Pasta-Sausage Soup

Pasta-sausage soup is a big fave around our house. Italian sausage just naturally goes well with pasta, and the little bit of Worcestershire sauce lends a big hit of flavor and adds to the umami of this soup. The basil rounds out the flavors and brings it all together.

I got this recipe years ago from a friend that I’ve sadly lost track of. It seems so hard to keep in touch sometimes, and I really treasure the friendships I’ve been able to maintain.

So, this recipe is a little different from other soups I’ve tried. I rarely see a soup that includes Italian sausage (or bowtie pasta for that matter). In spite of those two ingredients, it’s a fairly light soup, and it’s just as tasty in the heat of the summer as it is on a cold winter day.

Pasta-sausage soup also fits perfectly into my lunch prep strategy – there’s a protein, a carbohydrate, and tons of vegetables to add important vitamins. The bowtie pasta (usually labeled as farfalle on the package) also holds its shape and doesn’t become soggy even after several days. Here, the recipe is scaled to 10 servings; it will serve two people for lunches through the entire work week.

Before this recipe, I hadn’t used Worcestershire sauce in much, if any of my cooking. The ingredients list for Worcestershire sauce, I gotta say, are a little… well… off-putting to say the least. Fermented anchovies were used in the original recipe for Worcestershire sauce, but it’s hard to tell if they still are in certain brands. Nonetheless, Worcestershire adds a lot to this recipe by complimenting the flavor of the sausage and adding what my sis calls a ‘schwangy’ taste to the soup.

How to Make Pasta-Sausage Soup

Pasta-sausage soup is also fast and easy to prepare! You simply remove the sausage from its casings (if you bought sausage links rather than bulk Italian sausage). Crumble it into your soup pot and cook over medium heat, stirring and breaking it into finer chunks as you go. Remove the sausage and drain all but a tablespoon of the drippings.

Then, add the chopped onion, bell pepper and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent and bell pepper is tender. Add back the sausage and all remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer, and simmer over low heat until the pasta is tender – which should be about 15 to 20 minutes.

Pasta-sausage soup is so easy, I didn’t take photos of the (very few) steps involved. Let me know in the comments section below if you think they’d be helpful.

Print