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This Smoked Sausage, Apple and Potato Soup recipe is easy to make and simmered in the yummiest zesty, creamy broth.
Today’s recipe is the result of an impromptu clean-out-the-fridge fall dinner gone very, very right. ♡
I happened some leftover smoked sausage and apples in the fridge, leftover from another fall recipe that I’ve been developing recently (stay tuned!), when I found myself craving a cozy bowl of soup on a cold and rainy day here. So I chopped up the apples and sausage and tossed them into a stockpot along with some potatoes and basic soup essentials. Then I decided to simmer them all together in my favorite broth (which many of you may recognize from this recipe), made with the irresistibly savory-and-slightly-sweet combo of creamy coconut milk and Old Bay seasoning.
And, you guys, this soup ended up being such a winner!
All of the ingredients came together and balanced one another just perfectly. And wow, I had forgotten how much I enjoy soups with smoked sausage too — it always adds such great depth of flavor! If you happen to have other autumn veggies on hand, this recipe is quite flexible and could be customized with a number of different veggies, greens, or even proteins. But this simple, base version totally hit the spot in our house and was the perfect way to warm up on a chilly day. I think that all of you soup lovers out there are really going to enjoy it.
So let’s make some soup!
Sausage, Apple and Potato Soup Ingredients:
Here are a few quick notes on the shopping list you will need for this soup:
Smoked sausage: Feel free to use whatever kind of smoked sausage that you love best, either sliced into rounds or diced into smaller pieces. Or you could also use any other type of ground sausage that you prefer.
Veggies: I used a classic mirepoix mix (carrots, celery and onions) as the base veggies for this soup.
Garlic: Also, lots of minced garlic to season the broth.
Chicken or vegetable stock: Either will work as the base for our broth.
Coconut milk: I absolutely adore the slightly-sweet flavor of coconut milk, balanced with Old Bay (below), to add some creaminess to this broth. But if coconut milk isn’t your thing, feel free to add in some half and half (or cream or milk) instead.
Potatoes: I used buttery Yukon gold potatoes, which I would highly recommend. But Russets, red potatoes, or even sweet potatoes would all work here too.
Apple: I used a Granny Smith green apple, which held up well during simmering, but any apple you have in the crisper drawer will work.
Seasoning: A savory mix of Old Bay seasoning, extra bay leaves, salt and black pepper.
How To Make This Soup:
Full instructions are included below, but here’s a quick overview of how to make this smoked sausage, apple and potato soup!
Brown the sausage. First, we’ll sauté the sausage briefly in a bit of oil until browned, then transfer it to a clean plate to reserve for later.
Sauté the veggies. Next up, the mirepoix veggies! We will sauté them in oil along with the garlic.
Simmer. Once the veggies are softened, add in the stock, coconut milk, potatoes, apple, Old Bay, and bay leaves and simmer the soup (covered) until the potatoes are tender.
Season. Finally, we’ll stir the cooked sausage back in, discard the bay leaves, then give the broth a taste and see if it needs any extra Old Bay, salt and/or pepper.
Serve. Then dish it up while it’s nice and warm and enjoy!
Possible Variations:
As I mentioned above, this recipe is quite flexible when it comes to substitutions, so feel free to experiment and use whatever ingredients you love best. For example, you could…
Make it without coconut milk (or cream): I actually made my first batch of this soup (as pictured above) without the creamy coconut milk and it was still delicious! If you would like to go this route, just add in an extra 2 cups of stock to make up for the missing coconut milk.
Make it vegetarian/vegan: Use vegan sausage (or just omit the sausage altogether) and use veggie stock (in place of chicken stock).
Add extra veggies and/or greens: Feel free to also toss in any other soup-friendly seasonal veggies or greens (spinach or kale would be delicious) that you happen to have on hand.
Use gnocchi instead of potatoes: If you happen to have a box of gnocchi on hand, it would also be delicious in place of the potatoes.
Brown the sausage. Heat one tablespoon oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the sausage to a clean plate and set aside.
Sauté the veggies. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the carrots, celery and garlic and sauté for 2 more minutes, stirring frequently.
Simmer. Add the stock, coconut milk, potatoes, apple, Old Bay, bay leaves, and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium-low to maintain the simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are completely tender.
Season. Stir in the cooked sausage and remove and discard the bay leaves. Then give the soup a taste and season with salt, pepper, and/or extra Old Bay as needed.
Serve. Serve warm, garnished with an extra twist of black pepper if desired.
Making this tonight! Had a dry cold front come through so our northern Oklahoma air is perfect for this soup. Have bone-in pork chops and sweet potatoes for hubby to grill to accompany this. Will let you know how my Meat-and-Potatoes Guy reacts…
I made this last night (and had leftovers tonight) and loved it! I will definitely make this again, maybe with some of your suggested variations. Another great one from you!!
Omg this soup was perfect. It was really rainy this morning and this afternoon is the first really chilly day of fall here so this soup hit all the right notes. I didn’t have coconut milk so I used light cream and it is still amazing. This is also the first recipe that really caught my attention in a long time, my spouse is deployed and I’ve had a hard time being enthusiastic about cooking for just me, but this one just intrigued me so much and it was every bit as good as promised.
I was excited to make this and it did not disappoint. I love the unsuspecting flavor combinations together (I would have never thought to put APPLE in a soup) and I will definitely be making again.
This was SO GOOD!! My husband and I loved it! It was a little spicy for my toddler, but she just ate the chunks out of it and left the broth. We used Applegate chicken & apple sausage, instead of the smoked sausage, and it worked very well. Super easy and we’ll definitely make it again!!!
This was a huge hit with my family! I used 1/2 cup half and half instead of coconut milk. I couldn’t find old bay so I googled It’s key spices in the mix to get as close as I could. Thank you for the great recipe ✨
Delicious! Used a bit more potato and added a slurry for a slight thickening. And I had chopped my apples fairly smaller then the potatoes so I waited until five minutes out to add them. But otherwise followed. The flavor is wonderful. Added spinach at the end as suggested because I had it on hand. It only added to the heartiness. I will definitely be making this again. Thank you for another hit!
This soup is reminding me of a something I made with cabbage and caraway seed….with apple and sausage. Your soup sounds tasty indeed. We will give it try.
This is delicious and thankfully fool proof. I was unable to find any coconut milk at the store and mistakenly substituted cream of coconut. DO NOT MAKE MY MISTAKE haha. My broth tasted like a cocktail. I drained out my broth and made a new one using chicken broth and some leftover beef broth. Turned out tasty in the end.
This soup is fantastic! I did make a few substitutions based on what I had available. I used ground mild Italian sausage instead of the cased sausage. I didn’t have Old Bay so I substituted 1 tsp celery salt, 1 tsp paprika, and a dash of cloves, cardamom, allspice and cinnamon. I also diced a chayote and added it for color in place of one the potatoes. So versatile and delicious!
This was so good!!!! Was out of flour but had a can of coconut milk. Will definitely make this again.
Excited to make this tomorrow night for my roommates! any suggestions of sides to serve with it?
Making this tonight! Had a dry cold front come through so our northern Oklahoma air is perfect for this soup. Have bone-in pork chops and sweet potatoes for hubby to grill to accompany this. Will let you know how my Meat-and-Potatoes Guy reacts…
I made this last night (and had leftovers tonight) and loved it! I will definitely make this again, maybe with some of your suggested variations. Another great one from you!!
Omg this soup was perfect. It was really rainy this morning and this afternoon is the first really chilly day of fall here so this soup hit all the right notes. I didn’t have coconut milk so I used light cream and it is still amazing. This is also the first recipe that really caught my attention in a long time, my spouse is deployed and I’ve had a hard time being enthusiastic about cooking for just me, but this one just intrigued me so much and it was every bit as good as promised.
I was excited to make this and it did not disappoint. I love the unsuspecting flavor combinations together (I would have never thought to put APPLE in a soup) and I will definitely be making again.
Substitute for old bay seasoning or is that a must have?? Excited to try it!!!
This was SO GOOD!! My husband and I loved it! It was a little spicy for my toddler, but she just ate the chunks out of it and left the broth. We used Applegate chicken & apple sausage, instead of the smoked sausage, and it worked very well. Super easy and we’ll definitely make it again!!!
This was a huge hit with my family! I used 1/2 cup half and half instead of coconut milk. I couldn’t find old bay so I googled It’s key spices in the mix to get as close as I could. Thank you for the great recipe ✨
Delicious! Used a bit more potato and added a slurry for a slight thickening. And I had chopped my apples fairly smaller then the potatoes so I waited until five minutes out to add them. But otherwise followed. The flavor is wonderful. Added spinach at the end as suggested because I had it on hand. It only added to the heartiness. I will definitely be making this again. Thank you for another hit!
Super easy with ingredients I always have in the house. I used regular milk. I don’t taste the apple in the soup so if you don’t have one skip it.
This soup is reminding me of a something I made with cabbage and caraway seed….with apple and sausage. Your soup sounds tasty indeed. We will give it try.
This is delicious and thankfully fool proof. I was unable to find any coconut milk at the store and mistakenly substituted cream of coconut. DO NOT MAKE MY MISTAKE haha. My broth tasted like a cocktail. I drained out my broth and made a new one using chicken broth and some leftover beef broth. Turned out tasty in the end.
This soup is fantastic! I did make a few substitutions based on what I had available. I used ground mild Italian sausage instead of the cased sausage. I didn’t have Old Bay so I substituted 1 tsp celery salt, 1 tsp paprika, and a dash of cloves, cardamom, allspice and cinnamon. I also diced a chayote and added it for color in place of one the potatoes. So versatile and delicious!
Best fall soup! Have made this multiple times and it’s one of our favorites for fall and winter! Seriously soooo good.