Two secret ingredients do double-duty in this sausage stew: fire- roasted canned tomatoes boost the flavor and add smoky backbone, while a Parmesan rind-which you can get on its own in many supermarkets-adds a savory, just-slightly-cheesy note and tons of body.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 8 hr 10 min |
| Prep: | 10 min |
| Cook: | 8 hr |
| Yield: | 6 to 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 8 ounces dried white beans, such as cannellini, rinsed and picked over
- 6 to 8 sprigs fresh thyme, tied with a piece of kitchen twine
- 1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage links (4 to 6 links)
- One 14.5-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth or stock
- One 4 ounce chunk Parmesan rind, optional, plus grated Parmesan, for serving
- 1/2 cup ditalini pasta
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Crusty bread, for serving
Instructions
- Spread the onions over the bottom of a 5 1/2- to 6-quart slow cooker and top with the carrots, garlic, white beans, thyme bundle and sausage links. Mix the diced tomatoes with the broth and 3 cups water and pour over the sausages. Add the Parmesan rind if using.
- Cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours; the beans will be tender and begin to fall apart.
- Uncover the slow cooker, remove and discard the thyme bundle and Parmesan rind and transfer the sausage links to a cutting board. Stir the pasta into the stew and continue to cook, covered, until the pasta is cooked through, about 20 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Cut the sausages into bite-size pieces and stir into the stew along with the parsley and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with grated Parmesan on the side for sprinkling on top and crusty bread for soaking up the broth.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 483 |
| Total Fat | 27 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Carbohydrates | 34 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Protein | 26 g |
| Cholesterol | 63 mg |
| Sodium | 853 mg |
Reviews
Made this recipe exactly as written today and am very disappointed. I cooked on low for 7.5 hours and the beans were not done. The taste was awful, like it was rancid, so we ended up throwing out the entire pot. This is awful. Do not make this recipe.
Your recipes are excellent and I’ve leaned a great deal from you. That said, you really need to learn how to use commas. You put them where they don’t belong and omit them where they do belong.
I didn’t use slow cooker. Cooked sausage first then sautéed diced onions and carrots with garlic, thyme, crushed red pepper flakes. Used crushed tomatoes rather than diced tomatoes for more flavor and added 2 cans of small white beans. Simmered everything for 2 hours. Very good!
Complete miss in my family. Way too watery. Bland. A lot of good ideas here but just doesn’t come together well at all.
This was so easy and delicious! I’ll make it again. I bought canned white beans and it was fine. I have to admit the dried beans would have been tastier but still good
Do you need to soak the beans first?
Similar to some of the other reviewers, I used the following in addition to or in place of:
-1 carton of chicken broth (which equals 4 cups broth) + 2 cups water
-hot Italian sausage
-chopped fresh spinach added at the end of cooking time
-needed to heavily salt & pepper
-1 carton of chicken broth (which equals 4 cups broth) + 2 cups water
-hot Italian sausage
-chopped fresh spinach added at the end of cooking time
-needed to heavily salt & pepper
I made this in the Crock Pot, cooking for 8 hours on Low. One change that I will make in the future will be to add the sausages after the soup has been cooking for 4-5 hours. Having the sausage cook for 7.5 hours in the Crock Pot made the sausage texture really mealy, which I found to not be the best texture. I do feel like this recipe needs a little extra Oomph of flavor, but you can do that on your own accord.
This was a really good slow cooker meal, very easy to throw together. I did sear the sausages first. Also my kinds loved it. I used some rosemary as well as thyme.
Stove top method is super easy and doesn’t take long. Seared the sausages in a pan first and cut them before putting them into the stew. I used 32oz of chicken broth and a cup of water so we didn’t lose flavor. Simmered it for about 45 minutes and it’s perfect!
I did everything right, but it tasted so wrong… maybe a better piece of parm rind ? Maybe a higher end can of roasted tomatoes, maybe sear the sausage ? And then again maybe I just won’t make this again… tasteless! We added chili oil, extra parm s&p. So sad 🙁