One-pot Vegan Italian Sausage Pasta Soup! It's hearty, rustic and comforting, with a creamy tomato-y soup base, lots of herbs and garlic, vegan sausage chunks and pasta. Ultimate vegan comfort food!
1tablespoonolive oil, or use a few tablespoons of water to sauté with instead
1mediumonion, peeled and diced
4clovesgarlic, peeled and chopped finely
2teaspoonsdried rosemary, or use mixed Italian style herbs instead of rosemary & thyme
2teaspoonsdried thyme
½ cup / 63gall purpose flour, (plain flour in the UK)
2teaspoonssalt
1teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
¾ cup / 180 g tomato paste , (tomato puree in the UK)
4 cups / 32 fl oz / 946mlsvegetable or mushroom stock
5 cups / 40 fl oz / 1200mls water
12 oz / 350 gdried pasta
4bigkale leaves, with stem removed. Chopped into small pieces.
4Field Roast Italian style sausages or Tofurkey Italian Sausages, cut into chunky rounds * see notes for sausage alternatives
1tablespoonsugar***
1 can / 13 oz / 400 mlcanned light coconut milk** see recipe notes
Instructions
Add the oil to a large soup pan or Dutch Oven (the pan needs to hold 6 quarts / 5.5 litres or more to make this soup comfortably), and warm over a medium heat.
Add the onions and sauté for about 5 minutes or until turning golden. Then add the garlic and cook for another minute, stirring frequently.
Add the herbs and flour, stir well and cook for about a minute. Add the salt, pepper and tomato paste and stir well again. it will be really thick and lumpy looking. Gradually add the stock about a cup at a time, stirring between each addition to work out any lumps. Then add the water all at once. It seems like a lot of liquid but don't worry. It's how it's supposed to be for now.
Bring to a simmer stirring frequently. It will start to thicken a little but still be very liquidy. Once simmering add the dried pasta, kale, sliced sausages, sugar and coconut milk. Be sure to add the coconut milk last as the other ingredients will drop the temperature a little and prevent it curdling.
As the pasta cooks in the soup it will thicken everything up nicely. It is ready to serve as soon as the pasta is tender which takes about 10 minutes. If the soup gets too thick, just boil some water in a kettle and add as much as needed to get the soup to the consistency you like.
Notes
* The flavour of Field Roast Italian sausages are incredible in this soup and I highly recommend you use them if they are available in your area. Tofurkey Italian sausages would be my 2nd choice. Because both are already cooked you can slice them up and add them at the end just to heat through. If you choose to use a different variety like Beyond Sausages which aren't firm and pre-cooked, you will need to cut them up into rounds and sauté them separately until cooked before adding them to the soup. ** Canned light coconut milk gives by far the best results and you cannot taste the coconut. Don't use full fat coconut milk.I know I'll get asked about subbing other milks and I highly recommend you stick to the recipe. Other milks don't give the same richness or gloss that canned coconut milk does and obviously I always want you to get the best results from my recipes. If you have to use something else, use another thick and creamy milk. Unsweetened cashew or oat milk would be my preference. Don't use sweetened or flavoured milk and I highly recommend you don't use almond milk. It really ruins the taste of savoury dishes. *** It might not seem much but a little sugar really makes a difference to tomato-based recipes. It brings out the flavour of the tomato and adds depth of flavour. I don't recommend skipping it. LEFTOVERSStore leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It will become very thick when cool. Reheat in the microwave or in a pan on the stove top, but add a little water to thin it out a bit first.