The soup is a delicious combination between spicy and savory. The second it hits your mouth, the savory notes of the Italian sausage combined with cumin take over. It is slowly offset by the rich fats that simmer into the beef stock. On the finish, a slight spice will wash over the back of your tongue, leaving you with the desire to eat more.
Crock pots are extremely useful – they’re convenient, easy to cook with, and you don’t have to babysit them. It’s a true “set it and forget it” method which develops deep flavors without the hassle of continuously checking on it.
I use this Crock Pot, which is only $20 and fits 5 quarts – enough for anyone that is cooking for under 5 people.
The recipe turns out to be almost 8g net carbs per serving. If you’re interested in cutting the carbs there’s a number of ways to do it. The easiest is to leave out the onion. While it adds a great flavor, it won’t take away too much from the soup, and will cut the carb count to a more manageable 5g per serving. If you do this, I suggest adding a bit more spinach to add more volume to the soup. About 2-3 cups more should do.
Yields 4 (1.75-cup) servings of Hot Sausage & Pepper Soup
The Preparation
- 1.4 pounds hot Italian sausage
- 6 cups raw spinach
- 1 medium green bell pepper
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- ½ medium onion
- 1 can tomatoes with jalapenos
- 2 cups beef stock
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
The Execution
1. Slice your peppers and onion into strips length-wise.
2. Remove the casings on your sausages and tear them up into chunks.
3. Place your sausage in a pan on medium-high heat and sear it.
4. While your sausage is cooking, add your tomatoes, spices, and peppers to the crock pot.
5. Continue to sear them until they are fully cooked all the way through.
6. Add your sausage to the crock pot and mix everything well. Keep some fat in the pan so that you can fry the onions and garlic in it.
7. Fry your onions and garlic on medium heat.
8. Once they become translucent, add them to the crock pot. This is where you should pour your beef stock in. Mix everything together well.
9. Set your crock pot to it’s high setting and cover the top with a bed of spinach.
10. Allow this to cook for 3 hours. The spinach should become wilted by this point.
11. Mix everything together and reduce the heat of the crock pot to low.
12. Let it cook on low setting for an additional 2 hours. The sauce should become a darker color, allowing a more rich flavor to run throughout.
13. There will be sausage fat that raises to the top, so stir it well before you serve. As you serve, top with extra sausage fat from the top of the crock pot liquid.
This makes 4 (1.75-cup) servings which comes out to: 658.25 Calories, 54g Fats, 9.65g Net Carbs, and 29.57g Protein.
| Hot Sausage & Pepper Soup | Calories | Fats(g) | Carbs(g) | Fiber(g) | Net Carbs(g) | Protein(g) |
| 1.4 pounds hot Italian sausage | 2346 | 212.42 | 4.41 | 0 | 4.41 | 96.61 |
| 6 cups (180 g) raw spinach | 41 | 0.7 | 6.53 | 4 | 2.53 | 5.15 |
| 1 medium (119 g) green bell pepper | 24 | 0.2 | 5.52 | 2 | 3.52 | 1.02 |
| 1 medium (119 g) red bell pepper | 37 | 0.36 | 7.18 | 2.5 | 4.68 | 1.18 |
| ½ medium (55 g) onion | 22 | 0.06 | 5.14 | 0.9 | 4.24 | 0.61 |
| 1 can tomatoes with jalapenos | 57 | 0 | 11.32 | 2.3 | 9.02 | 2.26 |
| 2 cups beef stock | 62 | 0.43 | 5.76 | 0 | 5.76 | 9.46 |
| 2 teaspoons chili powder | 15 | 0.77 | 2.68 | 1.9 | 0.78 | 0.73 |
| 2 teaspoons cumin | 16 | 0.94 | 1.86 | 0.4 | 1.46 | 0.75 |
| 2 teaspoons minced garlic | 8 | 0.03 | 1.85 | 0.1 | 1.75 | 0.36 |
| 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning | 5 | 0.08 | 1.24 | 0.8 | 0.44 | 0.16 |
| Totals | 2633 | 215.99 | 53.49 | 14.9 | 38.59 | 118.29 |
| Per 1.75-Cup Serving(/4) | 658.25 | 54 | 13.37 | 3.73 | 9.65 | 29.57 |
Hot Sausage & Pepper Soup
Ingredients
- 1.4 pounds hot Italian sausage
- 6 cups raw spinach
- 1 medium green bell pepper
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- ½ medium onion
- 1 can tomatoes with jalapenos
- 2 cups beef stock
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Rip sausage into chunks and cook it all the way through.
- Add sliced peppers, tomatoes, beef stock, and spices to crock pot. Put sausage on top and mix it well.
- Fry up your onions and garlic, add to crock pot when translucent.
- Add bed of spinach on top, let cook for 3 hours on high.
- Stir after 3 hours, set to low and cook for additional 2 hours.
