Italian Sausage Soup (Instant Pot or Stovetop)

This easy Italian Sausage Soup is flavored with pesto and it can be made with chickpeas or use cauliflower rice for lower carbs! And you can make this tasty soup with Italian Sausage in the Instant Pot or on the stove.

PIN Italian Sausage Soup to make it later!

This easy Italian Sausage Soup will have an option that works for you whether you’re ready to get right back on track with low-carb eating, or still needing some comfort food! If you still need some carbs in your life, make the soup as shown with one can of garbanzo beans. If you’re being stricter on carbs (or ready to cut back!) switch out the garbanzo beans for a package of frozen cauliflower rice.

And there are both Instant Pot and stovetop directions for this tasty Italian sausage soup. No matter what version of this versatile soup you end up with, I promise it’s going to be delicious. I hope you’ll try it if your family enjoys Italian sausage!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

• onion
• green bell pepper
• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
• 15 oz. can chickpeas (or frozen cauliflower rice)
• Italian sausage
• canned chicken broth (affiliate link)
• canned petite diced tomatoes
• Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link)
• red pepper flakes (optional)
• Basil Pesto (affiliate link)

What Italian Sausage did I use did I use for this Soup?

I used to use Turkey Italian Sausage for this soup, and I like the hot version that’s a bit spicy. But now I can’t find turkey sausage that often, so use pork Italian Sausage if you prefer, or if you can’t find turkey sausage. And you might want to switch it out for Sweet Italian Sausage if you’re making the soup for kids

Want to make Italian Sausage Soup that’s lower in carbs?

For a version of this soup that’s lower in carbs, just switch out the chickpeas for a 10 oz. or 12 0z. package of frozen cauliflower rice.

What Size Instant Pot Did I Use?

I use a 6 Quart Instant Pot (affiliate link) for all my Instant Pot Recipes, including this one. You can check out all my Instant Pot Recipes if you’re also a fan.

How to Make Italian Sausage Soup (Instant Pot or Stovetop):

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Chop onion and green bell pepper. Heat olive oil in the Instant Pot on SAUTE, MEDIUM, and cook the onion and bell pepper 2-3 minutes; add minced garlic and cook 1 minute.
2. While those ingredients cook, drain garbanzos into a colander and rinse with cold water. (You can mash them slightly with a potato masher (affiliate link) if you’d like smaller chunks of beans in the soup.)
3. Add the other teaspoon of olive oil, and crumble the Italian Sausage into the Instant Pot. Cook sausage, breaking apart with the turner, until sausage is browned.
4. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, garbanzo beans (or frozen cauliflower rice), Italian Herb Seasoning, and red pepper flakes (optional) to the Instant Pot.
5. Lock lid and set Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, 5 minutes.
6. When cooking time is up, let pressure release naturally for 10-15 minutes, then release the rest of the pressure.
7. Add the basil pesto and set the Instant Pot to SAUTE, LOW and cook about 5-10 minutes more to blend flavors.
8. Serve hot, with Parmesan cheese to add at the table if desired.

Who else loves Italian Sausage?

p style=”text-align: justify;”>Check out Low-Carb and Keto Italian Sausage Recipes if you’re also a fan of that spicy sausage.

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe for Italian Sausage Soup has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

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Yield: 6 servings

Italian Sausage Soup (Instant Pot or Stovetop)

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Additional Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

This easy Italian Sausage Soup is flavored with pesto, and it can be made in the Instant Pot of on the stove! Use garbanzo beans, or replace them with frozen cauliflower rice if you want fewer carbs.

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped small
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped small
• 1 T olive oil, divided
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1 15 oz. can chickpeas (see notes)
• 1 19.5 oz. pkg. Italian sausage (see notes)
• 3 14 oz. cans chicken broth (see notes)
• 1 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
• 2 tsp. Italian Herb Blend
• pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/4 cup basil pesto (see notes)

Instructions

1. Chop the onion and green bell pepper.
2. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in the Instant Pot on SAUTE, MEDIUM, and cook the onion and bell pepper 2-3 minutes or until barely starting to brown. Add minced garlic and cook 1 minute longer.
3. While those aromatic ingredients cook, drain garbanzos into a colander placed in the sink and rinse with cold water. (You can mash them slightly with a potato masher (affiliate link) if you'd like smaller chunks of beans in the soup, but we didn't do that this time.)
4. Push onions and peppers to the side, add the other teaspoon of olive oil, and crumble the Italian Sausage into the Instant Pot. Cook sausage, breaking apart with the turner, until sausage is nicely browned.
5. Add the chicken broth, petite diced tomatoes, drained garbanzo beans (or frozen cauliflower rice), Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link), and a pinch of red pepper flakes (optional) to the Instant Pot.
6. Lock lid and set Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, 5 minutes.
7. When cooking time is up, let pressure release naturally for 10-15 minutes, then release the rest of the pressure.
8. Add the basil pesto and set the Instant Pot to SAUTE, LOW and cook about 5-1o minutes more to blend flavors.
9. Serve Italian Sausage Soup hot, with Parmesan cheese to add at the table if desired.

STOVETOP DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan and saute the onion and green bell pepper.  Add garlic and cook about 1 minute more.
2. Add the vegetables to soup pot with the chicken broth, petite diced tomatoes, Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link), and red pepper flakes (if using) start to simmer the soup over medium heat. (Use one more cup chicken stock for stovetop cooking.)
3. Heat the other teaspoon of oil in the frying pan, squeeze the sausage out of the links, and brown the sausage, breaking apart with a turner as it cooks.
4. While the sausage browns, rinse garbanzo beans as above, and mash if desired.
5. Add the browned Italian sausage and drained beans (or frozen cauliflower rice) to the soup, turn heat to low, and simmer about 30 minutes. (Longer cooking time won’t hurt, even as long as a couple of hours.)
6. After the soup has simmered enough to blend flavors. stir in the basil pesto and cook about 10 minutes more.
7. Serve hot, with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese to add at the table if desired.

Notes

For a version of this soup with fewer carbs, switch out the can of garbanzo beans for one 12 oz. package frozen cauliflower rice. Using cauliflower rice will lower the carbs to about 15 carbs per serving (and calories, fiber, sugar, and protein will also be slightly less.)

I'd love this soup with turkey Italian sausage, but use pork sausage if you prefer.

You can use 5 cups homemade chicken stock if you prefer. Use one more cup chicken stock for stovetop cooking.

I love using my frozen Basil Pesto with Lemon for this recipe, but I use my favorite purchased pesto when I don't have any in the freezer.

Recipe created by Kalyn and updated for the Instant Pot December 2019.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 545Total Fat 37gSaturated Fat 11gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 27gCholesterol 62mgSodium 1841mgCarbohydrates 28gFiber 7gSugar 9gProtein 27g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
If you’d like a soup with Italian sausage that’s a bit lower in carbs, just replace the garbanzo beans in this recipe with a package of frozen cauliflower rice. Use lean turkey Italian Sausage to make this a soup that’s suitable for all phases of the original South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Soup Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This Italian Sausage Soup with garbanzo beans and pesto was posted in 2014. It was updated in 2019 with better photos and the option to make it a lower-carb soup. It was last updated with more information in 2025.

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