This is great as thick soup served with French bread or served over rice or noodles. Better the next day!
I have gotten recipes from All recipes almost every week for several years and this is the first review I have done. This is without a doubt the best soup I have ever had. I made it exactly as it was written (I hate it when people review & give stars when they have changes it so much that it is not the same recipe) Anyway, that said I changed nothing. I put some aside for my Mom but it was so good that I ended up eating mine and her's too. My bad. So thank you Jennifer for a wonderful soup recipe.
Read MoreMeh. This soup just didn't excite me. It wasn't bad, but I found myself looking for excuses to eat something else. I always rate recipes as written, but I might add beans or pasta to this if I ever make it again as I felt like a flavor or texture was missing for me.
Read MoreI have gotten recipes from All recipes almost every week for several years and this is the first review I have done. This is without a doubt the best soup I have ever had. I made it exactly as it was written (I hate it when people review & give stars when they have changes it so much that it is not the same recipe) Anyway, that said I changed nothing. I put some aside for my Mom but it was so good that I ended up eating mine and her's too. My bad. So thank you Jennifer for a wonderful soup recipe.
Loved this soup! I did use hot Italian turkey sausage out of the casing. I used 2 (15oz) cans of diced tomatoes with garlic and oregano instead of the 2 (28oz)cans. I also added 4c of fat free low sodium chicken broth to this....how else is it a soup if there is no broth or liquid? I did add small diced carrots to the onion and celery and used a frozen bag of red, yellow and green peppers that were sliced, 2 medium zucchini and I added a can of drained and rinsed small white beans. Very hearty and delicious. I ate mine with red hot pepper flakes, pecorino romano and a few crunchy croutons. Thanks!
Recipe is great, added more seasoning, added feta cheese and used spicy Italian sausage and I found it too thick to be a soup so I added a bottle of beer which made it even better and more soup like. Awesome w/ some French bread
Used spicy Italian sausage, otherwise wouldn't recommend any changes on the recipe! So far I have created open-faced sandwich with a toasted sesame bun, mixed it with Orecchiette pasta, and as a soup with oyster crackers. Always with Parmesan cheese please! Made it on Monday night and ate great the whole week. Thank you Jennifer!
SO GOOD!!! Perfect for cold miserable days---its excellent comfort food. I call this "pizza stew" because it has a lot of similar flavors. I reviewed this the first time I made it and said that it was WAY too salty with the added salt--and I still think it would be too salty with the added salt. The salt in the canned tomatoes and sausage links is more than enough. I have been using Sprout's sweet Italian sausage links. Lots of people have commented on how they think there won't be enough broth...just remember that you need TWO
I cooked this as the directions said with no changes, very easy and very flavorful. I even brought some to the neighbors , great on these cold days.
Made it exactly to the recipe. wonderful soup. While cooking in crock pot it seemed like it was going to be very thick, almost like a stew, but by serving time consistency was perfect. Smelled so good, husband was opening crock pot and "tasting" before it was done.
Loved this, but did do a few changes. I used the Italian sausage out of the casing, and all the other ingredients. I did add a box of vegetable broth from Trader Joes, which made it a soup rather than stew. And I added light red kidney bean, as well as a can of cannellini beans. This soup had wonderful flavors and was visually appealing as well. A great family meal, or a perfect meal for guests.
Great soup! My husband had 4 bowls, my young boys and mom loved it too! Here's my changes: didnt have celery so i used celery flakes, seeds, celery salt instead. 3 oz tomato paste instead of tomatoes (might use more next time- tomato flavor wasnt detectable) about 2 cups homemade beef broth and 2 cups chicken broth, then another 4 cups at the end! (I don't like stew-like consistency). I didn't have green peppers. Subbed fresh basil because I had it (it added another texture too). I also threw in a little uncooked leftover penne pasta near the end. What I'd change: cook the onion on the pan first after the sausage. It might be my fault because the beef broth was frozen (I had to cook the soup longer) but my onions were still a little crunchy. It was ok and gave texture but not my best liking. But like I said might not be the case when cooked according the recipe! Still next time I'd sauté them first.
Very good as the recipe is written; it's more like a stew. The second time around I used fire roasted diced tomatoes, used yellow squash instead of zucchini, and added two cloves of minced garlic along with a teaspoon of course ground black pepper. When I sauted the meat and celery, I added a quarter cup of sherry to release all flavor trapped by the iron skillet. Poured it all in the pot. I also added a 12 ounce can of low sodium V-8 juice to make it a little soupier. Sliced some Italian bread to sop up the juice at the end and it was a tasty to the last bit. Great for eating while watching a ballgame!
So long meatballs subs, hello zucchini heaven! Followed the recipe, except I used only 1 lb of bulk sweet Italian sausage (what I had on hand) and 6 cloves crushed, minced garlic in place of garlic powder (there's no such thing as too much garlic...) Personally, I feel that this recipe would be more appropriately used as sandwich filling. It makes for a very thick stew. First, I served it in bowls with some Italian bread on the side and halfway through the meal realized it was spectacular with the bread. The next day, I bought sub rolls and we had sandwiches for lunch... I will never go back to plain old meatball subs! The flavors were wonderful and it's packed with veggies!
Excellent! This delicious recipe is simple to make in the slow cooker, with chicken meatballs from Costco. It's been served weekly in my household since I discovered it and no one's complained yet.
I made this just before Thanksgiving, wanting something light yet comfort food like. I made it on the stovetop, just simmered for about 30 minutes. I left out the peppers and celery as I didn't have them on hand. I added small pasta shells and about 3/4 of a carton of beef stock. Served it with garlic cheese bread. It was soooo good! Will definitely be making it again. Perfect for rainy/snowy days. Thanks for the great recipe Jennifer!
After reading several reviews, here are the changes I made to this recipe: I used hot Italian turkey sausage; I omitted the salt and sugar; and I added one can of low-sodium chicken broth. Even with these changes, I still had a very thick soup, which could also double as a topping for pasta. I think you could add an additional can of broth, a can of small red kidney beans, a can of Great Northern beans and a bit of pasta and have a great pasta fagioli! That's what I love about Allrecipes--the way the community of cooks gets together, takes an idea, and runs with it! Thanks for posting the recipe and opening a door to creativity!
Meh. This soup just didn't excite me. It wasn't bad, but I found myself looking for excuses to eat something else. I always rate recipes as written, but I might add beans or pasta to this if I ever make it again as I felt like a flavor or texture was missing for me.
A new favorite in our house. My husband and I love this recipe! I left out the sausage and used a can of Progresso Roasted Tomato Recipe Starters and a can of regular tomato sauce in place of cans of diced tomatoes.
I made this for supper tonight and it was YUM!!! I followed the recipe as written, but when I got it all into the crock pot, it didn't appear like it had enough liquid, so I added two cans of beef broth & omitted the salt, which I hadn't yet added (glad I didn't!). It was a perfect consistency for us with the added broth. I also used fresh garlic instead of powder (personal preference). Served it with a lovely Italian bread & freshly shaved Parmesan. This was simply to die for. It will be making it into my permanent rotation. Thanks for this great recipe!
I used ground venison instead of sausage, that's just what I had. I added some extra Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper to accommodate the flavor. I used fresh tomatoes instead of canned and fresh garlic instead of powder, again I just had them around to use. This was a very hearty and robust soup, it filled up both my husband and me with enough leftovers for another meal! The flavors blend together very well! I would definitely make this again!
I have made this several times. No changes to the recipe. Love it. It's one of my favorite soup recipes
This soup is amazing. I didn't slow cook it though, I sautéed all veggies except the zucchini for about 10 minutes after browning the sausage then I added everything else. I blended half of the tomatoes before adding them. And I added about 2 cups of chicken stock to the recipe to thin it out while adding two bouillon cubes and the flavor was still spot on. I also added fresh rosemary to it. I've made it this way before and doubled everything - and froze the leftovers which turned out just as good after frozen. This is now a staple in my family.
This is delicious and simple! Made it for my family & a neighbor who recently had knee surgery. Before making it, I looked at the recipe and immediately cut the salt in less than half, figuring that the sausage adds a level of salt and spice. Glad I did, otherwise it would have been WAY too salty. It was perfect with less! Thanks for this! Will make it again for sure!
Outstanding recipe! I did substitute ground turkey for the sausage to reduce the fat/calorie content. I added 1/8 tsp of fennel. Otherwise, I followed the recipe and it was great. A definite keeper.
I find you can cook Italian sausage ahead of time & freeze in small bags,makes it faster to hae meals ready for anytime your in a rush
This soup was really good! I pretty much stuck with the recipe except I used hot turkey sausage instead of sweet Italian. I also did not saute the celery but just cooked the sausage and threw everything else in the slow cooker. It made a very thick stew like soup and the spices made it very tasty. Very healthy dish also which is always a plus. Will make it again!
Made this recipe for our Christmas get together. I have never made a pot of successful soup, sad I know. I was designated to make the soup and luckily I picked this recipe. It was wonderful. Everyone love love loved it! We have a restaurant and I do believe we will make this for our customers. It was thick and I did add chicken broth as suggested in other comments but other than that I didn't change a thing.
Wow, this tasted absolutely wonderful!! Only made a few adjustments due to availability. Had no celery, only had one green pepper. Also used apple sausage instead of italian sausage. But the taste is superb!! A little salty, but that is easily adjusted. This is a definite keeper!
I simmered this in a stockpot with a lid instead of the slow cooker since I don't have one. I used 2 or 3 cloves of fresh garlic instead of garlic powder. I used fresh tomatoes and added a little water(not too much). I skipped the Italian seasoning. I used part yellow bell pepper instead of all green. I also cut the zucchini a little finer than the picture shows. Next time I will probably try a less spicy sausage.
Easy, tasty and VERY filling. Made with no changes and served with homemade garlic toast.
Such a wonderful recipe!! The flavor is excellent and it's very easy to make. Thanks for sharing.
We do a soup day at work and it was my turn so I decided to make this soup. Followed recommendations from others and added chicken broth and carrots. I used half chicken style Italian sausage and half Italian sausage. I also omitted the salt but ended up adding some after it cooked a while along with some pepper. It was amazing. One of my coworkers brought spaghetti squash not realizing I was making soup so some of us had the soup over the squash and that was really good. Thank you for sharing.
The first time I made this it would not fit my slow cooker. So I made it stovetop, simmering for about 2 hrs. It turned out fabulous! Trying it tonight using chicken sausage and some spicey pepper seeds. More to come.
Laid this over a bed of spaghetti noodles , LOVED IT ! I wouldn't change a thing in this recipe , this is a perfect blend of spices , and healthy.
This is such a flavorful dish! I made it with smoked turkey sausage but it didn't get that crumbly feeling so next time I want to use sweet Italian sausage as called for. I will definitely be making this again!
I have made this several times always comes out great! Several times with the recipe exactly as written and a couple of times with my personal spin. We are all cooks... a recipe is usually a starting point. Thank you for the great recipe!
This dish is phenomenal. It has gone on regular rotation at my house. I didn't change a thing, made it exactly as described, and my family can't get enough. They even look forward to left over night. Ok, so if you are on the fence and aren't sure... do it! You won't be disappointed and your family will love you for this dish.
I made just as the instructions said and am delighted with this delicious soup. What a great way to use all sorts of summer squash and other fresh vegetables. And this was also very easy to throw together. The ease of making and the great result are why I'm writing this, my first review! Thanks for this recipe. I'll definitely make it again.
I used one can of Ro*Tel Hot (habanero) in this recipe and my family couldn't get enough of it.
wonderful soup although it came out more like a stew. My wife cannot tolerate any cayenne or other hot items. She had seconds and had to control herself for going back for 3rds. My 15 yr old gave it a 9.5 rating.
My husband couldn't stop eating this!! We don't eat much meat, so I did change the recipe a little. I only used 1/2 of a 20 oz. package of turkey Italian sausage & added some cannelloni beans. I also added chicken broth (in place of some of the tomatoes) to make it a little soupier. I will definitely add this to my soup collection. Thank you!
This soup was FANTASTIC! I made few minor changes, I fried the sausage & celery at the same time using poultry sausage and did not remove the casing, so I sliced the sausage in 1 1/2 inch slices. Added 3 cups of chicken broth as the soup was very thick and I wanted to achieve soup constancy. Then followed the recipe as it is stated. This is great to be served in cold Winter days with crusty bread and a glass of vino. Thank you so much for sharing your love of cooking with us all.
This recipe needs more liquid, stock or wine or both. Otherwise, it was good and simple.
This is a delicious soup as is! For the second time making it, I added a chicken boullion cube for a little more flavor, a half a pound more of the sausage and subbed Rotel for the diced tomato. YUM and thank you!
I used two pounds of sausage and that was the only change I made. This soup was awesome. I could not get enough of it and this recipe made a lot.
I added about 4 cups of water while cooking to give it the soup consistency I desired. Delicious.
I made this ahead of time, froze it and let the crockpot work on it all day. I did cut the vegetables in bigger chunks. There was plenty of liquid to use as soup. I decided to serve with rice. Daughter and husband gave it thumbs up and do it again.
I added about 3 cups of chicken broth only to make it more of a soup. I served it to guests who asked for the recipe. My husband raved about, he said it was the best soup I had ever made and I make soups often enough. I could not find Italian sweet sausage in the nearest town (or I would not have substituted) so I used Italian pork sausage. Still awesome!!
This was an awesome dish! I added vegetables broth cause I like my soup more soupy.
Delish! Chop zucchini, pepper, and sausage up into bite size pieces. Makes a ton - half recipe in the future.
I add anything I have from the garden to this and it only enhances. I add 1/4 C red wine and beef base for richer flavor.
Read a review saying this was too salty, so I used one teaspoon of salt instead of two. Otherwise, followed the recipe exactly, and wow, this will be one of our regular dinners :)
Love, love, love this soup. With our homegrown zucchinis it is awesome. Very flavorful. My family can't get enough of it. Already recommended it to friends. Took some to neighbor and she loved I too. Laurie
So good--made before a long school day and dame home to comfort in a bowl! I paired with homemade garlic bread and of course wine
I made it with spicy Italian sausage simply out of necessity. But it was so tasty!
We followed the recipe almost exactly, and this is one of the most delicious things that I have ever eaten.
This was such a delicious and fresh soup. Almost all of these vegetables I have in my garden. I will definitely make this again. I did only slightly change a few things. I really wanted this to stretch for 2 meals for my large family. I added a can of red kidney beans, 2 cups of beef broth and per other reveiws cut the salt to one tsp. It was sooo good everyone had seconds.
I've made it according to the recipe and it was really good, but I like things a little spicier and meatier, so when I made it again, I used 1lb. of sweet italian sausage and 1lb. of hot italian sausauge and it turned out suiting my taste buds perfectly! That's the nice thing about this recipe; it's great on its own, but it's also very forgiving if you want to adjust things to suit your tastes!
I used spicy sausage to give it a kick. I also cubed the Zucchini and peppers. for a home style taste.
It was very good! The recipe filled my 4 qt. slow cooker almost to overflowing. If you increase any of the ingredients, be sure your cooker will safely hold it all. Will make again.
I made this very close to the recipe. My changes were in amounts of ingredients, not type. Used 1 lb. Italian sausage, 1 1/2 cups celery, 3 cans no salt tomatoes, 1 can salted, and no extra salt. Wonderful flavor! Next time I will either use a spicier Italian sausage or more of the spices, at least more garlic and a little black pepper. For me, a little celery goes a long way, but in this it adds so much.
This is a winner! I followed the recipe according to the AllRecipes Magazine instructions, so I only used 1 pound of sausage (my husband said it wasn't enough, will use 1 1/2 next time) and I reduced the salt to ONE teaspoon, as the magazine suggested. It was perfect. My entire family loved it. It is a bit of prep work cutting up all the veggies, but once that it done, you can forget about it and come home to a hearty soup at the end of the day. This will be great in winter, but I also appreciated having a new recipe to try with all the zucchini in the garden this summer. Thank you!
Perfect!!! Made no changes... was awesome. Even better the next day....but soup usually is!!
This soup is absolutely delicious! I ate the soup up in three days and went right back to the grocery for more ingredients to make another batch! The only thing I change was to add fresh garlic instead of the garlic powder, and added chicken stock. This soup will definitely be a staple in my kitchen.
This so was so good. My husband raved about it for days and even took it to work for lunch, which was a first. This recipe must have been for a large crock pot because I had to cook it in two batches. I did add broth as others did to make it more soupy, although it was still very thick.
I love this recipe!! I have made it a number of times and it never disappoints. Recipe is perfect as is!
This is great, I added 1 can of chicken broth to it because I thought it needed more liquid I also used chopped tomatoes with chillies for half of the amount listed to spice it up a bit.
This is your basic minestrone start up. It was easy & good, but think it was really because of our homemade Italian Sausage from this site. I would make this again since we don't always want the beans & other ingredients with minestrone soup.
An excellent soup with lots of flavor. Made According to recipe. The additions were 1bottle of dark beer (for more liquid) and can of drained cannelloni beans. Also, I did use hot Italian chicken sausage from Sprouts, less fat . Served with hot sour dough. My family loved the soup. Thanks for sharing and it is a keeper.
Very good! We used yellow pepper in place of green and slightly less zucchini - maybe 1.5 pounds. Ate it with crusty bread and it was hearty!
Delicious !!! The Followed the recipie exactly cooked it for 5 hours on low ,was not salty as others said. The veggies stay crunchy not mushy. . Made it twice already will freeze a few containers for another day.
I suggest *not* cooking the celery with the meat. Just add it to the crock pot with everything else. That way it adds a good crunch. Secondly, use a *large* crock pot, or halve the recipe. As written, the ingredients didn't fit in mine!
This soup is delicious! The only change I made was to swap out the pork sausage for Italian turkey sausage to keep the fat content down. This is a keeper!!!
This soup was absolutely delicious. I forgot to grab the sausage, so I added sausage seasoning to ground beef and it was still awesome. Don’t change a thing if you don’t have to!
My husband said he isn't sure how this recipe could get any better. I made it exactly like it said. Great summer hearty and healthy soup.
Delicious soup! Followed the recipe to the T with only a small addition....2 cloves of garlic. I will most certainly make this again!
What to do with all this zucchini my garden is producing? I stuck to the recipe and it turned out great! We have late dinners this time of the year due to sports and this was an easy crockpot solution served with warm sourdough bread.
I used half hot and half mild Italian sausage, and added a drained can of dark red kidney beans and some chicken broth. Yummy!
this is a great use of all your summer squash. Be sure to find good quality Italian sausage and you'll have a hearty soup that freezes well.
Love this soup. I've made it a few times now and even canned some for the kids.
Made it yesterday, I had a bowl last night and going to have it today for lunch. It was very good.
Yum,yum,yum. Made it exactly like it said. It is so good. I made it for family and my father-in-law wants the recipe. When I brought leftovers to work everyone thought it smelled so good they want the recipe. Get a good, fresh Italian sausage. I got mine right from the meat case at the butchers where they had just made it up. That’s the best!
I loved it,whole family did. Instead of ground Italian sweet sausage I used links and cut them into small pieces
This is delicious. I made it as it is written. I only had 15 oz cans of tomatoes so I did add some chicken stock and one carrot. This is so good!
I Used Spicy Italian Sausage Instead Of The Regular. It Really Made The Soup That Much Better.
My hat's off to the chef, this was excellent. When draining the sausage, I also rinsed it lightly. I was worried it would lessen the taste; however, the taste was fantastic so I can't imagine it tasting better. The tomatoes I used were both canned and frozen from my garden. To thicken it up, I added about 3/4 of a 6 oz can of tomato paste. I also had asparagus on hand so I added it as well. I did not add salt but I added a few shakes of red pepper flakes and it gave it an extra but mild kick. We like garlic, so I added two minced cloves. The oregano and basil I added were dried from my garden last summer. I grated fresh Parmesan cheese to top and it was delicious. Thank you for the recipe! UPDATE: I use San Marzano whole plum tomatoes the second time and crushed them. No need to thicken up (I used home growns last time). I also used ground pork and made my own seasonings to spice it up, so much better than store bought Italian sausage!
Excellently! I added chicken broth and Italian white beans drained to stretch it further.
Spicy, easy, inexpensive and healthy. Doesn't get any better than that. Didn't even need rice, bread or crackers. Chunky vegetables simmered in their own juice was great on it's own. Changes I made: cooked on stovetop at lowest setting and doubled the Italian seasoning.
My family loves soup. This is a wonderful recipe -- made excellent use of a large zucchini! I did make a few adjustments based on personal preference, and also to save myself a trip to the store. I used 1 lb. ground chicken Italian sausage. Since I was 1/2 lb. short on sausage, I added one 15 oz. can of drained/rinsed cannellini (white kidney) beans. I only had one 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes on hand, so I sub'd the second 28 oz. can with smaller can of diced tomatoes + a cup or so of chicken broth. I used 2-3 cloves of chopped fresh garlic in place of the garlic powder. The dried seasonings called for in the recipe made for wonderful flavor. I started with 1 t. of salt, planning to add more if needed. I thought it was seasoned very well, didn't end up adding more. Served with parmesan cheese as suggested, and warm french bread. FYI -- I started this soup in my 4 qt. slow cooker before realizing it wasn't going to fit. I transferred it to my 6 qt. enameled cast iron pot on the stove top and set the burner to the lowest setting. I let it simmer for an hour or so, shut it off, then turned it back on again about 30 minutes before dinner.
Great to have with a grilled cheese or by itself. Use different peppers for a nice color, and add some corn (why not!)
I’ve made this several times now and it is awesome!!! I’ve made it exactly as written. Sometimes I’ve used chicken Italian sausage and it’s really good too (often closer to 2lbs.) I’ve added a can or two of various beans (kidney, white, pinto, or whatever I happen to have.) This is for sure a family favorite! I see people putting it in jars to save. I’d like to know if there’s any trick to doing that. It’s a great idea. Thanks for the terrific recipe!
