Harvest Pumpkin and Sausage Soup
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs fresh sausage
- ½ oz. white onions, minced
- 1 (4 oz.) small red bell pepper, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ tsp rubbed dried sage
- ½ tsp ground dried thyme
- ½ tsp red chili peppers flakes (optional)
- ½ cup pumpkin puree or crushed tomatoes
- 1½ cups chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tbsp salted butter
Instructions
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Use a large skillet to brown the sausage, onion, and pepper on medium high heat.
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When pork is thoroughly cooked and the onions and pepper are browned (about 10 to 15 minutes), sprinkle in the seasonings and stir to mix.
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Stir in the pumpkin, broth, and cream. Simmer uncovered on low heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until the soup has thickened.
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Add the butter, stir well, and serve warm.
Tips
You can also make this a more hearty meal by browning 1 cup of sliced mushrooms with the sausage, onion, and pepper and adding it to the soup.
Also, don’t skimp on the time it takes to brown the sausage and veggies well. Getting them richly browned adds a lot of flavor to the finished soup.
If you avoid eating pork, you can substitute an equal amount of shredded chicken thighs for the ground pork.
While I don’t drain the fat from the sausage, some people prefer to do so. Whether to drain the fat or not often depends on how much fat is generated from the sausage and personal preference.
Fresh sausage means raw sausage that you need to cook. You can squeeze it out of the casing to cook like ground meat.
Dairy free
If you want to make this soup dairy-free, just use coconut cream instead of the heavy cream and skip the butter.