook alcohol off.
• Add in tomatoes, (crushed with hand), broth, sausage, lentils.
• Bring to boil. Reduce to simmer, until lentils are softened, about 40 minutes.
• Add kale in during last ten minutes.
• Serve with Parmesan or Pecorino Romano

Add Greens to Sausage Lentil Soup

We love an extra green in a soup like kale or swiss chard. Both greens hold up well and give a nice added texture and color. If you use Tuscan Kale, be sure to remove the center rib and just tear it into bite sized pieces.

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Hearty Soups from Spinach Tiger

• Italian Wedding Soup
• Minestrone Soup
• Beef and Cabbage Soup
• Beef Vegetable Soup
• Eggplant Soup with Italian Sausage

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Sausage Lentil Soup

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian

Keyword lentil soup, lentils, sausage lentil kale soup, sausage lentil soup

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Servings 8 servings

Calories 252kcal

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound mild Italian sausage
• 2 carrots diced
• 1 onion diced
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 cup white wine optional
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups lentils
• 2 cups kale chopped
• 4 tablespoons pecorino romano cheese
• 1 16 oz Italian Plum Tomatoes
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme

Instructions

• Heat oil in dutch oven you will be making the soup in. Add loose sausage, break up into bite sized pieces, brown.
  
• Remove sausage to a bowl.
• In that same pan or pot, sauté carrot, onion, celery for five minutes. Add minced garlic. Sauté for five minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add minced garlic and cook for one minute.
• Add white wine and cook for five minutes. Add chicken broth.
• Using your hands crush the whole tomatoes with the puree into the pot.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Rinse lentils and look over for pebbles, etc. Add lentils to the soup.
  
• Bring to boil and then turn to simmer. Add fresh thyme. (Remove stems later).
• Once your lentils are cooked through (about 50 minutes), add kale. You will want to make sure to remove the inside ribs (if Tuscan Kale) and tear into bite sized pieces. Cook another 30 minutes on low.
• If you want to add heat, add 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes. You could also choose to put the chili flakes on the table and have people choose themselves.
• Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
• Serve with parmesan or pecorino romano on the side.
  
• You could also garnish with parsley. I usually don't do that when I use kale.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 252kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 8g | Fiber: 6g

The post Italian Sausage Lentil Kale Soup appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Made with my own roasted chicken (for an amazing texture), fresh vegetables, boxed organic broth and a little bit of heavy cream that brings it home and adds that little bit of extra gut-sticking satisfaction. You could also make your own chicken stock and I have a great recipe here with ten tips.

As I was making the filling, I kept tasting and thinking with a little more broth and a few tweaks, this could be an amazing chicken vegetable soup.

I purchased these soup crocks for my recent French onion soup recipe and we’ve used them for all kinds of things. I highly recommend them.

I swapped out the rutabagas for cauliflower which ended up being a great choice. I skipped the wine and cut back on the heavy cream. If you’re watching your carbs, you could also limit the carrots but I think a couple of carrots in a soup does make a difference.

Ingredients for Recipe for Chicken Vegetable Soup

• Chicken Breasts, Shredded
• Cauliflower
• Onions
• Celery
• Carrots
• Boxed Organic Chicken Broth
• Peas
• Herbs, Bay Leaf
• Heavy Cream (this is an option I like for a creamier soup)

More Chicken Soups from Spinach Tiger

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Chicken Vegetable Soup

Homemade chicken vegetable soup made with leeks, white wine.

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Keyword Chicken pot pie, pie crust

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

1 hour hour

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

Chicken Vegetable Soup

• 4 tablespoons cold butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
• 3 carrots peeled, diced
• 1 small onion diced
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 2 cup cauliflower florets
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 teaspoon umami seasoning Trader Joe's (see notes)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (4 sprigs)
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup heavy cream Optional for a creamier soup
• 2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded See Recipe below

Baked Chicken Breasts on Bone (Method 1)

• 2 chicken breasts on bone with skin
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Baked Chicken Breasts

• Salt chicken breasts. Roast in oven at 400 degrees F. until chicken reaches 165 F. Don't over bake. I like the texture of baked chicken. See blog notes for more ideas. You CAN roast a whole chicken as I did.

Make Chicken Vegetable Soup

• Trim leek and wash, using only white part.
• Peel and dice celery and carrots.
• Cut cauliflower into bite sized florets.
• Melt butter and oil in dutch oven or pot of your choice.
• Add vegetables (except peas) to pan. Cook about five minutes. Add sprigs of thyme (to be removed later).
• Add fresh herbs of choice. Add bay leaf.
• Season with salt, pepper, umami seasoning (if you have it).
• Stir in chicken broth.
• Once chicken broth is warmed through about twenty minutes, add in optional heavy cream. It's okay to skip.
• Add in chicken, frozen peas.
• Season as needed with salt and pepper. Serve once peas are cooked through.

Notes

You can add in other vegetables such as green beans or broccoli florets

Umami Seasoning (I  use the one from Trader Joe’s). You can substitute with poultry seasoning, or your seasoning of choice). 

Cauliflower: You can sub with potato, rutabega.

 

 

The post Recipe for Easy Chicken Vegetable Soup appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

If you are looking for the keto version, there are two ways to enjoy keto chicken pot pie, and I’ll list those at the bottom of this post.

Made with roasted white meat chicken, leeks, rutabagas, green peas, onions, carrots, celery, it has just the right balance of textures. Chicken broth, white wine, butter and heavy cream enhance the flavor.

What Kind of Chicken for Chicken Pot Pie

You have choices, depending on time and budget.

• Roast a whole chicken, use the white meat and freeze the roasted thighs with legs intact for another time.
• Poach boneless chicken breasts.
• Use a store-bought rotisserie chicken

I like to roast a whole chicken, use the white meat and eat the thighs and legs on another day. You can also just roast two chicken breasts on the bone with skin or poach boneless chicken breasts.

Ingredients for Best Chicken Pot Pie

I like leeks instead of onions, but you can use a half onion in place of a leek. I like rutabagas instead of potatoes. They are mild tasting yet hold a better structure than potatoes.

Butter, heavy cream, white wine and organic chicken broth for the sauce. Herbs like parsley and thyme are great neutral herbs. In other words they add flavor, but don’t overpower.

Flaky Pie Crust

The key to a really amazing traditional chicken pot pie is not just what’s inside. The pie crust has to be light, flaky and buttery. This pie crust has just the right amount of flour to butter ratio and will be the flakiest crust, as long as you don’t overwork it.

These are a few kitchen tools that I think are worth it and yield success.

• Kitchen Scale – If you are going to do any baking at all, invest in a food scale. We all have a tendency to overpack a cup of flour. Weighing flour and butter yields a consistent product.
• Pastry cutter – You could make your dough in a food processor, but I have found I get a better product just cutting in the butter. This way I don’t over mix the butter.
• Silicone Baking Mat for Rolling Dough – Helpful but not completely necessary.

What kind of Flour Makes the Best Flaky Pie Crust?

There are a lot of opinions about this, but I recommend buying the best all purpose flour you can buy. Some will say to add in a portion of bread flour, but I like to use a soft wheat all purpose flour. I actually use a flour from Italy, but that’s expensive and you can still get a high quality pie crust with the all purpose flour of your choice. A good pie crust really depends on getting the technique right.

Chicken Pot Pie with Store Bought Rotisserie Chicken or Pie Crust

You might be wondering how to short-cut the chicken pie recipe. You CAN use a store bought rotisserie chicken. You can even use a store bought pie crust or even top your chicken pot pie with a store bought puff pastry. I do, however, like to make everything from scratch for this recipe because it’s a very special recipe for my family. However, there may be times I buy a roasted chicken or use a puff pastry. Just know some of the roast chickens are not always high quality. If you use puff pastry, just top the pie and avoid Peppridge Farms. Publix Greenwise is a better, cleaner choice.

More Recipes

• Keto Chicken Pot Pie with Almond Flour Crust
• Keto Chicken Pot Pie with Grain Free Biscuits
• Chicken Francaise
• Spatchcock Chicken Greek Style
• Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Breast
• Parmesan Mayonaisse Chicken Bake

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Chicken Pot Pie with Flaky Pie Crust

Homemade chicken pot pie made with leeks, white wine and the most tender pie crust.

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Keyword Chicken pot pie, pie crust

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

1 hour hour

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

Chicken Pot Pie

• 1 recipe double pie crust see below
• 4 tablespoons cold butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
• 3 carrots peeled, diced
• 1 leeks or 1 small onion see notes
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 1 small rutabega peeled, diced (optional)
• 1 teaspoon umami seasoning Trader Joe's (see notes)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (4 sprigs)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 cups chicken broth more if needed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded See Recipe below

Baked Chicken Breasts on Bone (Method 1)

• 2 chicken breasts on bone with skin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup frozen peas

Poached Boneless Chicken Breasts (Method 2:

• 2 boneless chicken breasts
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Pie Crust

• 226 grams all purpose flour more for rolling dough
• 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup ice water (more if needed up to 1/2 cup)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg for egg wash
• 2 tablespons water for egg wash

Instructions

Poached Chicken

• Boil water. Turn to simmer and add chicken. Simmer chicken in water with a little salt until chicken reaches 165 Degrees F. (10-15 minutes). Do not overcook.

Baked Chicken Breasts

• Salt chicken breasts. Roast in oven at 400 degrees F. until chicken reaches 165 F. Don't over bake. I like the texture of baked chicken. See blog notes for more ideas. You CAN roast a whole chicken as I did.

Make Pie Crust

• Mix the flour with salt.
• Add cold butter that has been cut into very small pea sized pieces and refrigerated again to make sure it's very cold.

  Don't grate the butter. It must be in pieces to turn flakey. Cut it into the flour with a pastry cutter or very slowly with food processor.
  
• Add cold water 1/4 cup at a time. Use up to 1/2 cup, no more than that. You will be able to bring the dough together. One way to bring together is to put it all in a large ziplock and smoosh together. This keeps the warmth of the hands off.
  
• Form into a two discs. Refrigerate for one hour or more. Take out about 15 minutes prior to rolling.
  

Make Chicken Pie

• Melt butter and in large frying pan or dutch oven.
• Add vegetables (except peas) to pan. Cook about five minutes. Add sprigs of thyme (to be removed later).
• Sprinkle flour over vegetables, Stir well.
• Deglaze pan with white wine about a minute.
• Stir in chicken broth. Add more if you think it's too dry.
• Once chicken broth is warmed through about twenty minutes, add in heavy cream.
• Add chicken and frozen peas to vegetables. Season with salt, pepper, umami seasoning (if you have it) and fresh thyme. (or herbs of your choice).
  
• Allow to cool, while rolling out prepared pie dough.
• Take pie dough out of fridge and let sit for 10 minutes.

Prepare Pie

• Roll out two discs, using extra flour to make sure they don't stick.
• NOTE: If you want to use a decorative cut out, cut out first and then refrigerate your rolled out pie dough and cut-out for ten minutes in fridge so it will be easy to handle. Then place the pie dough over the chicken filling first. THEN place the cut-out back in.
  
• Place first pie crust in pie pan, not forcing or stretching.
• Add cooled chicken filling. Top with remaining pie dough. Cut slits on top for steam to escape. Cut off excess around the pie. Crimp or use fork to press together.
• Egg Wash: Beat one egg with two tablespoons water. Brush over pie crust.
• Bake for 45-50 minutes at 400 degrees F. in lower third of oven.

  Cool for ten minutes before cutting.
  

Notes

Slice leeks down the center. Wash, rinse. Slice across. 

Flour for Pie Crust: 2 cups flour less 2 tablespoons. 

Butter for Pie Crust: 7 ounces or 14 tablespoons

Umami Seasoning (I  use the one from Trader Joe’s). You can substitute with poultry seasoning, or your seasoning of choice). 

Rutabega: You can sub with potato, cauliflower florets or leave out.

 

 

The post Chicken Pot Pie with Flaky Pie Crust appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Made with macaroni, boxed chicken broth and canned white beans (I like cannellini beans). Add some parsley or fresh sage for a little more flavor. Top with freshly grated parmesan or pecorino romano.

This was made in between baking five dozen cupcakes for the bakery and going to the gym. It’s just that easy to throw together a healthy, filling soup instead of a junk lunch.

This is a great recipe to start the school and soup season. Here are a few more easy soup recipes to keep in the back of your mind.

• Shrimp and Bean Soup
• Beef and Cabbage Soup
• Italian Sausage Soup
• Chicken White Bean Soup
• Lentil Sausage Soup
• Vegetable Soup
• Italian Meatball Soup
• Italian Beef Macaroni Soup

Variations for White Bean Macaroni Soup

• Mix your beans.
• Add in some greens.
• Add cooked sausage or left over roast beef.

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White Bean Macaroni Soup

Easy, Affordable White Bean Macaroni Soup

Course Soup

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword Bean macaroni Soup, bean soup, White Beans

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 carrots diced
• fresh or dried herbs such as parsley basil, thyme
• 2 cans white cannellini beans rinsed and drained
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 pound macaroni
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Instructions

• Dice carrots. Set aside.
• Open beans, drain, drizzle with olive oil.
• Cook macaroni separately 2 minutes under cooking time. Add diced carrots to the cooking pasta. Drain.
• Heat broth to simmer. Add beans and cooked macaroni, carrots.
• Add in fresh herbs, onion powder, garlic powder.
• Season to taste. Serve with Pecorino Romano or Parmesan Cheese.

Notes

This recipe is more inspiration than something you have to stick to perfectly. Add in cabbage. Add different beans. Add in more carrots or even some potatoes.

The post Easy Twenty Minute White Bean Macaroni Soup appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

You can keep this grain free or serve with orzo. I served the orzo on the side, as this makes this soup a lot more family friendly (Without the pasta, it’s a perfect keto or low carb soup).

While this is a simple soup, it’s a hearty rustic soup that requires a little bit of finesse.

The original soup had chunky tomatoes, but I refined the broth to a tomato broth using a hand blender. The original soup had arugula, which I love a lot, but I thought kale would hold up much better, and it did. You could use any green you prefer, but I wouldn’t use spinach, unless you only add it raw as you serve it, so it doesn’t disintegrate.

I didn’t make the meatballs super small or bite-sized, because I wanted them to be tender. I made them slightly smaller than usual, baked them for 15 minutes, and added them to the soup about 30 minutes before serving.

The result of this super easy to make recipe was nothing short of spectacular.

The broth is a light tomato broth, the meatballs are grain free and orzo is an option to add in for those in the family who eat pasta.

When I fed it to the family, I added in some cooked orzo. The key to this soup is tender meatballs, sultry tomato broth, greens, and lots of Pecorino Romano cheese.

I talk about this cheese all the time and how we are addicted to it. It’s a sheep’s cheese, whereas Parmesan is a cow’s milk cheese. It aged, dry, salty, tangy and often okay for people who are lactose intolerant. You could even add a dollop of ricotta cheese.

Warm yourself up with this delicious easy soup.

NOTES: You can keep the orzo separate and serve it as an option. This way those who are gluten free or carb counting can thoroughly enjoy this soup too. Let me know how much you’ve enjoyed this soup.

More Ideas for Italian Meatball Soup

• Add any macaroni, such as dittalini, or tiny shells.
• Replace kale with arugula, or spinach.
• Add dollops of ricotta.
• Add rice or cauliflower rice.
• Add a can of white cannellini beans.
• Add any leftover vegetables.
• Add a little heavy cream to the broth.

Soup Bowls

These soup bowls (amazon) are perfect for this soup.

More Italian Style Soups from Spinach Tiger

• Italian Summer Vegetable Soup
• Italian Sausage Lentil and Kale Soup
• Spicy Italian Soup with Sausage
• Italian Eggplant Soup
• Lentil Sausage Soup
• Quick and Easy Ministrone Soup
• Ribolita, a Tuscan Soup

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Homemade Italian Meatballs Soup

Italian Meatball Soup

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian

Keyword keto meatballs

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Baking Meatballs 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds grass fed beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork or more beef
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup freshly grated pecorino romano divided
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh Italian Parsley divided
• 2 cloves garlic finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 quarts boxed chicken broth
• 28 ounce San Marzano Tomatoes (can)
• 2 cups kale or spinach
• 1 cup dry orzo optional

Instructions

• Season meat with salt and pepper
• Add remaining ingredients (except greens and orzo )and very loosely, gently mix together. You don't want the meat to be compacted, as that will make the meatballs tough. (Save some parsley for garnishing. Have extra pecorino for topping soup.)
• Form into medium sized balls. You can make these into bite sized meatballs, but I prefer larger meatballs, which are more tender.
• Place foil or parchment paper on baking sheet.
• Bake meatballs for 15 minutes at 375 degrees or until outsides seems browned. Set aside.
• In soup pot, add just enough olive oil to cover bottom of pan. Add can of tomatoes, crushing with your hands. Add in broth. Cook on medium heat until tomato broth is hot. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Use immersion blender to blend the tomatoes to make a cleaner broth.
• Cook orzo al dente according to directions in separate pot minus one minute. You can also use small macaroni. Add to broth to finish cooking.
• Add in meatballs and optional greens.
• You can choose to serve orzo on the side or put into the soup.
• Serve with parmesan or pecorino romano. Garnish with more parsley.

Notes

Milk: You can skip milk. Do not substitute with almond or coconut milk as it will affect the taste. If you do skip milk and are using grass-fed beef, add a few tablespoons olive oil. Another way to add in some fat and flavor is to add in some chopped proscuitto, about a slice per pound.

 

The post Italian Meatball Soup in Tomato Broth appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Chicken and white bean soup has all the feels and flavors. Made Italian style with carrots, onion, celery, Italian parsley, garlic, white cannellini beans, the soup is finished with pecorino or parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil. 

This recipe uses canned white cannellini beans, and left over chicken or rotisserie chicken and boxed broth. You can make your own chicken stock and cook beans from scratch. While that might be considered ideal, it isn’t necessary for a delicious soup. 

Are Canned Beans Okay for Chicken and White Bean Soup?

Some years ago,  I had the pleasure to interview Guiliano Hazan, son of famous Italian cookbook author, Marcella Hazan, and he explains “Italian” cuisine as a dish in which you can taste each ingredient separately and not as one flavor. No ingredient should be placed in the dish to fight with another.  I asked him if his legendary mother and he differed in anything. He told me she favors “fresh beans” and perhaps dried beans, but he will use canned beans. But they agree that flavors would end up in the same place.

I liked that culinary confidence, and if anyone knows what tastes good, it would be Giuliano Hazan who has been eating from the hands of an Italian cooking legend since birth.

If you like the bread in the picture, that’s my homemade sourdough.

Ingredients for Chicken and White Bean Soup

• Chicken
• Cannellini Beans
• Boxed Organic Chicken Broth
• Onion, Carrots, Celery
• Garlic
• Olive Oil
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Parsley
• Fresh or dried thyme, rosemary
• Bay Leaf
• Fennel powder or fennel seed or fresh fennel
• Pecorinio or Parmesan

If you don’t like fennel, skip it, but I think it adds that extra aromatic.

Play Around

• Add baby spinach to bowl when serving.
• Add chopped kale in last ten minutes.
• Add cooked rice or cooked macaroni.

More Soups from Spinach Tiger

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Chicken and White Bean Soup

White beans, left over chicken, boxed broth makes an easy, healthy soup.

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian

Keyword bean soup, beansoup, chicken soup, soup

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 10 hours hours

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 cups chicken, diced or shredded
• 4 cans cannellini beans
• 4-6 cups chicken broth
• 1 medium white onion diced
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 2 carrots diced
• few fresh thyme sprigs can use rosemary also
• 1 handful Italian parsley chopped
• olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed or 1 cup chopped fennel
• pinch red pepper flakes
• Pecorino or Parmesan for serving

Instructions

• Rinse beans with water. Reserve 1 can of beans to emulsify later.
• Add butter and olive oil to heavy bottomed pan.
• Add in onion, carrot, celery (and fennel if using fresh) and cook until nearly soft.
• Add in garlic, cook a minutes, but not browning.
• Add in chicken broth. Add in beans that are rinsed and drained.
• Add In spices, and shredded chicken.
• Blend reserved can of beans until pureed. Add to soup.
• Cook until carrots are soft.
• Serve with Parmesan or Pecorino cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

The post Chicken and White Bean Soup appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Christmas Lima Beans Recipe for Soup

Christmas Lima Beans are beautiful. They are big, fat, meaty and a gorgeous burgundy color with white stripes. I refer to them as the steak of beans.

Where to find Christmas Lima Beans

You can find them on Amazon or order direct from a bean company like Rancho Gordo here. If you get to Napa, look up the store and visit.

Meaty (almost chestnut-like) this soup is filling and flavorful.

Christmas Lima Beans Soup Ingredients

• Chicken Broth
• Christmas Lima Beans
• Garlic Cloves
• Can Italian Plum Tomatoes
• Garlic, Onion
• Macaroni
• Parsley
• Basil

How To Cook Christmas Lima Beans

• Rinse Beans and soak overnight with a tablespoon of salt.
• To cook the next day, change the water.
• Simmer in fresh cold water (with two inches to spare) to a simmer until tender (about 45 minutes). Taste to make sure.

How to Make Tomato Broth

Tomato broth is my favorite broth for soups. I use a can Italian plum tomatoes (squishing them in my hands) into organic boxed chicken broth. Sautè garlic and onion in some olive oil. Add tomatoes, broth and herbs and you have a delicious broth. If you want it to be even easier, you can use garlic powder and onion powder.

Hearty Soup Made Easy

Once you have made your beans tender (see above), add beans and cooked macaroni to your tomato broth. You want to add cooked macaroni, because if you cook the macaroni in the broth, it will soak it all up.

Add plenty of herbs such as parsley and basil. Season with salt and pepper and you are done! Add a few cherry tomatoes for color if you have them on hand. Serve with a smattering of pecorino romano. Don’t forget salt and pepper! Enjoy a simple, easy, hearty dinner!

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More Bean Soups from Spinach Tiger

The first time I did a Christmas Lima Beans Recipe, it was a thick bean stew here made with celery leaves, olives and lemon.

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Christmas Lima Bean Macaroni Soup

This is a hearty, scrumptious winter soup, made with heirloom Christmas Lima Beans, macaroni in a tomato broth,

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian

Keyword bean soup, Christmas Lima Beans

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Cooking Beans 45 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 1 pound Christmas lima beans cooked with broth reserved (or 2 1/2 pounds cooked beans, see recipe for cooking below)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 pound macaroni
• 8 garlic cloves chopped use every bit of it, the garlic gets absorbed into the soup
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 large can Italian plum tomatoes roughly chopped, with juice (use fresh tomatoes if they are ripe)
• 6 cups chicken broth
• chopped parsley to garnish soup
• black pepper
• salt
• pecorino romano freshly grated

Instructions

Prepare/Cook Beans

• Soak beans overnight with 2 inches water over beans. Add tablespoon salt.
• Rinse beans. Put beans in fresh water with 2 inches of water and simmer uncovered until beans are tender, about 45 minutes. IF you didn't soak beans, you cook, but you will add at least another 20 minutes cook time (maybe more).

Make Soup

• Heat olive oil in pan. Add garlic, chopped onion, sprinkle of salt and cook for ten minutes.
• Add tomatoes, cook a few minutes.
• Add beans and broth.
• Simmer for 45 minutes.
• Cook macaroni according to directions, minus two minutes. Add to soup and continue to simmer until the macaroni is tender.
• Garnish with fresh basil and or parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve with Pecorino Romano or Parmesan.

Notes

 

 

The post Christmas Lima Beans Recipe for Macaroni Soup appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I used wild raw Argentinian red shrimp from Trader Joe’s. They are cleaned, deveined and flavorful and but down on time. This is not an ad for Trader Joe’s but I usually have a few bags in the freezer, and these are perfect for a keto version of shrimp and grits.

All the flavor of authentic shrimp and grits will be there using cajun spices, heavy cream, butter and hot sauce.

To thicken the sauce, I use this xanthan gum gel that is easy to make and works perfectly. If you don’t happen to have xanthan gum, don’t worry, as it will taste good even if sauce is a little thinner.

The shrimp will take only a few minutes to make and in total this delicious dinner should be able to be made in under 30 minutes.

I have been making keto/low carb dinners for years, and I can honestly tell you, I like this food way better than how I used to eat. I think once you start eating less carbs, you just feel better, and enjoy food more, because you don’t have to balance heavy meals with starvation meals. I know you will love this dish as much as did, for not one bite was left in the pan.

Make sure you check out my article on laying out the differences between paleo, keto and gluten free diets.

Ingredients for Keto Cajun Shrimp and Cheesy Cauliflower Grits

• Shrimp
• Onion
• Garlic
• Bacon
• Heavy Cream
• Butter
• Hot Sauce
• Cajun Spice (I use Tony Chacheres)
• Green Onion
• Parsley

Cauliflower (faux) Grits

• Cauliflower Rice
• Butter
• Cream Cheese
• White Cheddar

More Low Carb Keto Friendly Shrimp Recipes from Spinach Tiger

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Keto Cajun Shrimp with Cheesy Cauliflower Grits

Keto, Low Carb, Keto Cajun Shrimp with Cheesy Cauliflower Grits (Grain and Gluten Free)

Course Seafood

Cuisine Cajun

Keyword cajun shrimp, keto bagels

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Cauliflower Grits 20 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1/3 pound bacon
• 1 pound shrimp
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 cup chopped white onion
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon cajun spice I use Tony Chacheres
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• sea salt
• black pepper
• 4 green onions
• parsley, chopped for garnish

Cheesy Cauliflower Grits

• 6 cups cauliflower rice
• 1/2 cup white cheddar cheese
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup chicken broth.

Instructions

Shrimp

• Cut the bacon in lardons about 1/2 inch cross wise. Fry in heavy frying pan
• Once crispy, drain on paper towels.
• Sprinkle cajun seasonings over the shrimp.
• Fry shrimp about 2 minutes in bacon grease. Remove to separate dish.
• Saute chopped onion until softened. Add in chopped garlic.
• Add in broth and white wine. Simmer for five minutes. Add heavy cream and hot sauce.
• Add bacon and shrimp back in.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Garnish with parsley and sliced green onion.
• Serve over cauliflower rice grits (see below) with sauce.

Cauliflower Grits

• Place cauliflower rice into pot. Add cream cheese, white cheddar, salt, pepper, and broth as needed.
• Stir well and cook on low heat.

Nutrition

Serving: 1of 4

The post Keto Cajun Shrimp and Cheesy Cauliflower Grits appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

As an Italian I grew up with a lot of soup and there were always two things on the table. Freshly grated parmesan cheese (or pecorino) and extra virgin olive oil. We couldn’t imagine not having a drizzle of olive oil.

When I first posted this, I wrote about Spectrum® Cayenne Pepper Olive Oil to spice up the soup, loaded with vegetables and give it a memorable kick. 

That drizzle at the end made my husband swoon, but it’s also part of the recipe itself. I’m not sure that cayenne oil is available any longer, but there are a few ways to spice up soup.

How to Spice up the Soup

There is another way to bring spice to soup and that’s with bomba sauce. I’m not sure if that’s easy to find anymore, but another option is to drizzle their extra virgin olive oil at the end and spice up the soup with the bomba sauce, which is fermented Calabrian chilis.

I’ve talked about bomba sauce before, which I purchase at Trader Joe’s, as it has that just right kind of heat.   If you don’t have bomba sauce or cayenne infused olive oil, you can add heat with crushed red pepper.

Olive oil can be drizzled into each bowl upon serving, adjusted for each person’s taste and accompanied with a good helping of Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese.

The Soup

This is the time of year that we are between summer and winter. We have the pick of the best vegetables from both seasons, including cabbage, tomatoes, and butternut squash.

You can make this soup fast or you can make this soup slow. You can make this in a slow cooker all night or all day, or on top of the stove in a dutch oven.

You can cut up every veggie yourself or you can use a selection of frozen. You can use a homemade bone broth like I did, or you can buy a nice organic boxed broth.

Add Seasonal Vegetables to Italian Soup with Sausage

You have options with vegetables. While the important ingredients of this soup include celery, onions, tomatoes, carrots and cabbage, feel free to add or subtract various vegetables you may have on hand. I’ve made this soup with broccoli and zucchini the first time and cubed butternut squash the second time.

If you happen to have some freshly picked seasonal vegetables, add them in. In the summer that would include yellow and green zucchini. In the winter, you might add in broccoli, cauliflower or butternut squash.

I like to sauté my carrots, onion, celery and cabbage for just a few minutes to drive flavor. The sausage is loose Italian sausage that is browned before adding to the soup.

Use Homemade or Organic Store Bought Broth for Italian Soup with Sausage

I always start with a good homemade bone broth and it works well with either my beef broth or chicken broth.  If time is short, I use an organic store bought broth.

My Favorite Italian Sausage

Our favorite Italian sausage comes from Butcher Box, a meat subscription service. I loved it so much, I became an affiliate.  We choose a custom box every month, and are so pleased knowing we are purchasing quality meat, humanely raised.

Easy Prep for Spicy Italian Soup with Sausage 

Let me assure you, once you take the twenty minutes to prep this soup, you can leave it. You will have enough for a few dinners, as it freezes well. 

More Spinach Tiger Soups that Love a Drizzle of Olive Oil

Homemade Beef Vegetable Soup

Italian Eggplant Soup with Sausage 

Italian Wedding Soup

30 Low Carb Vegetables with over 100 Recipes 

More Spinach Tiger Recipes with Italian Sausage

Italian Sausage Crusted Pizza

Italian Sausage with Creamy Spaghetti Squash

Italian Sausage Frittata

Print

Spicy Italian Soup with Sausage

Italian Soup with Sausage

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 4 quarts broth beef broth or chicken broth See Notes
• 1 large can San Marzano tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil to cook sausage
• 1 pound loose Italian sausage
• 1 large onion diced
• 4 carrots diced
• 4 celery stalks diced
• 2 turnips peeled
• 1 small head cabbage
• 1 can red beans
• 1 can white beans or chickpeas
• 1 tablespoon sea salt up to, taste as you go
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• handful parsley leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon bomba sauce see notes
• 1 to 2 cups chopped kale
• 1 handful parsley
• olive oil for drizzling
• Grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan Cheese for Serving

Instructions

• Bone broth can be made in advance and frozen or started 24 hours in advance. Another option is to use 4 quarts store bought organic broth.
• Add broth to slow cooker. Turn cooker on to time you desire. I used the six hour time.
• Chop tomatoes, and add to broth along with the juices.
• Brown Sausage in large frying pan with oil.
• Remove sausage to a dish, and add celery, carrots, onion, cabbage to pan.
• Sauté lightly for just a few minutes to open up flavors. You are not fully cooking.
• Add sausage, and vegetables,(except for kale) to broth.
• Rinse beans with cold water. Drain. Add to broth.
• Add 2 tablespoons Spectrum Cayenne® Pepper Olive Oil
• Add in a handful of parsley, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper.
• Cook in slow cooker for 4 to six hours. I chose six hours.
• Stovetop Option: Cook on low for at least 2 hours making sure cabbage is cooked through.
• Remove ribs from kale. Chop. Add to soup about twenty minutes prior to serving., so that kale is not overcooked.
• Taste for seasoning. Add more salt and pepper as needed.
• Garnish with chopped parsley.
• Serve with Spectrum® Cayenne Pepper Olive Oil and grated cheese.

Notes

Regarding broth, use either chicken or beef.

Instead of cayenne olive oil, use olive oil and add in red chili flakes according to the heat you prefer.

 

This site contains affiliate Amazon links which earn a small commission.

The post Spicy Italian Soup with Sausage Recipe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

How’s your August settling in? Is it time yet for a nice hot spicy cajun stew with shrimp and bacon?

The twins are doing school here for a few weeks in rooms upstairs, and the more they work, the more I feel like cooking something for Spinach Tiger that has tons of flavor, is even better left over.

I spend a lot of time baking, and sometimes forget I am still a cook who loves savory food more than sweets.

Just to give you an example of the day in the life of Spinach Tiger, today I baked three chocolate cakes for the home keto bakery, a blueberry galette for the twins, a torta bianca caprese for the blog, (an Italian lemon cake coming here soon).  Then I excitedly made this cajun cauliflower rice, shrimp and bacon dish for dinner, which was my favorite of the day!

A Peak Behind the Blog 

Before I start cooking or baking, I get up early to write Spinach Tiger and do blog management. At 8:30 Monday through Friday, I host a prayer call for 45 minutes and head to the gym. We are in week 22, and it has been the secret sauce to staying happy in what we could call challenging times.

We have been able to handle the changes with a little extra grace because the prayer, which has been like having a meeting with Jesus every day, has been bringing us peace. It also does something else. It gives us back control. We believe prayer changes things and we believe things don’t change for good without it. Over this twenty two weeks, we have prayed for everything you can imagine and these prayers all point to a healing for our nation, emotionally, physically, spiritually.

I’m especially concerned for those who don’t have enough to eat, who can’t figure out what to do about their kids and school, and who have teenagers who are facing serious loneliness.  The teen years  are the years where people break from parents and form bonds with peers. It’s an important developmental step and missing this socializing is causing depression. These are the things I think about when I’m cooking and when I’m praying.

If you’ve read this far, there is a bonus for you. If you have prayer needs, please let me know. All I need is a first name and my prayer partners and I will cover you. You can leave a comment or email me at angela@spinachtiger.com.

I could go on and on about this but you’re here for dinner and I understand that. It’s just that sometimes I like to give you a peak behind the blog into the person that is so passionate about big fat healthy cooking and baking.

I want to encourage you to find a way to survive these changes in this new life we are all leading.

Keto Shrimp Creole with Cauliflower Rice

This is really a hybrid dish between creole and jambalaya.

Like a creole dish, it’s tomato based, but like a jambalaya the rice (cauliflower rice) is cooked in the sauce.  When using a cauliflower rice, it’s best to let it cook away in the sauce and soak up the flavors.

Like many cajun dishes, it starts with the holy trinity,  green bell pepper, onion, and celery. Creole spices, hot sauce, herbs, and fire-roasted tomatoes round out the dish.

The Tomatoes

The second time I made this I only had my favorite Cento San Marzano Tomatoes and we actually liked the dish better.

The shrimp is added at the last five minutes, ensuring the tenderness of the shrimp.

It takes about twenty minutes to prep, and about 30 minutes to cook. It’s an easy dinner that tastes like you took hours in the kitchen.

You can prep your veggies and your shrimp ahead of time, which will make this a tasty 30-minute dish during the week.

We LOVED this dish, and I mean LOVED!

My Favorite Go to Ingredients for a Keto Diet

I use the organic chicken broth and organic cauliflower rice from Costco. I like the frozen shrimp  from Trader Joe’s. which is are peeled and deveined.

Play Around with Recipe

The next night we added andouille sausage to the left overs, making it more like a creole jambalaya.

Nutrition for Keto Shrimp Creole

There are about 8 net carbs per serving.

More Cauliflower Rice Dinners from Spinach Tiger

Five Shepherd’s Pie Recipes with Cauliflower Mash

Chicken and Cauliflower Rice

Skillet Cheesesteak with Cauliflower

Mustard Roasted Spatchcock Chicken with Whole Roased Cauliflower

More Keto Shrimp Recipes Ideas

Italian Spicy Shrimp with  Zucchini

Keto Shrimp and Scallops in Wine Butter Sauce

Shrimp Scampi

Spicy Shrimp in Onion Tomato Sauce

Shrimp Avocado Salad

More Big Fat Healthy Shrimp Recipes from Spinach Tiger

Print

Keto Shrimp Creole

Shrimp, Bacon, Cauliflower Rice and a big boost of cajun flavor

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Keyword bacon, shrimp, red caulifower rice,

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 7 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Equipment

• Dutch Oven (if using this option)

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon
• 1 cup onion diced
• 1 green bell pepper diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 2 cloves garlic diced
• 1 28 ounce large can San Marzano Italian tomatoes or 2 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons creole spice
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups boxed chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 sprigs thyme can use 1 teaspoon dried
• 3 cups cauliflower rice
• 1 pound shrimp peeled, deveined
• 2 tablespoons parsley chopped
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce optional

Instructions

• Fry bacon in frying pan until crispy. Remove bacon and set aside. Keep bacon grease.
• Add diced green bell pepper, diced onion, diced celery to bacon grease. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add garlic. Sauté for a minute, stirring into the vegetables.
• Add tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, broth, bay leaf, thyme sprigs, creole seasoning, hot sauce, cauliflower rice, salt, pepper.
• Cook for 45 minutes. You can put on a very low simmer at this point and cook up to two hours.
• Once cauliflower is cooked through and broth is reduced by half, add shrimp, and cook for five minutes. Shrimp should be cooked through, but still tender.
• Garnish with chopped parsley.

Notes

Since I first wrote the recipe, I made a second batch replacing the diced tomatoes with a large can of San Marzano Tomatoes, and we actually liked it better. However, both ways work well.

The post Keto Shrimp Creole with Red (Cauliflower) Rice appeared first on Spinach Tiger.