12 - 16ouncespre-cooked sausage or kielbasa sliced into ½-inch half-circles, can use pork, chicken, beef, or turkey
½white or yellow oniondiced
2stalkscelerydiced
1tablespoongarlicminced
4 (15-ounce)canscannellini beans
32ounceschicken stock or broth
1teaspoondried thyme
1teaspoondried oregano
1teaspoondried rosemary
¾teaspoonsalt
½teaspoonblack pepper
3handfulsfresh spinach leaves
Instructions
Add the oil to your soup pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the sliced sausage. Sauté, stirring frequently for 3 to 4 minutes or until they have some browning. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add the onion and celery to the pot. Sauté until the onion becomes tender and fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until golden, about 1 minute.
Rinse and drain the cannellini beans.
Stir in cannellini beans, chicken stock, thyme, oregano, rosemary, salt, and pepper. (Everything should be in the pot except for the sausage and spinach.) Simmer on medium to medium low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Scoop out 4 cups of the soup mixture and set aside. Use an immersion blender to puree the remaining soup in the pot. Then add the 4 cups back to the pot and stir. Alternatively, you can pour the soup (minus the 4 cups we set aside) into a blender and puree this way. Then add it back to the pot along with the other 4 cups.) This will give you a creamy soup texture while still leaving the beans we set aside whole.
Stir the cooked sausage into the soup. Simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes so the sausage is warmed. Then stir in the spinach leaves. They will wilt immediately. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.