Harvest Turkey Sausage Soup
A cozy slow cooker soup with sweet Italian turkey sausage, roasted purple sweet potatoes, kale, spinach and corn — colorful, hearty and even better the next day.
What's the Story
I love making soup. There’s a freedom in throwing a pot together with whatever looks good, and nothing beats the warmth of a hot bowl when the leaves start falling. This one started as exactly that — a throw-together on a fall Saturday — and turned into one of my favorites. Purple sweet potato, orange carrot, golden corn and green kale and spinach make it look like a pile of autumn leaves in a bowl.
How It Came Together
Prep the vegetables.
I dice everything into roughly ½-inch pieces so it all cooks evenly, and pop the green germ out of each garlic clove first. You can chop the kale a couple of days ahead to save time.
Brown the sausage.
I crumble the turkey sausage into a hot skillet with minced shallot and garlic and let it get golden-brown spots. That browning is where a lot of the soup's flavor comes from.
Build the base.
Everything except the roasted sweet potatoes, kale and spinach goes into the slow cooker with the broth, seasonings, bay leaves and Parmesan rind, plus a small handful of raw sweet potato for flavor. Then it cooks on LOW for 8 hours.
Roast the sweet potatoes.
The first time I made this, the purple sweet potatoes cooked the whole time and tinted the pot purple. Now I roast most of them at 425°F and stir them in for the last hour and a half, so they stay vivid.
Greens at the end.
Kale goes in for the last 30 minutes, a handful at a time, and fresh spinach for the last 2 minutes so it stays bright green.
Finish and serve.
Remove the bay leaves and Parmesan rind, squeeze in two lemons, and top each bowl with grated Parmesan.
Easy All-In-One Version
Don't want to babysit it? You can put everything in at the start — sausage, vegetables, sweet potatoes, kale, broth and seasonings — and let it go on LOW for 8 hours. It tastes just as good; staggering is mostly about looks. The trade-offs:
The sweet potatoes will bleed purple into the broth and get very soft, but they add extra flavor and body.
The kale will turn darker and softer, but it holds up.
The one thing still worth adding at the end is the spinach. Stir it in for the last couple of minutes, or it goes dark and almost disappears.
Skip the roasting step entirely in this version.
What Each Ingredient Brings
- Sweet Italian turkey sausage: The savory backbone; its fennel and herbs season the broth as it cooks.
- Sweet onions and shallot: Melt into a mellow sweetness; the shallot adds a softer, deeper onion flavor.
- Garlic, fresh and powder: Fresh gives aroma and bite; powder adds a rounder garlic flavor that holds up over 8 hours.
- Purple sweet potatoes: Earthy, gently sweet, and the star of the color. A few cook in the broth for flavor; the rest are roasted for color.
- Carrot: Sweetness and a bright orange pop.
- Red bell pepper: Extra sweetness and color.
- Chili-style diced tomatoes: Acidity, body and a little built-in spice.
- Corn: Bursts of sweetness and golden color.
- Kale: Hearty greens that hold their texture.
- Fresh spinach: Tender greens and a bright green finish.
- Chicken broth and bouillon: The savory foundation.
- Parmesan rind: Softens and releases rich, nutty depth over the long cook.
- Lemon: Brightens everything at the end.
Seasonings
- Smoked paprika: Smoky warmth that ties everything together.
- Italian seasoning and bay leaves: A generous herbal backbone that ties into the sausage.
What I Learned Making It
- Season early and generously. My first batch tasted bland halfway through because I'd only added smoked paprika. Now the herbs, garlic and salt go in at the start, and I use more smoked paprika and Italian seasoning than I first did.
- Go easy on salt. The sausage, broth, tomatoes and bouillon all bring salt, so I adjust at the end.
- Roast the sweet potatoes separately. A small handful cooked in the broth adds flavor; roasting the rest and adding them late keeps the purple vivid.
- Fresh greens beat frozen. Frozen spinach went dark and mushy over the long cook. Fresh spinach and kale added at the end stay green.
- Mature spinach needs prep. If your spinach has long stems, cut them off and roughly chop the leaves.
- Make it a day ahead. Like most soups, it's even better the next day.
Questions
- Can I just put everything in at once?
- Yes — see the Easy All-In-One Version above. Just add the spinach at the end.
- Can I use regular orange sweet potatoes?
- Yes. You'll lose the purple, but the flavor is similar.
- Can I make it on the stove?
- Yes. Simmer gently, covered, for about an hour, adding the roasted sweet potatoes for the last 15 minutes, the kale for the last 10 and the spinach for the last 2.
- Will it fit in a 5-quart slow cooker?
- It's a full pot. Add the kale a handful at a time and let it wilt between additions.
- Does it freeze well?
- Yes, for up to 3 months. The greens soften more on reheating, but the flavor holds up.
Final Thoughts
This soup is everything I want on a cool fall night: warm and rich, sweet and savory, with a gentle kick of spice and smoky notes from the paprika. It was easy to toss together in the morning and have ready for a bonfire night with our neighbors, friends and family — just set out the pot, a ladle and some bowls, and let everyone help themselves around the fire. If you make it, I'd love to hear how it turns out.
Harvest Turkey Sausage Soup
- Prep
- 1 hr
- Cook
- 8 hr
- Total
- 9 hr
- Serves
- About 10
Ingredients
For the soup
- 1 package (5 links) Jennie-O sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
- 2 sweet onions, diced
- 1 shallot, minced
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 2 red bell peppers, diced
- 2 medium purple sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes (a small handful raw, the rest roasted)
- 2 cans (14.5 oz each) chili-style diced tomatoes
- 1 can (15 oz) corn
- 2–4 cups finely chopped kale, stems removed
- About 3 cups fresh spinach, stems removed, roughly chopped
- 1 carton (32 oz) Swanson chicken broth
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon paste
- 1 Parmesan rind (2–3 inches)
- Olive oil, for roasting
- Juice of 2 lemons
- Grated Parmesan, for topping
Seasonings
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1½ tbsp Italian seasoning (such as The Spice House Old World Italian)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper, plus more to taste
Method
- Brown the sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat with the shallot and 1 clove of the garlic, breaking it into crumbles.
- Add the sausage and everything except the roasted sweet potatoes, kale, spinach, lemon and grated Parmesan to the slow cooker, including a small handful of raw sweet potato cubes. Stir.
- Cook on LOW for 8 hours.
- With about 2 hours left, toss the remaining sweet potato cubes with olive oil and salt and roast in a single layer at 425°F for 20–25 minutes until tender. Stir them in with about 1½ hours left.
- With 30 minutes left, stir in the kale a handful at a time.
- For the last 2 minutes, stir in the spinach just until wilted.
- Remove the bay leaves and Parmesan rind. Stir in the juice of 1 lemon, taste, then add the second if you want it brighter. Season to taste and top with grated Parmesan.
Storage: Fridge 3–4 days, freezer up to 3 months.
Casey's notes
- Easy version: add everything except the spinach, lemon and grated Parmesan at the start, skip the roasting, and stir in the spinach for the last 2 minutes.
