Instant Pot Sausage and Kale Soup is inspired by some previous soup recipes, and this soup uses cauliflower rice to keep it low carb! And we loved this with a few generous spoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese!
PIN the Sausage and Kale Soup to try later!
This Instant Pot Sausage and Kale Soup was an absolute success when we tested the recipe. And two of my favorite soup ingredients are spicy Italian sausage and kale, and over the years I’ve made quite a few soups with those ingredients. But many of those sausage and kale soup variations contain beans or orzo, something I’m less likely to include in a soup recipe these days.
And we didn’t miss the beans at all in this soup that starts with onion, Italian sausage, ground fennel, dried oregano, dried basil, diced tomatoes and chicken stock. After pressure cooking for a few minutes, add chopped kale and cauliflower rice and simmer a little longer.
Your house will smell wonderful while the sausage and kale soup simmers and the soup will be ready quickly with the Instant Pot. Then serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese to add to the table and enjoy!
This recipe is inspired by Italian sausage and kale soup with whole wheat orzo and sausage and kale soup with tomatoes. If you’re a fan, you can use the links to find the old, printer-friendly version of those recipes!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is just a list of ingredients; scroll down for the full printable recipe. Or, if you use the GO TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the full recipe with ingredient amounts.)
- onion
- Olive oil (affiliate link)
- Chopped Garlic (affiliate link)
- ground fennel (affiliate link)
- Dried oregano (affiliate link)
- Dried Basil (affiliate link)
- hot Italian sausage from turkey or pork
- chicken stock
- canned small dice tomatoes
- chopped kale
- frozen cauliflower rice
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Which sausage goes best with this sausage-kale soup?
For years I was a big fan of Italian turkey sausage, and then suddenly I couldn’t find it in the stores near me. So if you can find Italian turkey sausage for this soup, that would be my preference. But the soup is also delicious with pork sausage.
Can you make sausage and kale soup with baby kale?
I like making soup with dark green kale and don’t mind the work of cutting out the ribs and chopping the kale. But if you want to get this on the table even faster, you can use packaged baby kale. The kale is thinner and will be a bit softer in the finished soup.
How Low in Carbs is Instant Pot Sausage and Kale Soup?
This tasty soup with sausage, kale, tomatoes and cauliflower rice contains only 7 net carbs per serving and 28 grams of protein!
What size Instant Pot did I use?
I use one 6 liter instant pot (affiliate link) for all my Instant Pot recipes.
How to make Instant Pot Sausage and Kale Soup:
(This is just a summary of the steps for the recipe; scroll down for the full printable recipe. Or if you use the GO TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the full recipe.)
- Heat olive oil in the Instant Pot. Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and herbs and cook for 1-2 minutes longer.
- Squeeze sausage from links and add to Instant Pot.
- Turn the heat to HIGH and brown the sausage until well browned.
- Add small diced tomatoes with juice and chicken stock.
- Close lid and turn Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, 5 minutes.
- The next photo shows you cutting away the ribs and chopping the kale.
- While the soup is cooking, cut the kale into pieces and wash it in the salad spinner if necessary.
- When cooking time is over, use QUICK RELEASE to release pressure.
- Add chopped kale and cauliflower rice to the pot.
- Set Instant Pot to SAUTE, MEDIUM HEAT, 15 minutes.
- When the time is up, check to see if the cauliflower rice and kale are done to your preference.
- Serve the sausage and kale soup hot, with freshly grated Parmesan cheese to add at the table.
Make it a low-carb meal:
This tasty sausage and kale soup would be delicious served with one of these breads:
Fancy more Soups with Cauliflower Rice?
Check out Low Carb and Keto Soups with Cauliflower Rice for more tasty soup recipes like this one.
Weekend food preparation:
This recipe has been added to my Weekend Food Prep category, where you will find recipes that you can prepare or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Ingredients
1 small onion, chopped
1 T olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tsp. ground fennel
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil
one 19.5 oz. package hot turkey Italian sausage (see notes)
8 cups chicken stock (see notes)
one 14.5 oz. can small dice tomatoes
4 cups chopped kale
1 cup frozen cauliflower rice
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in Instant Pot with SAUTE, MEDIUM HEAT.
- Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and herbs and cook 1-2 minutes longer.
- Squeeze sausage from links and add to Instant Pot.
- Increase heat to HIGH and brown sausage until well browned and all water has evaporated, about 6-8 minutes.
- Add small, diced tomatoes with juice and chicken stock or stock.
- Lock lid and set Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, 5 minutes.
- While the soup is cooking, cut the kale into pieces and wash it in the salad spinner if necessary. (We used about 4 cups of chopped kale, but use as much as you like.)
- When cooking time is over, use QUICK RELEASE to release pressure.
- Add chopped kale and cauliflower rice to the pot.
- Set Instant Pot to SAUTE, MEDIUM HEAT, 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, check whether the cauliflower rice and kale are cooked to your liking.
- Season the soup with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Serve the sausage and kale soup hot, with freshly grated Parmesan cheese to add at the table.
Comments
Use hot or mild sausage and turkey or pork sausage, depending on what you prefer.
Homemade chicken stock would be great in this recipe, but canned or boxed chicken stock is also fine.
This recipe was inspired by several previous soups on the blog.
Nutritional information
Yield
6
Portion size
1
Quantity per serving
Calories 269Total fat 14 grSaturated fat 3gTrans fat 0gUnsaturated fat 8gCholesterol 96 mgSodium 1999 mgCarbohydrates 10gFiber 3gSugar 3gEgg white 28g
Nutritional information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I use. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy as many variables influence these calculations.
Suggestions for a low-carb diet/low-glycemic diet/South Beach diet:
Instant Pot Sausage and Kale Soup with Cauliflower Rice is a great dish for low-carb diet plans, including Keto, as well as for any phase of the Original South Beach Diet.
Find more recipes like this:
Use Instant Pot Recipes to find more recipes like this. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTokor on YouTube to see all the good recipes I share there.
Historical notes on this recipe:
This tasty Sausage and Kale Soup was first posted in 2020. The recipe was last updated with more information in 2025.
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