Zuppa Toscana - Sausage, Potato, Kale & White Bean Tuscan Soup Recipe
This pressure canning recipe for Zuppa Toscana is a flavorful, substantial soup that combines Italian sausage, potatoes, white beans and greens to make a delicious, pantry-ready meal. This recipe was developed using the guidelines in FNH-00065, "Canning Soups and Sauces", a bulletin released by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks Cooperative Extension, which permits using diced celery and onion in make-your-own brothy soup recipes, even though those two ingredients do not have listed individual processing times per the USDA Choice Soup canning guidelines. It has not been individually lab-tested but was written in accordance with these safe-canning guidelines. You can also skip the pressure canning steps, simmer the soup until done, and serve or freeze right away!
Equipment
- large pot
- glass canning jars, rings, and new lids
- canning funnel (optional but helpful)
Ingredients
- 1½ cups dried cannellini or white beans (dry measurement) (soak beans overnight or quick soak- soaking is NOT OPTIONAL for canning & recommended otherwise)
- 4 quarts chicken or vegetable broth (substitute water and 2-3 tbsp bouillon base or powder)
- 1 lb bulk Italian sausage (substitute chopped link Italian sausage)
- 1¼ lb waxy potatoes (red or Yukon Gold) (washed, peeled, & diced, about 1 quart)
- 1 bundle Lacinato or "dinosaur" kale (washed, de-stemmed, & chopped. substitute other kale if necessary, about 2-3 cups loosely packed or one small-medium bundle)
- 12 oz onion, medium diced (2 ½ cups or one large onion)
- 6 oz celery stalks, medium diced (1 ¼ cups or 2-3 stalks)
- 3-6 cloves fresh garlic substitute 1-2 tsp dried garlic powder
- 1 tbsp salt or to taste
- 1 tsp dried oregano or marjoram
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes optional
- ¾ tsp black pepper freshly ground if possible
- ¾ tsp ground fennel seed optional
Instructions
clean & pre-soak your beans:
- Pick through your dried beans, checking for any small stones, twigs, or other foreign matter and rinse your dried beans thoroughly. Stir the pot of water and discard any hollow beans that float (these may have pest damage or be empty hulls).
- Drain the rinse water and then refill and soak your pot of beans using one of the following methods:
- Overnight Soak Method: Soak rinsed beans in a large pot of water with plenty of room for the beans to expand (the pot should be no more than 1/2 to 3/5ths full of dried beans before adding water). Cover and let soak in a cool place for 12-18 hours (refrigerate if your kitchen is hot).
- Quick Soak Method: Proceed as for the overnight soak, but bring the pot of beans and water to a boil on medium-high heat. Boil for two minutes, remove from heat, cover, and let soak for at least an hour.
simmer the soaked beans:
- After your beans have soaked overnight (or heated and quick-soaked), drain and rinse them gently. Refill the pot with clean water to cover the beans by at least 2″.
- Bring to a low boil over medium heat, gently stirring periodically so they don’t scorch on the bottom of the pan.
- Simmer the beans for thirty minutes before combining them with other soup ingredients.
prep pressure canner & jars (skip if freezing or serving immediately):
- Wash your canning jars and new canning lids in hot soapy water and rinse well.
- If you are using reusable lids (like Tattler or Harvest Guard, or Weck jars), follow manufacturer directions to prepare lids and rings.
- Fill your pressure canner with the recommended amount of water (check your canner manual, but at least several inches for this long processing time) and preheat it.
- Preheat the jars in the canner on low-medium heat while the beans simmer (see next step), or keep them hot in your oven, dishwasher, or using your preferred method.
make the soup:
- Wash, peel, and dice all vegetable ingredients, and measure your dry seasonings. If you are using bouillon or stock base instead of stock, mix this with hot or boiling water.
- Crumble and saute the Italian sausage in a large pot over medium heat. When the sausage begins to brown and is cooked through, add the diced onion and celery and small diced kale stems (if you are including these).
- Stir and sweat for a few minutes, then add the chopped garlic and dried seasonings, and saute for a few minutes. Add the peeled & diced potato along with the simmered white beans and their liquid. Stir, and add the washed & chopped kale.
- Add the chicken or vegetable stock, or the pre-mixed bouillon broth, and bring up to a simmer on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes.
if you are NOT canning the soup (otherwise skip to next sections):
- To prepare & serve or freeze the soup immediately, continue to simmer over low heat until the beans and potatoes are tender, another 25-35 minutes, or use the soup setting on your Instant Pot.
- You can finish the Zuppa Toscana soup with cream, a sprinkle of Parmesan, or other dairy *only* if you are not canning the soup. Otherwise, add any of these (if desired) when reheating after opening the jars if you want a richer dish.
to can the soup, first pack the jars:
- Using a jar funnel and ladle or slotted spoon, fill your quart or pint jars NO MORE THAN HALF FULL with the "solids" from the soup. Divide evenly among 7 quart or 14-15 pint jars.
- Divide the hot cooking broth among the jars, leaving 1″ of headspace below the rim at the top of the jar.. If you don’t have enough cooking liquid, top the jars up with more boiling water, broth, or hot stock.
- Debubble the jars with a small spatula, chopstick, or butter knife. Top up with additional liquid if necessary to maintain proper 1" headspace.
- Wipe the jar rims with a clean, damp cloth or paper towel.
- Top with new canning lids (or properly prepared reusable lids). Tighten the rings finger-tight (or according to manufacturer directions).
pressure-can the soup:
- Place the hot filled soup jars in the preheated pressure canner and seal the lid. Heat on medium heat. Vent the canner for 10 minutes once it starts steaming, then add the weight and bring the canner up to pressure over medium low heat.
- Process at 10 lbs of pressure (weighted canner) or 11 lbs (dial gauge). Adjust pressure as needed for your altitude over 1000 sf (15 lbs with weighted canner, consult altitude chart for dial gauge).
- Reset processing timer to zero if canner pressure drops below minimum at any point during processing.
- Process for a full 60 minutes for pint jars, or 75 minutes for quarts or mixed batches of pints and quarts.
- Turn off the heat after the processing time is up. Let the canner rest undisturbed until the pressure returns to zero- do not remove the weight early to vent the steam faster.
- As soon as the pressure releases completely, carefully remove the canner lid.
Cool, check seals, and store:
- Wait another couple minutes, then remove the jars with jar tongs or hot pads, and place them on a towel or cooling rack. Cover jars with a towel if there are cold drafts.
- Leave undisturbed overnight or for at least 8-12 hours when the jars are fully cooled.
- Remove the rings, check for seals, and wash the jars with warm, soapy water.
- Refrigerate any jars of canned soup that did not seal and use those jars promptly. You could reprocess them with new lids within 24 hours of the first processing. You can also transfer to freezer-safe containers and freeze.
Notes
Label the jars and store in a cool, dark place. For best quality, enjoy most home-canned goods within 12-18 months, although they will be safe to eat while the seals are intact. Nutritional value and flavor declines slightly with longer storage (or improper storage conditions).
Discard the contents of any jars that lose seals in storage, smell off, are bubbling, or hiss when opened, and sterilize the jar before using them again.
Nutrition
Calories: 243kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 13gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 1762mgPotassium: 781mgFiber: 5gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 116IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 89mgIron: 3mg
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