Italian Sausage Chowder (Better Than Zuppa Toscana)
Try this delicious Italian sausage chowder that turned a cooking mistake into a delightful meal perfect for fall and winter.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs italian sausage a hot variety
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 large bell pepper diced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb gold potatoes peeled & diced into bite size pieces
- 2 large carrots diced (optional)
- 3 c kale chopped (optional)
- 3-4 c bone broth* see notes
- 1 c parmesan cheese grated
- 1 c heavy cream
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp italian seasoning only add if needed, see notes*
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes only add if needed, see notes*
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet or dutch oven (6qt+) over medium high heat for a few minutes.
- Add in the italian sausage and break into crumbles as it cooks.
- While the sausage is cooking, prepare the garlic, onion, and bell peppers and add to the meat mixture.
- Drain the grease from the sausage, if necessary.
- Peel and dice the potatoes and carrots.
- Once the meat is fully browned, add the potatoes, carrots, salt, and bone broth to the pan.
- Adjust the heat to maintain a simmer, cover and let cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are almost done, stirring occasionally.
- In the last minutes of the potatoes simmering, add the kale.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the parmesan cheese and stir.
- Add the heavy cream. Mix well.
- Taste test!! See notes below.
Notes
Broth: Use 3 cups for a thicker consistency, 4 cups for a soup consistency. This will also vary a bit depending on what vegetables you included. Just make sure you have enough liquid to boil the potatoes. You can always add broth after boiling the potatoes before you add the cream if you want more liquid.
Seasonings: I don’t need to add any seasonings because my Italian sausage is so flavorful. If the sausage you chose needs some more flavor, add increments of ½ tsp of Italian seasoning (and ½ tsp of red pepper flakes, if desired) until it's delicious!