This quick and easy spicy sausage soup recipe will warm those chilly winter bones, made with spicy pork sausage, potatoes, serrano and sweet peppers, and a delicious ancho-guajillo paste. Time for a big bowl.
Yeah. It's that time of year. It's freaking COLD where we live. We're in the middle of a cold snap, like most of the country. The temp is 12 degrees at the moment. Yesterday we woke up to -4 degrees F. You know what I call that? COLD!
We're pretty much holed up in the house, waiting it out, but you know what makes it all a little bit better?
You guessed it. SOUP!
Like this one. It's my "'Spicy Sausage Soup" recipe, and even though there are quite a few ingredients within, you can have it in a bowl in about 30 minutes or so, even for a SLOW cook like me who dilly-dallies in the kitchen.
There is a secret ingredient, though, that you'll have to have on hand first - Ancho-Guajillo Paste.
YUM! Go make yourself some of this stuff first. Then you can whip together soups like this in practically no time. I like to keep a container in the fridge pretty much ALWAYS. Just for this sort of meal.
It is slightly smoky and incredibly earthy and just a couple tablespoons brings HUGE flavor to your dishes. It doesn't take long to make, either, about 20 minutes or so, so you can STILL have this crazy awesome soup in under an hour, but please, do yourself a favor and keep this stuff on hand at all times.
Important! For me, anyway.
The rest is easy enough.
Let's talk about how we make it.
Ingredients Needed
- 3 spicy pork sausages crumbled or sliced (Italian sausage is great for this - mmm, Italian Sausage Soup)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium sized potatoes chopped
- 2 serrano peppers chopped
- 1 large red sweet pepper chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- ½ pound tomatillos
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons ancho-guajillo paste
- 1 tablespoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon ancho powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Fresh herbs for topping
The Spicy Sausage Soup Recipe Directions
In a nutshell, you'll cook down the sausage, potatoes, peppers, onion, celery and garlic in a pot until they're browned and softened up, then add everything else to the pot to simmer.
"Everything else" includes tomatillos, chicken broth, your ancho-guajillo paste, and seasonings. Sprinkle in a bit of salt and pepper as well.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at least 20 minutes to let the flavors nicely develop.
That's it! Simple enough, right? You can very easily let it simmer longer if you'd like. The flavors will continue to develop the longer you wait, but at the 30 minute mark, DANG. Good stuff.
And nice and warm and spicy. Just what these cold bones need in winter's icy grip.
Bring on the spicy sausage soup, I say! And extra serrano peppers for me, please. If you'd like to tame the heat, replace the serranos with something milder, like a jalapeno pepper.
If you'd like a bit more heat factor, add in more serranos, or go for a spicier pepper, such as the habanero or Scotch Bonnet. Or hey, ghost peppers are always nice.
I know you love it SPICY!
Other Popular Ingredients
Adding diced tomatoes to the dish is a nice flavor addition. Try it with white beans or other beans. Spinach is nice, as is kale or other types of greens. Just be sure to cook them down long enough.
Also try adding in some pasta noodles to help round out the meal.
Recipe Variations
You can easily make this in a slow cooker or crockpot. Simply follow the instructions, but once you've cooked the sausage, potatoes, peppers, onion, celery and garlic in a pot until they've browned and softened up, add everything to your slow cooker.
Cook it on low for 4 hours, or on high for 2 hours, or until the flavors have developed. Doubling the recipe is very easy.
Try Some of My Other Popular Soup Recipes
- Creamy Roasted Hatch Chili Soup
- Pork Chili
- Cajun Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
- Chicken Tortellini Soup
- 30-Minute Sweet Potato Soup
- Roasted Poblano Soup
- Spicy Pumpkin Soup
- Chunky Southwest Chicken Soup
I also hope you enjoy the soup. Very hearty soup. Let me know if you make it. Send pics! Comments are always welcomed!
-- Mike H.
Spicy Sausage Soup – Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 spicy pork sausages crumbled or sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium sized potatoes chopped
- 2 serrano peppers chopped
- 1 large red sweet pepper chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- ½ pound tomatillos
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons ancho-guajillo paste
- 1 tablespoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon ancho powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- Fresh herbs for topping
Instructions
- Heat a large pot to medium heat and add olive oil. Add the spicy sausage with the potato, peppers, onion and celery. Cook it all down about 10 minutes or so, until everything is nicely browned, stirring often.
- Add the garlic and cook another minute.
- Add the remaining ingredients and stir. Bring to a quick boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. You can simmer longer if you’d like to further develop the flavor.
- Ladle into bowls and top with fresh herbs.
Mabel says
Recipes like this make me wish winter would never end. I could endure any length of chill with a good spicy sausage soup like this one. Wonderful recipe.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent, Mabel! Thanks so much. It's one of my favorites, too. Spicy sausage soup!