This is a super simple, one-pot, soup with pasta and Italian sausage that’s packed with flavour and eats like a meal! The star of the show is Italian sausage which brings a ton of flavour all by itself. This soup is filled out with pasta which is cooked in the soup, making for an easy one-pot meal. Seasonings include onions, garlic, fennel, and Italian herbs, along with some red pepper flakes for even more heat. In addition to all of the flavour that’s already packed in, the broth is a base of chicken broth with tomatoes and it’s made nice and creamy, and oh so good, with cream, cream cheese and plenty of parmesan cheese! There is something that’s just magical about the flavour combo of Italian sausage and tomatoes in a creamy parmesan broth! This soup is the perfect comfort food for cool winter days!
Creamy Parmesan Italian Sausage Soup
A tasty Italian sausage and pasta soup with a creamy parmesan and tomato broth!
ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
- 8 ounces pasta such as ditalini (gluten-free for gluten-free)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (or oregano)
- 1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated
- 4 ounces cream cheese (warmed)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (whipping cream)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
directions
- Cook the sausage and onion in a large saucepan until cooked, breaking the sausage apart as it cooks, before draining any excess grease.
- Add the garlic, fennel, and red pepper flakes, mix, and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the broth, tomatoes, pasta, and Italian seasoning, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the pasta is cooked, al-dente, about 6-8 minutes.
- Add the parmesan, cream cheese, and cream, and let the cheeses melt into the soup, about 3-5 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, mix in the parsley and enjoy!
Option: Add 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch (mixed into 2 tablespoons cool water) to the soup near the end and simmer to thicken.
Option: Omit the pasta; also remove 1 cup chicken broth.
Option: Add 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, diced!
Option: Add 4 ounces fresh baby spinach at the end and let it wilt into the soup!
Option: Add 2 tablespoons of sliced basil just before serving!
Option: Garnish with more parmesan!
Tip: The pasta will have the best texture when served right after cooking. It stores well in the fridge but it will continue to absorb the broth so if you have leftovers you will need to add some more water or broth before reheating. If you do not plan to eat the whole batch of soup right away, you can leave the pasta out, cook it separately and add it to the soup when you are ready to eat it!
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Kevin! You are the best!! I look forward to your recipes every day and have made most of them. Thank you for posting every day. You add sunshine to my day!
Made this tonight and it was delish!! Followed recipe, used no salt tomatoes and no salt broth.
This soup is outstanding! My husband doesn’t really enjoy soup, but I thought I’d give it a try because he loves Italian sausage and Parmesan cheese. He loved it! It was easy to make and very flavorful! I used 2% milk because I try to save the heavy cream for holidays. I just found your blog and am loving it! I made the Hawaiian Meatballs last week and they were a hit with my husband, too! Thank you very much!,
Yummy would recommend..Thank you
Excellent recipe! Cut in half since only 2 of us were eating it. Used spicy sausage and rotel for the tomatoes. Delish!
A recipe that is definitely a keeper. prep was quick and easy. Taste of the finished soup was incredible. I did add a can of drained and rinsed garbanzo beans for the added protein and fiber. YUM YUM!!
Another winner! Such delicious soup. I would add the pasta sparingly if you plan on keeping soup for leftovers. The pasta soaks up most of the broth.
Made this my parmesan rind soup of the month. if you dont do something fun with your rinds you are missing out on easily 30% of the value of using whole parmesan in your day to day! The bonus is when you use the rind in something like this take it to the next level! I also used fresh tomatoes instead of canned and a bulb of fennel cut thin and added to onion sausage for about the last 5 minutes. Prego!
Can you freeze this soup cause it has whipping cream in it?
This soup freezes well!
We sadly didn’t have any left over to freeze…next time I’m doubling the recipe!
I would like to add kale. Would you suggest increasing any of the liquids?
When adding kale I like to: Add 1+ cup kale; thinly sliced or chopped; lightly massage it until it turns from light green to dark green (this helps tenderise it without requiring a long simmer time); add it to the soup near the end (step 3.5), no extra liquid required, and simmer for 5 minutes. Enjoy!
I never leave reviews, but I prepped this for dinner tonight (it’s 3pm) and I literally can’t stop eating it. I’m a huge soup lover and this is my new favorite hands down! I made it just as written. Thanks for the great recipe!
Olive Garden doesn’t have anything on whoever makes this lol. I think it needs a little more broth but other than that it is soooo good. The taste is delicious!
This was SO GOOD! Even my 1 year old and 3 year old devoured it. It would also be great with extra broth, spinach or kale.
this soup is delicious!!!! I didn’t do pasta it’s going to my brother and sister in law (my bff) who I’m visiting tomorrow I added fresh spinach and I used Hot sausage. this is a keeper
This soup is fantastic!! I’ve made it twice now, and it’s definitely a keeper! Great flavor! Even my picky eaters enjoyed it! Thanks for the great recipe!!
Made this tonight for dinner and my whole family loved it, even my picky eater asked for seconds!
My 96 year old mom printed off this recipe and wanted me to make it for her. But she is a heart failure patient and this recipe as written has an obscene amount of sodium. I usually make recipes as written the first time and then adjust, but just couldn’t do it with this one. If you want to make a healthier version of this, find a recipe for Italian Sausage seasoning and reduce the salt by a lot. I reduced the recipe I found from 2 tsp to 1/2 tsp. I did use ground turkey instead of pork, but you could use any ground meat and still reduce the sodium by alt. I also used no salt tomatoes and reduced sodium chicken stock. And since I was reducing sodium anyway, I didn’t include the parmesan cheese but we sprinkled it on top of our bowls of soup. I doubt we sprinkled on 1/6 of 1/2 cup of parmesan. Even with all those changes, it really was delicious!! Sorry Kevin for making so many changes to your recipe.
I’m assuming you used ground turkey and added a little bit of the Italian seasoning to it?
She is 96. Let her have something good.
OMG, I totally agree!
So true Dee.
This recipe will be added to my family favorites! The prep time was reasonable and this was absolutely delish! We did use the option to thicken the soup and it was perfection!
This recipe is so wonderful. I made it exactly as written and we gobbled it up! You know it’s good when you’re pumped for leftovers for lunch 🙂
This is our new favorite recipe! I made it for the third time last night and doubled the pasta to make a hearty pasta dish instead of a soup and it worked! Served with a side salad and garlic bread for a stellar meal!
We loved this soup.. Easy to make and delicious. I forgot to add the fennel but will add next time. Thank you for a great recipe that will be in the rotation.
Can this be cooked in a crock pot? Like dump all ingredients and just let cook on low for 4 hours?
You can cook this in a crockpot in a ‘dump and cook’ style. You can cook the sausage before adding to the crockpot OR you could slice the sausage into bite sized pieces and let it cook in the crockpot. Leave the pasta, parmesan, cream cheese, and cream out of the crockpot initially. When the soup is done, add the pasta and cook on high until tender, about 8 minutes, before turning off the heat and mixing in the parmesan, cream cheese, and cream. Enjoy!
How long in the crock pot?
If you implement step 1-2 before transferring to the slow cooker, it does not need much time, but you can leave it in all day if you are out for work, etc. So let it cook on LOW heat for as long as you want, 2-10 hours. When you are getting ready to serve, add the pasta and cook n high until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes, before turning off the heat and mixing in the cheese, cream cheese and cream.
My husband said the person who came up with this recipe is a genius. Absolutely delicious, and so easy.
What can be used as a substitute for fennel?
You can simply omit the fennel!
Delicious! I left out the fennel and red pepper flakes, but followed the rest of the recipe as written. Big hit with the whole family!
This is a very delicious soup. I did not add salt and used unsalted chicken broth just because I try to minimize salt intake, the parmesan and cream cheese replaces the salt. I added about half a cup of chopped spinach at the end just to add more color, it was a great addition. I love soups and this is right up there with the Zuppa Tuscana I make. Going back for seconds and very possibly for a third helping.
Wow! This soup smelled, looked, and tasted like restaurant quality – but BETTER! I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out absolutely delicious! This recipe is a keeper and I’ll definitely make it again for my family.
This is the best recipe. It’s fast simple AND DELICIOUS ! I’m not a huge fan of fennel but I just use rosemary. I’ve given this recipe out so many times it’s crazy.
Thank you so much!
Wow! Testing recipes for a luncheon, I came upon this and it is the perfect soup for our Italian luncheon! I used chicken Italian sausage as one of the guests doesn’t eat pork or beef and it was delish! Glad I found your website!
This recipe looks delicious – I can’t wait to try it! Just a quick question: if we aren’t big lovers of cream cheese, would it change the recipe too much to omit it or substitute with something else? Thanks so much!
You can omit it or replace it with an additional 1/2 heavy cream. Enjoy!
Are the calories noted, per cup or the entire dinner?
The Nutrition Facts are per serving which is about 2 cups.
I made this tonight for the second time and it was absolutely delicious! I changed nothing and my whole family devoured it!
This is the second time I made the soup and my whole family loves it. The only thing I did not have was the fennel seed.! Which honestly, it was delicious anyway!
Question! I can’t eat any dairy (I have dairy free cream cheese so I can add that) but any idea what I can use instead of whipping cream? Would the soup be okay without it?
You could replace the cream with more dairy free cream cheese, or you could use a non dairy milk (almond, cashew, etc.), or you could replace the cream with more broth. Enjoy!
Silk makes a non dairy heavy cream!! It’s been a great for all my recipes that call for heavy cream!!
This soup was delicious!
What type of onion does this recipe use?
I usually use basic yellow onions but white, red, etc will work. Enjoy!
This was beyond delicious! Made it exactly as written and will be making part of our winter menu often. Perfect with crusty bread. Thank you.
Love this recipe. So delicious. But the continuous pop up ads make it so difficult to follow. I ended up printing the recipe and deleting it off Pinterest due to the ads. I don’t mind a pop up when I first pull up the recipe, I understand advertising needs. But it keeps popping up every 1-2 minutes. Go so frustrated with it.
Hi Christy,
if your light me and using a mobile device, to the right of these entire web page you should see three dots. click on those and scroll all the way down to site settings and you can simply turn all of them off! I understand the need for them too but they can be very discouraging when visiting a site and trying to read the information. Hope this helps, and happy cooking!
#BrendaMInTN
Definitely has great flavor. It really packs some heat between the hot Italian sausage and the crushed red pepper. It was easy to make and came together quickly. I do have a few comments for improvement based on my experience. It needs more than 4 cups of broth. I only had 7 oz of pasta but it was clear that more chicken broth was needed. I added 2 more cups while the pasta was cooking which helped. I left the soup to cool down in the stockpot before putting in the fridge and there was no broth left at all. The consistency became more like a chili mac. Next time I am going to use 8 cups total: 6 to cook and 2 more to thin out after it sits (maybe even wait to add at time of reheating). My only other thought for improvement was, while tasty with great flavor, there is just too much sausage. I saw another reviewer suggest ground turkey and I think something along that line is a great idea. I am going to buy the Jennie-O hot Italian turkey links next time.
Oh my goodness this is DELICIOUS! I followed the recipe exactly. The pasta makes it less soupy, so I am thinking I need to add water when I reheat it. Any suggestions? Maybe less pasta next time. Taste is FABULOUS!
The pasta absorbs the broth when it’s in the fridge so I usually add some extra water when reheating!
I just made this for dinner – I doubled the recipe but followed to the t- it is so delicious!! I will start following you to see more of your recipes; thank you for sharing this one!!
This will be going on rotation. I decided right away not to use pasta and I only had 1/2lb of sausage but I had 1/2lb of mushrooms, 1 and a partial red and yellow pepper and some whole garlic. I roasted the peppers, and garlic in the oven, and then puréed the peppers and garlic in a little bit of the soup broth, and threw the mushrooms in whole/sliced. At the very end I threw in a handful of fresh chopped spinach, that also needed to get used. Absolutely delicious.
This is delicious! I added some chopped broccoli from the fridge because it was about to go bad, and about a cup of tomato juice to make it “soupier” This is definitely in our top 5 soup recipes! Thanks!
Could I make it with wild rice instead of pasta? Thank you!
Yes you can! You will need to simmer longer, about 20 minutes for the rice to cook. Enjoy!
First let me say, normally don’t leave comments on people’s blogs, but I had to say something about this recipe. If this is cooking in the closet; man this recipe should’ve made you come out! Wow! Beyond delicious! I am excited I found your closet and your recipe. Kudos to you! Thank you for your love of food and sharing your love with the rest of us!
I stumbled on this site and the creamy Parm Italian Sausage Soup. I decided to give it a try. Without reservation, I can honestly say this is the most delicious soup I’ve ever made and I’ve made a lot of soups! I loved everything about this one. It was SO flavorful and extremely easy to make. I needed to serve more than the recipe served so I just doubled the broth and tossed in a little extra pasta. It was perfect and got rave reviews!
So delicious, and it was fast and easy too. I can’t wait to share this recipe with family, I think they will love it. Now I’m going to look at your other recipes, but first I’m going in for seconds!
I normally don’t eat leftovers, but this soup was so good I ate it for lunch and dinner the next day, still have enough for lunch tomorrow!
Just made this! It was delish! My husband had a heart transplant so did make some changes! Used no salt added chicken broth and no salt tomatoes. Also used half the pasta and added 1 small potato and fresh spinach! Also used salt substitute. Loved the fennel flavor!
Thank you for this delicious recipe. My husband and I love it! This is my second time to make it. I did add some spinach I needed to get rid of, half and half instead of cream, and half of the red pepper flakes this time. My husband will add more to his bowl because he loves spicy stuff. I agree with others that this is the easiest and tastiest soup I’ve ever made. You get first place in my book!
Made the soup today for the first time. Flavor is wonderful. The only change I made was cooking the pasta in the chicken broth and then adding that broth to my pot. I was concerned to cook the pasta in the soup because it’s only myself and my husband so we wouldn’t finish the soup and the pasta would get mushy.
Excellent recipe!! I’m a big fan of sun dried tomatoes so next time I might add or replace the canned tomatoes with sun dried. Either way, this is an excellent recipe just how it is!! Thank you so much for sharing!
I won my staff Soup-er Bowl with this soup!!
I add extra broth otherwise it’s the same! Mmmm!
This soup is the BEST! I made it for a girls weekend and everyone asked for the recipe. It’s delish!
What adjustments would you make if you wanted it thicker, less soupy?
This soup is pretty low on broth as written. You could cut back on broth for less broth or you can add cornstarch near the end to thicken the broth. (Add 1 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed into 1 tablespoon of cool water, near the end, bring to a boil and simmer until the broth thickens, about 2-3 minutes.) Enjoy!
Made this tonight for the first time and my husband stated it was, “one of the best soups he’s ever had.” I can’t stress enough how high praise that is coming from him. He’s very picky so I almost never get feedback from him on dinner. Two of my three kids also liked it, so I consider that an all-around success. I omitted the heavy cream, fennel, and red pepper flakes, as well as using chicken stock instead of broth. We’ll definitely be having this again soon!
Do you use sweet or spicy Italian sausage?
I like to use spicy but sweet works as well!
Delicious and came together so quickly!
Has anyone made this in the insta-Jennpot? Just curious as to how many minutes to cook it
Has anyone made this in the insta-pot? Just curious as to how many minutes to cook it
Made this and it was a huge hit! I didn’t have cream cheese but otherwise followed the recipe and it was perfect. Will be making over and over again
It’s the hottest part of summer in Florida, but I just made this soup and it is DELICIOUS! I made it with hot Italian sausage and didn’t add the fennel. My husband loves spicy food so next time I’ll use Rotel instead of the petite diced tomatoes.
Oh my goodness! Made this tonight for dinner & family all had 2 servings! Will be putting this on my rotation!
Thanks for a great soup!
I love soup and fall! They go hand and hand! I cannot believe I’ve never had this soup. Delish! I did improvise by adding 1 can of rinsed and drained canoli beans and I used gluten free farfalle. Will be a regular recipe for my family!
Wow, this soup is soooo good! Everyone loved it, tweens and teens included! I will be making this all fall and winter long.
It was absolutely delicious!! Everything about this soup was just *chef’s kiss*
This is SO good! It does have some kick to it between the sausage and pepper flakes but we like spice. I didn’t add any heavy cream and instead used about 6oz of cream cheese because heavy cream upsets our stomaches. Added a little extra past too. Served it with grilled cheese on this windy, chilly gloomy day.
Hi! Are your nutrition facts per one serving? What is considered 1 serving here?
The Nutrition Facts are per serving with the recipe making about 6 servings each of which are about 2 cups.
Thoughts on substituting ditalini with orzo?
Orzo works well in this soup! Enjoy!
This recipe was so good. Just made it tonight and it was perfect for my husband who likes spicy food. If you don’t like spice, I would omit how much red pepper flakes you use cuz it was SPICY. Will also use this recipe for postpartum frozen meals once I have my baby!
Very tasty. I did add the roasted red peppers and spinach. I used orzo bc that’s what I had. Cooked it separately since I knew we couldn’t eat it all. 8oz was way too much. Not sure if it was because of the sub of orzo. Definitely a keeper!
Absolutely delicious! And, very easy to put together. We have about 4 inches of snow on the ground and single digit temperatures. This tasty soup along with garlic bread was the perfect meal on a cold winter night. Thanks for sharing!
This was so easy to make and so good! Thank you!
Sounds great! But why do you (and others) suggest using “Italian sausage, casings removed”? Why don’t you just use bulk Italian sausage? Sounds a bit simpler to me. Thanks.
Whole family loved the soup! Usually part of our weekly dinner rotation now. We like a thick almost stew like consistency so I added some corn starch towards the end. Worked great. Any tips on how to not get the cream to curdle with the tomatoes? I tried to temper the cream with some of the broth/tomatoes and it still curdled. Still tasted good at least lol!
Dear Kevin:
My partner does not like cream cheese and won’t eat anything with cream cheese in it. I guess I could just leave it out. If I do, should I increase something else that’s already in the recipe?
You can omit the cream cheese or replace it with an additional 1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream. Enjoy!
if you freeze – do you keep the pasta separate or freeze the pasta with it?
For the pasta to be in the best shape that it can be, cook it (al-dente) and add it to the soup just before serving. Having said that, I have stored the soup with the pasta in it, in the fridge and the freezer and it still tastes great! The pasta gets a little soft and mushy.