This turkey sausage + kale soup is super filling and loaded with goodness, with just a little kick to make it interesting. Make a pot and have nutritious lunches ready for you all week!

One of my absolute favourite foods is soup! I like it from a can, laden with sodium (if we’re being honest here), I like it cold in a shotglass at a cocktail party, I like it as an appetizer at a restaurant, but I REALLY like it at home when I’ve made it myself.

Soup is a great food for maintaining a healthy weight as it’s loaded with liquid (obviously) to fill you up and – unless it’s cream-based – is usually light on calories but very satisfying. This soup is loaded with fibre, vitamins & protein. It’s a total meal in one.

I call it “instant” soup because it’s a one-pot, no-prep wonder. I do tend to make it with homemade chicken stock, after we’ve roasted or BBQd a whole chicken and I’ve simmered it down to get several cups of stock. Stock in a box works just fine – trust me – and that’s what I’ve based this recipe on, because it’s much less time consuming. If you’ve got homemade stock, even better!

A note about beans: white beans or black beans would also work well in this soup as they will hold their texture. My family are not big bean eaters, and chickpeas seem to be an easier sell! 

turkey sausage, kale + chickpea soup 

serves 6-8

• 1 lb. turkey sausage
• 1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed to reduce sodium
• 1 bunch lacinato kale, rinsed/chopped (regular kale works fine, too)
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeño, seeded/diced (optional)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 cup passata or crushed tomatoes
• 1.5 L (about 1.5 cartons) no- or low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tsp. each paprika, cumin, oregano
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed
• 1-2 tbsp. fresh lime juice

1. Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat (not to smoking point); squeeze sausage from casings into pot and saute until browned. 2. Add chili powder, paprika, cumin, fennel, jalapeno, onion & garlic; sauté 1-2 minutes until softened. 3. Add passata, broth & oregano; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes. 4. Add chickpeas and kale; simmer 4-5 minutes until softened. 5. Add lime juice just before serving.