A bowl of this Vegan White Bean and Sausage Soup is perfectly comforting and flavorful. With a creamy broth, hearty white beans, and nourishing greens, this is sure to be a favorite vegan soup recipe.
If you’re looking for a hearty yet healthy creamy soup, look no further! This delicious and simple Vegan White Bean & Sausage Soup is warm and cozy, and it makes for a really satisfying meal or starter.
It’s packed with creamy great northern beans, vegetables, spinach and vegan sausage. This soup can be a meal all on its own! It’s also made all in one pot, which makes it simple to put together.
The flavor for this soup comes first from the onions, celery and carrot base. Then the vegan sausage is browned for extra flavor, plus a variety of dried herbs and spices. Nutritional yeast and lemon juice are two additional flavor powerhouses that provide tasty depth as well!
Tips and Process to Make this Vegan White Bean and Sausage Soup
This soup comes together simply and easily in one pot!
Start by chopping the onions, carrots and celery. They go into the pot with some salt and pepper, then a few minutes later add the vegan sausage. I used Lightlife “Gimme Lean” Plant-based Sausage, but you can use your favorite vegan sausage or meat substitute. You’ll want to use one that is able to brown / crisp up when cooking in the pan. This is to avoid having the “meat” get mushy when the liquids come in….like the vegetable broth and plant-based milk.
Once the vegan sausage is browned and the liquids are added, in go the dried spices and herbs along with the cornstarch “slurry”. The cornstarch will help thicken up the soup.
What is A Cornstarch Slurry?
The cornstarch slurry simply means a mix of cornstarch and a small amount of liquid mixed together (around 1:1 ratio of cornstarch to liquid), which is then poured into the main sauce / broth that you’re cooking. The alternative would be to add the cornstarch directly into the much larger amount of sauce/broth, which would likely result in lots of lumps and clumps to try and whisk away.
For this recipe, put the 3 tbsp. of cornstarch into a small bowl and around the same amount of broth from the pot, or a little more. So here, 3-4 tbsp. of broth will work. Whisk the cornstarch and the broth together in the small bowl, then add that into the pot. The cornstarch serves to thicken up the soup a bit. The white beans will also naturally serve that purpose, so they work as a thickening team, of sorts!
How to Finish Up this Vegan White Bean and Sausage Soup
The thickening starts to happen as the broth comes to a gentle simmer, so the beans are added now along with the nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast, coincidentally, will also serve to thicken the broth a bit. In addition, it also brings a cheesy, umami flavor with a bit of smoky and nuttiness. Nutritional yeast, also sometimes referred to as “nooch” by its lovers, is a deactivated yeast that is orange/yellow in color and has a flaky appearance. I use 1/4 cup of nooch here, but feel free to decrease/increase the amount. Or, if you don’t have it on hand, you can omit it and the recipe will still taste yummy.
As flavors are blending and the soup is simmering away for a few, you’ll then add the baby spinach and let it wilt in (this takes around 2-3 minutes). Squeeze in lemon juice for some additional flavor. If you’re out of lemons, no worries. You can omit and it will still be great.
Other Delicious Soups and Appetizer Recipes
Thai Noodle and Vegetable Soup
Kale and Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
Vegan BBQ Caramelized Onion Pizza
Vegan White Bean and Sausage Soup
Ingredients
- 1 small yellow onion finely chopped
- 4 celery stalks diced
- 1.5 cups diced carrots
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 10 oz. plant-based sausage
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup plant-based milk
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried tarragon
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1.5 tsp garlic powder
- 2.5 tsp dried parsley
- 1/8 tsp ground sage
- 1/8 tsp ground thyme
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 cups white beans used great northern
- 2 cups (packed) baby spinach
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
Instructions
- In a large pot (or large pan with deep sides), add the onion, celery, carrots, kosher salt, and pepper. Cook on medium heat for 10 min, stirring periodically (add a bit of water to the pan if getting to dry, to prevent burning).
- Add the plant-based sausage, breaking it up into small pieces as you add it and/or break it up with a spatula in the pan. Stir and cook for around 12 to 15 minutes, stirring periodically, until the sausage is browned. You want some browning and crispness so that the texture is maintained during cooking.
- Add the vegetable broth, plant-based milk, and the dried herbs. Stir.
- In a small bowl, add cornstarch and 3 or 4 tbsp of the broth from the pot. Stir until well incorporated, then add this mixture back into the pot.
- Stir in the nutritional yeast and bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 3 min (covered).
- Add the white beans, cook another 3 min (covered).
- Add the baby spinach, cook another 3 minutes as the spinach wilts.
- Stir in the lemon juice prior to serving.